USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1)

USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) underway, date and place unknown.
History
United States
Namesake	Point Barrow, Alaska
Builder	Maryland Drydock and Shipbuilding Company
Yard number	Maritime Administration contract hull number 43
Laid down	18 September 1956
Launched	25 May 1957
Decommissioned	28 November 1991
Renamed	USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) circa 1974
Reclassified	Deep Submergence Support Ship cira 1974
Refit	June 1965
Stricken	28 September 1993
Identification	IMO number: 8835580
Fate	Scrapping completed by Marine Metal Inc, Brownsville, TX. on 27 October 2006
General characteristics
Class and type	Cargo ship dock
Displacement	10,320 tons (full)
Length	456 ft 6 in
Beam	74 ft 2 in
Draft	19 ft 4 in
Propulsion	Two steam turbines Two propellers
Speed	15.3 kts
Complement	67

The USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) was a one-of-a-kind "Cargo Ship Dock." She was the lone ship in her class, named for Point Barrow (the northernmost point in Alaska above the Arctic Circle).

Point Barrow was laid down 18 September 1956 by Maryland Drydock and Shipbuilding Company of Baltimore, Maryland; launched 25 May 1957; sponsored by Mrs. Ruthven E. Libbey; and delivered to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) 28 May 1958, where she was placed in service the following day. Especially designed for Arctic operations, Point Barrow was constructed along the general lines of a landing ship dock, but with strengthened hull and bow, and special insulation. After providing logistic support for U.S. forces in the Arctic, in 1962, Point Barrow transported huge fixed array radar antennas for the USS Enterprise and USS Long Beach to the East Coast.

After extensive modification in June, 1965 Point Barrow carried Saturn rocket parts and stages from California to Cape Kennedy for NASA’s manned space flight program. T–AKD–1 also ferried LCMs to Southeast Asia in 1968 and 1969. Reclassified a "Deep Submergence Support Ship" and renamed USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) circa 1974, she was ultimately placed out of service and struck from the Naval Vessel Register 28 September 1993. Custody was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay in Benecia, California. Point Loma was scrapped by Marine Metal Inc. of Brownsville, Texas on 27 October 2006.

References[]

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• "T-AKD-1 Point Barrow /AGDS-2 Point Loma". Service Ship Photo Archive. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
• "VIBRATION MEASUREMENTS ON PORT PROPULSION SYSTEM OF USNS POINT BARROW (T-AKD 1)". Retrieved November 18, 2008.

External links[]

• "To Boldly Go Where No Fleet Had Gone Before (Military Sea Transportation Service in the Arctic)" by Salvatore R. Mercogliano