USS ''Frank Cable'' (AS-40) is the second built by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington for the United States Navy. The ship was christened on 14 January 1978 by Mrs. Rose A. Michaelis, wife of Admiral Frederick H. Michaelis, then Chief of Naval Material. The ship is named for

Frank Cable Frank Taylor Cable (19 June 1863 – 21 May 1945) was an early pioneer in submarine development and piloted the first United States Navy submarine, during its pre-commissioning trials. Early life and education Cable was born in New Milford, Co ...

, an electrical engineer who had worked as an electrician and trial captain for .

History

USS ''Frank Cable'' was designed as a

submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...

for s. The ship spent 1980 until 1996 as the repair ship for SUBRON 4 and 18 in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, tending and s. ''Frank Cable'' began decommissioning in 1996, but then was reactivated and refitted to replace in the Western Pacific as Commander Seventh Fleet's mobile repair and support platform. Since arriving in Guam, USS ''Frank Cable'' has visited many Western Pacific ports to support U.S. military forces. In 1997, the ship was heavily involved with the rescue and recovery efforts following the

Korean Air Flight 801 Korean Air Flight 801 (KE801, KAL801) was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Korean Air. The flight crashed on August 6, 1997, on approach to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, in the United States territory of Guam, k ...

crash on

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, and also in the recovery and clean-up efforts following

Typhoon Paka Typhoon Paka, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rubing, was the last tropical cyclone of the 1997 Pacific 1997 Pacific hurricane season, hurricane and 1997 Pacific typhoon season, typhoon season, and was among the strongest Pacific typhoons in ...

. From 1980 to 2003, USS ''Frank Cable'' garnered many awards as a unit of both the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, including seven Meritorious Unit Commendations, nine Battle Efficiency "E" awards and three Golden Anchor Awards. ''Frank Cables most recent recognition was a Humanitarian Service Medal for support provided in recovery efforts on Guam following Super Typhoon Pongsona in 2002. USS ''Frank Cable'' is most recently known for a sailor, MMA2 Slicer who saved a baby in 2017. USS ''Frank Cable'' held a wreath-laying ceremony after departing

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

on 25 July 2022 to honor the 53 Indonesian Sailors who lost their lives aboard the KRI Nanggala which sunk on 21 April 2021 off the coast of Bali.

Accidents

On 1 December 2006, a steam line ruptured aboard USS ''Frank Cable''. Two sailors were killed and six others injured.

Awards

* Navy

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

- (Jan 1985 – Sep 1986, Aug 1989 – Feb 1991, Jan 1993 – Mar 1985, Apr 1995 – Apr 1997, Jan 1997 – Jan 1998, Jul 1999 – Jul 2001, Aug 2001 – Jul 2003, Jul 2002 – Jan 2003, Aug 2003 – Jul 2005, Nov 2011 – Oct 2012) * Battle "E" - (1986, 1989, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021) *

Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (includi ...

- (8-31 Dec 2002)

Typhoon Pongsona Typhoon Pongsona was the last typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season, and was the second costliest United States disaster in 2002, only behind Hurricane Lili. The name "Pongsona" was contributed by North Korea for the Pacific tropical cyclo ...

* SECNAV Safety Excellence Award - (2016, 2017) * SECNAV Environmental Stewardship Award - (2017)

References

External links

*
navsource.org: USS ''Frank Cable''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank Cable (AS-40) 1978 ships Auxiliary ships of the United States Emory S. Land-class submarine tenders Ships built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company Submarine tenders of the United States Navy Submarine tenders