USS Frank Cable

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USS Frank Cable (AS-40)
A ship on the water
USS Frank Cable at Hong Kong in October 2006.
History
United States of America
NameUSS Frank Cable
NamesakeFrank Cable
Awarded20 November 1974
BuilderLockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington
Laid down2 March 1976
Launched14 January 1978
Commissioned29 October 1979
HomeportApra Harbor, Guam
MottoThe Warship that fixes Warships
Honours and
awards
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeEmory S. Land-class submarine tender
Tonnage9,068 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Displacement
  • 13,758 long tons (13,979 t) light
  • 22,826 long tons (23,192 t) full load
Length649 ft (198 m)
Beam85 ft (26 m)
Draft26–29 ft (7.9–8.8 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × boilers
  • Steam turbine
  • 1 shaft
  • 20,000 shp (14,914 kW)
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Complement81 officers, 1,270 enlisted
Armament

USS Frank Cable (AS-40) is the second Emory S. Land-class submarine tender built by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington for the United States Navy.

The ship was christened on 14 January 1978 by Mrs. Rose A. Michaelis, wife of Admiral F. H. Michaelis, then Chief of Naval Material. The ship is named for Frank Cable, an electrical engineer who had worked as an electrician and trial captain for USS Holland (SS-1).

History

USS Frank Cable (AS-40) at her home port of Apra Harbor, Guam in May 2002.

USS Frank Cable was designed as a submarine tender for Los Angeles-class submarines. The ship spent 1980 until 1996 as the repair ship for SUBRON 4 and 18 in Charleston, South Carolina, tending Sturgeon and Benjamin Franklin-class submarines. Frank Cable began decommissioning in 1996, but then was reactivated and refitted to replace USS Holland (AS-32) in the Western Pacific as Commander Seventh Fleet's mobile repair and support platform.

Since arriving in Guam, USS Frank Cable has visited many Western Pacific ports to support U.S. military forces. In 1997, the ship was heavily involved with the rescue and recovery efforts following the Korean Air Flight 801 crash on Guam, and also in the recovery and clean-up efforts following Typhoon Paka. From 1980 to 2003, USS Frank Cable garnered many awards as a unit of both the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, including seven Meritorious Unit Commendations, nine Battle Efficiency "E" awards and three Golden Anchor Awards. Frank Cable’s most recent recognition was a Humanitarian Service Medal for support provided in recovery efforts on Guam following Super Typhoon Pongsona in 2002.

Accidents

On 1 December (Guam time), 2006, a steam line ruptured aboard USS Frank Cable. Two sailors were killed and seven others injured.[1]

In popular culture

  • In the 2006 zombie novel World War Z, by Max Brooks, USS Frank Cable is used as a rescue ship in the evacuation of New York City. Infected refugees die and reanimate as zombies, attacking and infecting the other refugees. The ship sinks at the entrance to New York Harbor carrying several hundred zombies, who are still a threat several years later and must be removed before the wreck is raised.[2]

References

  1. ^ Sailor Killed in Accident
  2. ^ Brooks, Max (2006). World War Z. pp. 306–307.

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

External links