USS McKee (AS 41).
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Class: EMORY S LAND (AS 39)
Design: SAIC Project Nos. 737.72, 737.73, and 746.77
Displacement (tons): 13,911 light, 22,978 full (AS 39)
Dimensions (feet): 644' oa, 620' wl x 85' e/wl x 29' max nav
Armament: 4-20mmS
Accommodations: 83 officers, 1,270 enlisted (AS 39)
Speed (kts.): 20 (18 sustained)
Propulsion (HP): 20,000
Machinery: Steam turbines, 2 boilers (650psi), 1 screw
Construction:
| AS | Name | Ord | Builder | Keel | Launch | Comm |
| 39 | EMORY S LAND | 20 Nov 1974 | Lockheed SB | 2 Mar 1976 | 4 May 1977 | 7 Jul 1979 |
| 40 | FRANK CABLE | 20 Nov 1974 | Lockheed SB | 2 Mar 1976 | 14 Jan 1978 | 29 Oct 1979 |
| 41 | MCKEE | 29 Apr 1977 | Lockheed SB | 14 Jan 1978 | 16 Feb 1980 | 15 Aug 1981 |
Disposition:
| AS | Name | T | Decomm | Strike | Disposal | Fate | MA Sale |
| 39 | EMORY S LAND | In Comm. 2021 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 40 | FRANK CABLE | In Comm. 2021 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 41 | MCKEE | 1 Oct 1999 | 25 Apr 2006 | -- | -- | -- |
Class Notes:
Three more tenders for SSNs were built during the 1970s. Although basically of the AS 36 type they were fitted to support Los Angeles (SSN 688) class submarines and were given different project numbers. Approved characteristics for Submarine Tender (AS), SAIC Project No. 737.72, were promulgated on 3 December 1971 with four changes to 1976 followed by a modified version, still for SCB 737.72, on 17 December 1979. AS 40 was sometimes called SAIC Project 737.73. Approved characteristics for an unspecified Submarine Tender (AS), probably SAIP Project No. 746.77 (AS 41, length oa 649', max nav draft 28', rest as above), were promulgated on 11 August 1976. The official rendering of the name of AS 41, commemorating Rear Admiral Andrew Irwin McKee, is MCKEE, not McKEE. The Lockheed yard at Seattle, Washington, that built all three was formerly the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Co., and the contract for AS 39-40 was its largest to date.
AS 39 and AS 40 were the only tenders (AD or AS) to remain in commission after the Navy during the 1990s abandoned the use of forward deployable tenders to support operating forces. AS 39 was stationed at La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy, from May 1999 to September 2007. AS 40 began decommissioning in 1996, but was then reactivated and refitted to replace AS 32 as Commander Seventh Fleet's mobile repair and support platform at Guam. MSC assumed operation of AS 39 on 1 February 2008 and of AS 40 on 1 February 2010 and both were converted to mixed MSC and USN manning (AS 39 during an overhaul at NSY Puget Sound from 2007 to 2010) but remained in full commission. AS 39 moved to Diego Garcia in 2010 and joined AS 40 at Guam in 2015. AS 41 was decommissioned in 1999 and struck in 2006 but was retained in reserve, probably as a source of spare parts for the other two.
Ship Notes:
| AS | Name | MA | Notes |
| 39 | EMORY S LAND | FY 1972. In commission in service 23 Mar 1979 before full commissioning. | |
| 40 | FRANK CABLE | FY 1973. In commission in service 20 Oct 1979 before full commissioning. | |
| 41 | MCKEE | FY 1977. SAIP Project 746.77. Retained in layup at NISMF Portsmouth, VA, 2017. |
Page Notes:
Compiled: 26 Aug 2021
© Stephen S. Roberts, 2021