Hello again, everyone!
Today, we'll be taking a look at T-AKR-287, the USNS Algol.
One of, if not
the primary objective of the US Navy in the event of WWIII, would be to escort transports carrying munitions and men to the war in Europe.
1983 was, with respect to transports, a very bad year for the US to be pulled into WWIII, as the transport fleet consisting largely of outdated ships of mostly WWII vintage, would, over the next few years, be replaced by very impressive new additions.
The USNS Algol was the first of these.
She was launched as a commercial ship in 1972 and delivered to Sea-Land Services, Inc. the next year. The idea was to use fast transports to make more trips in the same amount of time, allowing the company to do more jobs. However, this proved to not quite make up for the higher costs of running a faster and more modern ship, and ultimately, though the project succeeded at a technological level, it failed at a commercial level, and she was sold to the USN in October of 1981.
Then, from Oct. 13th 1982 to June 22nd, 1984, she underwent a series of modifications re-arranging the cargo decks into something more like a parking garage and adding cranes.
Given the outset of war, I imagine this might be done in a shorter time, but regardless, the Algol would not be ready immediately, but would likely take at least a few months before being deployed.
With up to 55,355 tons displacement laden and 29,692 tons at a light load, the ship can carry an amount of weight equal to the displacement of an Invincible-class aircraft carrier, and fully laden, has over 10,000 tons displacement over the displacement of a Kiev-class carrier.
She can carry over 700 vehicles and make way at 33 knots.
And at 946 feet (288 meters), she truly is a behemoth.
That's all for now. Thanks for joining us.
Until next time, clear sailing.