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USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR-300)

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Career
Laid down:2 May 1995
Launched:27 March 1997
Delivered:18 November 1998
Fate:in service
General Characteristics
Displacement:62,069 tons full
Length:951.4 feet (290 meters)
Beam:106 feet (32.3 meters)
Draft:34 feet maximum
Power plant:four Colt Pielstick 10 PC4.2 V diesels; 65,160 hp(m) (47.89 MW)
Capacity:380,000 square feet
Complement:26 to 45 civilian crew; up to 50 active duty
USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR-300), the only naval ship of the United States named for the entertainer and one of the few ships named for a living person, is the lead ship of her class of Army prepositioning ships. Her keel was laid down on 2 May 1995 by Avondale Industries. She was launched on 27 March 1997 and delivered on 18 November 1998.

A non-combatant roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel crewed by civilian mariners under the Navy's Military Sealift Command, Bob Hope and other ships of the class are used to preposition tanks, trucks and other wheeled vehicles and supplies needed to support an Army heavy brigade.

Bob Hope has already seen service delivering supplies and equipment to the Balkans and Iraq.