NASSCO to Launch Newest Navy Supply Ship September 11

Wednesday, 08 September 2010
Contact: Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216

The public is invited to attend the christening and launch of the USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11) at the General Dynamics/NASSCO shipyard along San Diego Bay.

The event is free and open to the public and will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 11, 2010. Gates will open at 9 a.m.

The ship is named after Capt. Washington Chambers, the U.S. Navy officer who oversaw the development of the Navy's aviation program.

The T-AKE dry-cargo ammunition ships are designed to meet carriers and other Navy ships at sea. They provide the ships with everything they need, from food to missiles and gasoline, as the ships are on the move.

"The Navy's class of replenishment ships have been named to honor legendary pioneers and explorers," said James Gill, Director of Communications at General Dynamics/NASSCO. "Capt. Chambers played a leading role in the development of naval aviation. Most notably, he was a proponent of launching aircraft from ships.

"He did this only a few short years after the Wright Brothers conducted their first flight," Gill continued. "Chambers proposed a platform and later a catapult for launching aircraft."

The production workforce on the ship has been about 3,500 men and women. Construction began in March 2009.

The General Dynamics/NASSCO shipyard is located at the intersection of 28th Street and East Harbor Drive (map) in San Diego. The principal speaker at the event will be Rear Admiral Richard O'Hanlon. Also at the event will be Rear Admiral Robert Wray, Deputy Commander, Military Sealift Command and Rear Admiral David Lewis, PEO Ships.

General Dynamics/NASSCO is partner and tenant of the Port of San Diego.

It is the last shipbuilder on the West Coast that launches large ocean-going ships.

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