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 Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, northeast of Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow). It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at , south of the North Pole. (The northe ...

(the northernmost point in Alaska). ''Point Barrow'' was laid down 18 September 1956 by Maryland Drydock and Shipbuilding Company of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

; launched 25 May 1957; sponsored by Mrs. Ruthven E. Libbey; and delivered to the

Military Sea Transportation Service 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 ...

(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 Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

rocket parts and stages from California to

Cape Kennedy , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...

for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

’s manned space flight program. T–AKD–1 also ferried LCMs to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

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 The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

28 September 1993. Custody was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at

Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

in Benicia, California. ''Point Loma'' was scrapped by Marine Metal Inc. of

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

, on 27 October 2006.

References

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External links

* Salvatore R. Mercogliano
"To Boldly Go Where No Fleet Had Gone Before (Military Sea Transportation Service in the Arctic)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Point Barrow Ships built in Baltimore 1957 ships Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States Cargo ships of the United States Navy