Mercy-class hospital ship

Mercy-class hospital ship

USNS Mercy in 2012
Class overview
Name	Mercy class
Builders	National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Haven class
Built	1974–1976 as San Clemente-class oil tankers
In commission	1986–present
Completed	2
Active	2
General characteristics
Type	Hospital ship
Displacement	69,360 long tons (70,473 t)
Length	894 ft (272 m)
Beam	105 ft 7 in (32.18 m)
Propulsion	Two boilers, two GE turbines, one shaft, 24,500 hp (18 MW)
Speed	17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph)
Complement	12 civilian and 58 military during Reduced Operating Status 61 civilian and 1,214 military during Full Operating Status
Time to activate	76 hours
Armament	Multiple crew served machine gun mounts[1] Small arms
Aviation facilities	Helicopter landing deck

The Mercy class of hospital ships are converted San Clemente-class supertankers used by the United States Navy. Originally built in the 1970s by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, they were acquired by the Navy and converted into hospital ships, coming into service in 1986 and 1987.^[2]

Mercy class replaced the Haven-class hospital ships.

The ships are operated by Military Sealift Command and are designed to provide emergency, on-site care for American combatant forces, and also for use in support of disaster relief and humanitarian operations. Each ship contains twelve fully equipped operating rooms, a 1,000-bed hospital facility, radiological services, a medical laboratory, pharmacy, optometry lab, CT scan equipment, and two oxygen-producing plants.^[2]