Baylander (IX-514)
_Pensacola-based_Navy_Helicopter_Landing_Trainer_(HLT)_IX-514_transports_a_TH-57_helicopter_from_NAS_Whiting_Field.jpg){kind=spacer} Baylander while it was stationed at NAS Whiting Field, Florida
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | YFU-79 |
| Owner | United States Navy |
| Awarded | 1 June 1967 |
| Builder | Pacific Coast Engineering Co, Alameda, California |
| Yard number | 238 |
| Laid down | 28 December 1967 |
| Launched | 29 May 1968 |
| Acquired | 5 July 1968 |
| United States | |
| Name | Skilak |
| Namesake | Skilak Lake |
| Owner | United States Army |
| Acquired | May-June 1970 |
| Out of service | mid-1980s |
| United States | |
| Name | Baylander (IX-514) |
| Owner | United States Navy |
| Acquired | mid-1980s |
| In service | 31 March 1986 |
| Stricken | 15 December 2011 |
| Status | Museum ship at Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 160 DWT |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 125 ft (38 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 8 ft (2.4 m) |
| Installed power | 2 × 450 hp (340 kW) Detroit Diesel 12V-71 |
| Propulsion | 2 × propellers |
| Speed | 9 knots (10 mph; 17 km/h) |
| Complement | 2 officer, 10 enlisted |
| Aviation facilities | Helo deck (no hangar) |
Baylander (IX-514), ex-Skilak and ex-YFU-79, was a United States Navy Helicopter Landing Trainer (HLT), billed as the world's smallest aircraft carrier. It served as a practice landing site for helicopter pilots in the United States Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard.
History
The ship entered operations with the United States Navy in 1968 as harbor utility craft YFU-79 and served in the Vietnam War; from mid-1970 it served with the United States Army as Skilak.[1] At the end of the war Skilak was withdrawn to Guam.[1] In the mid-1980s it was returned to the Navy and converted to a Helicopter Landing Trainer by Bender Shipbuilding in Mobile, Alabama, entering service on 31 March 1986 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.[1][2] By August 2006, she had achieved 100,000 accident-free helicopter landings,[3] and by the time of her retirement had surpassed 120,000 landings.[4] After being taken out of service and struck from the Naval Register in 2011,[5] Baylander was sold into private hands instead of being scrapped. In 2014, it was moved to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Marina in New York City and opened as a museum ship.[6] By mid-2016, the vessel had been relocated to the West Harlem Piers on the Hudson River.[7]
Specifications
Baylander was built as Yard No. 238 by Pacific Coast Engineering Company (PACECO) of Alameda, California.[8] It is 125 feet (38 m) long, has a beam of 36 feet (11 m), and displaces 380 long tons (386 t) at full load.[5] Its helicopter deck was the same size as that of a Template:Sclass-.[2]
References
- ^ a b "Unique Ships of the U.S. Navy". United States Naval Institute. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ "Historic U.S. Navy Vessel Open to Public for First Time at Future Site of BBP Marina" (Press release). Brooklyn Bridge Park. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ a b "IX-514". Naval Vessel Register. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ Backwell, George (17 July 2014). "Historic Navy Ship Baylander Shortly Open to New Yorkers". MarineLink. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ Clark, Dartunorro (21 September 2016). "Vietnam-Era Navy Ship Finds New Berth at West Harlem Piers". DNAinfo.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Colton, Tim (7 March 2016). "Pacific Coast Engineering (PACECO), Oakland and Alameda CA". Shipbuilding History. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
External links
Media related to HLT Baylander (IX-514) at Wikimedia Commons
- Baylander.us
- Photo gallery of Baylander (IX-514) at NavSource Naval History