USNS ''Able'' (T-AGOS-20) is a ''Victorious''-class oceanographic survey ship in the service of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

Construction

''Able'' was laid down on 23 March 1989, at McDermott Shipyard, in

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary and lower St. Martin parishes in the U.S. State of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census. Known for being “right in the middle of everywhere”, Morgan City is located 68 miles (109&nb ...

. Launched on 16 February 1991; sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy E. Thompson, wife of Rear Adm. William Thompson (Ret.); and placed in service with the

(MSC) on 22 July 1992. ''Able'' is an MSC-manned ocean surveillance ship that uses surveillance towed-array sensor system equipment to gather underwater acoustical data. The command operates the ship as part of its Special Mission Ships Program, using her to support the antisubmarine warfare mission of the commanders of the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. In addition, ''Able'' carries electronic equipment to process and transmit that data via satellites to shore stations for evaluation. She is built on a small-waterplane, twin-hull design for greater stability at slow speeds in high latitudes under adverse weather conditions. She deploys primarily to the Western Pacific. In August 2004, ''Able'' was taken out of service and laid up in the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

at the Naval Sea Systems Command’s Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The service reactivated the ship in 2007, and transferred her to a commercial shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina, where she was converted for AN/UQQ-2

Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System The AN/UQQ-2 Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS), colloquially referred to as the ship's "Tail", is a towed array sonar system of the United States Navy. SURTASS Twin-Line consists of either the long passive SURTASS array or the Twi ...

(SURTASS) low frequency active-array capabilities. ''Able'' completed her conversion and reactivation the following year after steaming to the West Coast, and then deployed again to the Western Pacific.

References

Bibliography

Online resources * *

External links

* Naval Vessel Register: USNS ''Able'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Able (T-AGOS-20) Victorious-class ocean surveillance ships Ships built in Morgan City, Louisiana Small waterplane area twin hull vessels 1991 ships Military catamarans