USNS Red Cloud (T-AKR 313) is one of Military Sealift Command's nineteen Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR)[1] Ships and is one of the 49 ships in the prepositioning program.[2] She is a Watson-class vehicle cargo ship named for Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient, after whom Camp Red Cloud in Korea is also named.

History
United States
Awarded1 January 1996
BuilderNational Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Laid down29 June 1998
Launched7 August 1999
In service18 January 2000
Identification
Statusin service
General characteristics
Class and typeWatson-class vehicle cargo ship
Displacement62,644 Long Tons
Length950 Ft
Beam106 Ft
Draft34 Ft
Propulsion2 Gas Turbines
Speed24 Knots
Range12,000 Nautical Miles
Complement30

Laid down on 29 June 1998 and launched on 7 August 1999, Red Cloud was put into service on 18 January 2000.[3]

In 2003 Red Cloud was deployed to transport U.S. Army vehicles to Kuwait to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On 12 August 2015, an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed on the deck of the Red Cloud when demonstrating capabilities to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. The Red Cloud was operating approximately eight miles east of Ukibaru Island. Of the seventeen service members on board the helicopter, seven suffered non-life-threatening injuries.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "MSC Ship Inventory - Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off". www.msc.navy.mil. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  2. ^ "Strategic Sealift (PM3)". www.msc.navy.mil. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  3. ^ "USNS Red Cloud (T-AKR 313)". navysite.de. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  4. ^ "Army Black Hawk Was Conducting SOF Demonstration For Japanese When Crash Occurred". USNI News. 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
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USNS Red Cloud
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