USNS Pililaau (T-AKR-304)

Pililaau in 2008
History
United States
Name	Pililaau
Namesake	Herbert K. Pililaau
Awarded	November 26, 1996
Builder	Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, Louisiana
Laid down	June 29, 1998
Launched	January 29, 2000
Homeport	Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans
Identification	IMO number: 9178355 MMSI number: 338806000 Callsign: NBWY
Honors and awards	1 National Defense Service Medal
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Bob Hope-class vehicle cargo ship
Displacement	62,070 tons full
Length	951 ft 5 in (290.0 m)
Beam	106 ft (32.3 m)
Draft	34 ft 10 in (10.6 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × Colt Pielstick 10 PC4.2 V diesels; 65,160 hp(m) (47.89 MW)(Beloit, WI) Falk Gear Power Transmission (Milwaukee, WI)
Speed	24 knots (44 km/h)
Range	Not Disclosed
Capacity	380,000 sq ft (35,000 m2) w/49,990 sq. ft. deck cargo
Complement	26 to 45 civilian crew; up to 50 active duty
Armament	Unarmed

USNS Pililaau (T-AKR 304) is the fifth Bob Hope-class vehicle cargo ship built by the Avondale Shipyards of New Orleans, Louisiana for the United States Navy. Pililaau is named after Private first class Herbert K. Pililaau, a Medal of Honor recipient.

Service history

Pililaau is one of 19 and is part of the 16 ships in Military Sealift Command's Sealift Program Office. It is currently owned by the government, but run under a contract by a private company. The ship is kept in operational ready status (ROS-4) at all times. The ship is designed to be a multifunctional part of any fleet. It is capable of general cargo transportation, and also as a means to load and unload ships without the benefit of deep draft-capable, fixed port facilities. The ship was used throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to transfer equipment to friendly ports in Europe to be brought into the combat theater.

The ship carries no fixed guns but may support a detachment of security forces for defense.

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  Pililaau deployed at Camp Pendleton
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  USNS Pililaau (T-AKR 304) passes Diamond Head Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii, July 12, 2008

References

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USNS Pililaau (T-AKR-304).

• USNS Frank PILILAAU Navy site
• USNS PILILAAU 
• NavSource Online USNS Pililaau (T-AKR-304)

This page was last edited on 9 November 2021, at 14:48