View source for Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship

{{Short description|US dry cargo and ammunition ship}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:US Navy 080718-N-1082Z-027 The Military Sealift Command dry cargo-ammunition ship USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2) steams in the Atlantic Ocean as an MH-60S Seahawk assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption=USNS ''Sacagawea'' (T-AKE 2) in 2008
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=[[National Steel and Shipbuilding Company|General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO)]]
|Operators={{Flag|United States}}
|Class before=
|Class after=
|Subclasses=
|Built range=2001–2012
|In service range=2006–present
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=14
|Total ships completed=14
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=14
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=0
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Combat stores ship#Combat stores ship|Dry cargo]]/[[Ammunition ship]]
|Ship displacement=45,149 tons
|Ship length=689 ft 0 in (210 m) overall
|Ship beam=106 ft 0 in (32.3 m)
|Ship draft=29.9 ft (9.12 m)
|Ship power=[[Integrated electric propulsion]], two Fairbanks-Morse/[[MAN Energy Solutions|MAN Diesel]] 8L48/60A and two 9L48/60A diesel engines; 6.6 kV HV system, generators, motors and drives by GE Power Conversion
|Ship propulsion= 1 shaft, 2 Tandem propulsion electric motors, 33,000 shp, with fixed pitch propeller; 1 bow thruster
|Ship speed={{convert|21|kn}}
|Ship complement=*124 civilian mariners
*11 Naval personnel
|Ship sensors=*I/J-band surface search radar
*I-band navigational radar
|Ship EW=*[[AN/SLQ-25 Nixie]] torpedo countermeasures<ref>{{cite web|title=T-AKE ''Lewis & Clark'' Class of Auxiliary Dry Cargo Ships|url=http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2009/pdf/navy/2009take.pdf|website=www.dote.osd.mil|publisher=US Navy|access-date=19 October 2017|quote=T-AKE 4 successfully completed an acoustic trial off San Clemente Island and demonstrated that NIXIE was capable of masking the ships acoustic signature}}</ref>
|Ship armament=*Multiple .50 caliber machine guns
*Space, weight, and power reservations for [[CIWS|close-in weapon systems]]
|Ship capacity=*{{convert|1,388,000|cuft|m3}} of cargo
*Fuel cargo: 23,450 barrels
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=Two VREP/support helicopters
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Lewis and Clark'' class''' of dry cargo ship is a class of 14 [[underway replenishment]] vessels operated by the [[United States Navy]]'s [[Military Sealift Command]]. The ships in the class are named after famous American explorers and pioneers.

==Development==
[[File:Hopper-Earhart UNREP 2009 crop.jpg|thumb|''Amelia Earhart'' conducting [[underway replenishment]] with {{USS|Hopper|DDG-70}}, November 2009]]
''Lewis and Clark''-class ships replaced the existing eighteen [[Mars-class combat stores ship|''Mars''-]] and [[Ness-class combat stores ship|''Sirius''-]]class combat store ships and the {{sclass|Kilauea|ammunition ship|1}}s. When operating in concert with a {{sclass|Henry J. Kaiser|replenishment oiler|1}} the ''Lewis and Clark''s have replaced the {{sclass|Sacramento|fast combat support ship|1}}s.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4400&tid=500&ct=4
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050527203906/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4400&tid=500&ct=4
 | archive-date= May 27, 2005
 | title= Fact File: Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ships - T-AKE

 |date= 24 January 2015 |website=[[United States Navy]]
 | access-date= 2016-02-27 }}</ref>
The first of the fourteen ships, {{USNS|Lewis and Clark|T-AKE-1}}, was placed in service with the [[Military Sealift Command]] (MSC) in June 2006. The ships were built to commercial rather than military standards. This was done to minimize costs and to demonstrate the ability to competitively build ships on the civilian market.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/us-navy-on-the-take-as-it-beefs-up-supply-ship-capacity-updated-01826/ |url-access=subscription
 | title= US Navy on the T-AKE As It Beefs Up Supply Ship Capacity
 |date= 10 July 2013 | work=Defense Industry Daily
 | access-date= 2016-02-27 }}</ref> Though the ships are built to commercial standards they are equipped with various features to increase survivability in a hostile environment, including degaussing, shock hardening in certain equipment, emergency power and communication systems, and increased damage control capability in areas such as firefighting and stability.<ref>{{cite web|title=T-AKE Lewis & Clark Class of Auxiliary Dry Cargo Ships|url=http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2012/pdf/navy/2012t-ake_adc.pdf|website=www.dote.osd.mil|access-date=16 October 2017|quote=Constructed to commercial standards (American Bureau of Shipping) with some additional features to increase its survivability in hostile environments such as the Advanced Degaussing System to reduce the ship's magnetic signature against mines, shock resistance in selected equipment, and increased damage control measures in firefighting and stability}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=T-AKE Lewis & Clark Class of Auxiliary Dry Cargo Ships|url=http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2006/pdf/navy/2006take.pdf|website=www.dote.osd.mil|publisher=US Navy|access-date=19 October 2017|quote=The Navy is incorporating some additional survivability features, such as emergency power and communications, which exceed the American Bureau of Shipping standards}}</ref> The ships are equipped with passive defenses to protect against mines and torpedoes and have ABC (atomic, biological, and chemical) countermeasures; the ships also have space and weight reservations for additional self-defense armament.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lewis and Clark Class|url=https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_pdf.cfm?DACH_RECNO=1243|website=www.forecastinternational.com|access-date=16 October 2017|quote=Being manned by civilians, the ships have no active means of self-defense. They are provided with passive defenses against mines and torpedoes, and atomic, biological, and chemical (ABC) weapon countermeasures. However, they are designed with appropriate space and weight reservations "to allow future installations of self-defense systems as required."}}</ref> The ships in the class are named after famous American explorers and pioneers.
NASSCO was awarded a detailed design and construction contract in October 2001. The fourteenth ship of the class was delivered on 24 October 2012. As the class entered serial production, NASSCO has increased learning and production efficiencies to make substantial reductions in labor hours, from hull to hull. For example, T-AKE-7 was produced with fewer than 50&nbsp;percent of the worker-hours it took to produce T-AKE-1, and had a 37&nbsp;percent reduction in total construction time.

==Mission==
As part of [[Military Sealift Command]]'s (MSC) [[Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force]] (NFAF), the ship's mission is to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to carrier battle groups and other naval forces, serving as a shuttle ship or station ship. T-AKE-1 and -2 were assigned to one of the two active Maritime Prepositioning Ship squadrons, which are permanently forward deployed to the Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. While identical in configuration to T-AKE-3 to -14, their mission is to provide selective offload of cargo for resupply and sustainment of U.S. Marine Corps forces ashore.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/lewisandclarke/
 | title=Lewis and Clark Class T-AKE Dry Cargo and Ammunition Ship
 |date=May 26, 2008 |website=Naval Technology
 | access-date= 2016-02-27 }}</ref>
In their primary mission role, the T-AKEs provide logistic lift to deliver cargo (ammunition, food, limited quantities of fuel, repair parts and ship store items) to U.S. and allied ships at sea. In their secondary mission, the T-AKEs may be required to operate in concert with a ''Henry J. Kaiser''-class (T-AO 187) fleet replenishment oiler as a substitute station ship to provide direct logistics support to the ships within a carrier strike group.

== History ==
On 8 February 2008, dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS ''Lewis and Clark'', the first ship in Military Sealift Command's newest class of ships, returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, after its first deployment.

The ship successfully completed a six-month tour to the U.S. Central Command area of operations to resupply U.S. Navy ships, providing logistics support in the Persian Gulf, around the Horn of Africa, along the length of Somalia and beyond the equator.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2008/March/lewisandclark.htm
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110607130042/http://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2008/March/lewisandclark.htm
 | archive-date= June 7, 2011
 | title= USNS Lewis & Clark completes first deployment
 | author= Bill Cook
 |date=March 2008 | work= Sealift | publisher= [[Military Sealift Command]]
 | access-date= 2009-08-17 }}</ref>

USNS ''Sacagawea'' (T-AKE-2) got underway for its first deployment 11 December 2008 in the [[United States Fifth Fleet|U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet]] area of operations.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2008/April/sacagawea.htm
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110607130437/http://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2008/April/sacagawea.htm
 | archive-date= June 7, 2011
 | title= T-AKE 2 working hard during first deployment
 | author= Gillian Brigham |date=April 2008 | work= Sealift | publisher= MCS
 | access-date= 2009-08-17 }}</ref>

USNS ''Richard E. Byrd'' (T-AKE-4) entered the [[United States Seventh Fleet|U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet]] area of operations 24 July 2008, marking the arrival of the first ''Lewis and Clark''-class combat logistics support ship in service to the {{convert|52000000|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} region.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2008/September/byrd.htm
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110607130458/http://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2008/September/byrd.htm
 | archive-date= June 7, 2011
 | title= T-AKE begins logistics operations in 7th Fleet
 | author= Rosemary Heiss |date=September 2008 | work= Sealift | publisher= MCS
 | access-date= 2009-08-17 }}</ref>

== Ships ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Ship !! Hull. No. !! Launched !! In service !!class="unsortable"| Status !!class="unsortable"| NVR Page !!class="unsortable"| MSC Page
|-
| [[USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE-1)|''Lewis and Clark'']]
| {{sort|001|T-AKE-1}} || 2005-05-21 || 2006-06-20 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-1}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20091013161122/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=116]
|-
| [[USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE-2)|''Sacagawea'']]
| {{sort|002|T-AKE-2}} || 2006-06-24 || 2007-02-27 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-2}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20091013161125/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=177]
|-
| [[USNS Alan Shepard|''Alan Shepard'']]
| {{sort|003|T-AKE-3}} || 2006-12-06 || 2007-06-26 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-3}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20091013161646/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=184]
|-
| [[USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE-4)|''Richard E. Byrd'']]
| {{sort|004|T-AKE-4}} || 2007-05-15 || 2008-01-08 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-4}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20091013161130/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=190]
|-
| [[USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE-5)|''Robert E. Peary'']]
| {{sort|005|T-AKE-5}} || 2007-10-27 || 2008-06-05 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-5}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20100605132126/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=199]
|-
| [[USNS Amelia Earhart|''Amelia Earhart'']]
| {{sort|006|T-AKE-6}} || 2008-04-06 || 2008-10-30 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-6}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20100525162835/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=198]
|-
| [[USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE-7)|''Carl Brashear'']]
| {{sort|007|T-AKE-7}} || 2008-09-18 || 2009-03-04 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-7}}]
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20091013161700/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=200]
|-
| [[USNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE-8)|''Wally Schirra'']]
| {{sort|008|T-AKE-8}} || 2009-03-08 || 2009-09-01 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-8}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20091013161135/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=201]
|-
| [[USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE-9)|''Matthew Perry'']]
| {{sort|009|T-AKE-9}} || 2009-08-16 || 2010-02-24|| In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-9}}]
| [https://archive.today/20121212230916/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=203]
|-
| [[USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10)|''Charles Drew'']]
| {{sort|010|T-AKE-10}} ||2010-02-27 || 2010-07-14 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-10}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20100929041842/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=206]
|-
| [[USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE-11)|''Washington Chambers'']]
| {{sort|011|T-AKE-11}} || 2010-09-11 || 2011-02-23|| In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-11}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20110308102642/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=210]
|-
| [[USNS William McLean (T-AKE-12)|''William McLean'']]
| {{sort|012|T-AKE-12}} || 2011-04-16|| 2011-09-29 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-12}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20120301105824/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=211]
|-
| [[USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13)|''Medgar Evers'']]
| {{sort|013|T-AKE-13}} || 2011-10-29 || 2012-04-24 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-13}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20130218143349/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=220]
|-
| [[USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14)|''Cesar Chavez'']]
| {{sort|014|T-AKE-14}} || 2012-05-05|| 2012-10-24 || In service
| [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AKE-14}}]
| [https://web.archive.org/web/20130218101338/http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=221]
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
This article includes information collected from the [[Naval Sea Systems Command]] (NAVSEA) Web site [https://www.navsea.navy.mil/ navsea.mil] and that of the contractor NASSCO.
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=9776 Press Release]

==External links==
{{commons|Lewis and Clark class dry cargo ships}}
*[http://www.msc.navy.mil Military Sealift Command] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210032557/http://www.msc.navy.mil/ |date=2007-02-10 }}
*[http://www.nassco.com/ NASSCO/General Dynamics Corporation]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20020815051524/http://www.msc.navy.mil/factsheet/t-ake.htm Military Sealift Command Fact Sheet, Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ships - T-AKE]
*[http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/us-navy-on-the-take-as-it-beefs-up-supply-ship-capacity-updated-01826/ US Navy on the T-AKE As It Beefs Up Supply Ship Capacity (updated)] at Defense Industry Daily
*[https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Team-Ships/ Team Ships]

{{Lewis and Clark class dry cargo ship}}{{Active ship classes of the United States Navy}}
[[Category:Auxiliary ship classes of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ships| Lewis and Clark class dry cargo ship]]
[[Category:Auxiliary ships of the United States| Lewis and Clark class dry cargo ship]]
[[Category:Auxiliary replenishment ship classes]]