Travis E Watkins News

1861 - During the Civil War, the frigate, USS St. Lawrence, spots a schooner flying English colors and gave chase. Some four hours later, as she is overhauling the schooner, the fleeing vessel runs up the Confederate flag and fires three shots. Firing with her forecastle battery, St. Lawrence hits the vessel twice, once in her bow. Survivors from the sunken vessel reveal it had been the Confederate privateer, Petrel. 1926 - USS S-1 surfaces and launches a Cox-Klemin (XS 2) seaplane flown by Lt. D.C. Allen.

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) delivered USNS Watkins (T-AKR 315) to the U.S. Navy. The Watkins was delivered ahead of schedule, under target cost, and with zero discrepancies. The Watkins is the sixth new construction ship completed by NASSCO under the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Sealift Program. A total of eight new construction ships and three ship conversions have been awarded to NASSCO under the 20-ship Strategic Sealift Program. All of the ships are being named for U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipients. This ship is named in honor of Army Master Sgt. Travis E. Watkins, (1920-1950), who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions in the Korean War. The sealift new construction ships are large, medium-speed, RoRo ships (LMSRs).