USNS Wally Schirra to Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Wally Schirra in San Diego recently. The ship was built by General Dynamics NASSCO. Schirra, named in honor of astronaut Walter "Wally" Schirra, is the eighth ship in the Lewis and Clark-class of underway replenishment ships. These ships - called T-AKEs - deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy's underway carrier and expeditionary strike groups allowing them to stay at sea, on station and combat ready for extended periods of time.
Navy to Christen USNS Wally Schirra
The Navy will launch and christen dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Wally Schirra, March 8, 2009, during a 7 a.m. PDT ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, Calif. Continuing the Lewis and Clark-class (T-AKE) tradition of honoring legendary pioneers and explorers, the Navy's newest underway replenishment ship recognizes Walter "Wally" Schirra Jr., a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Navy test pilot who served in both World War II and the Korean War. On Oct. 3, 1962, Schirra became the fifth American in space and is honored as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts. He holds the distinction of being the only astronaut to fly in each of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs. Schirra officially retired from the Navy and NASA in 1969.
Two New Auxiliary Dry Cargo Ships Named
Secretary of the Navy Dr. Donald C. Winter announced the naming of the seventh and eighth Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ships (T-AKE) as Carl Brashear and Wally Schirra. The T-AKEs are owned and operated by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. The selection of Carl Brashear, designated T-AKE 7, honors Master Chief Boatswain's Mate (Master Diver) Carl M. Brashear, who joined the U.S. Navy in 1948. He was a pioneer in the Navy as the first black deep-sea diver, the first black master diver and the first U.S. Navy diver to be restored to full active duty as an amputee, the result of a leg injury he sustained during a salvage operation. After 31 years of service, Brashear officially retired from the U.S. Navy on April 1, 1979.
