USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205)

History
United States
Name:	John Lewis
Namesake:	John Lewis
Awarded:	30 June 2016
Builder:	National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California
Cost:	$640,206,756
Laid down:	2018 est.
General characteristics
Type:	oiler

USNS John Lewis will be the lead ship of the John Lewis class of underway replenishment oilers operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy.

Design and construction

Secretary of the Navy Raymond E. Mabus, Jr. announced the assignment of the name John Lewis to T-AO-205 on 6 January 2016.^[1] According to the Naval Vessel Register, construction was authorised for the first six ships in the class on 30 June 2016.^[2] Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2018. It is named for United States Representative and civil rights leader John Lewis.^[3][4] The contract price for John Lewis is $640,206,756.^[5]

Other ships in class

In July 2016, US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus advised Congress that he intended to name the Military Sealift Command's John Lewis-class oilers after prominent civil rights activists and leaders:

• Georgia politician and activist John Lewis (USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205))
• LGBT activist Harvey Milk (USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206))^[6]
• former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren (USNS Earl Warren (T-AO-207)) whose court ruled to desegregate U.S. schools
• former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO-208))
• women’s right activist Lucy Stone (USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO-209))
• abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth (USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO-210))^[6]

See also

• Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler - predecessor class

References

1. DANFS 2016.
2. NAVSEA Shipbuilding Support Office (7 July 2016). "JOHN LEWIS (AO 205)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
3. "SECNAV Mabus Names First T-AO(X) Next Generation Oiler After Rep. John Lewis" USNI News, January 6, 2016
4. "Secretary of the Navy Announces First Ship of Next Generation Fleet Replenishment Oilers, USNS John Lewis" United States Department of Defense Press Release, January 6, 2016
5. GlobalSecurity 2016.
6. Sam LaGrone (28 July 2016). "Navy to Name Ship After Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk". US Naval Institute. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

Bibliography

Online resources

• GlobalSecurity (22 July 2016). "T-AO 205 John LewisT-AO(X) Fleet Replenishment Oilers". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
• DANFS (13 January 2016). "John Lewis (T-AO-205)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 3 August 2016.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.