Mercy-class hospital ship

Mercy-class hospital ship
USNS Mercy in 2012
Class overview
NameMercy class
BuildersNational Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byHaven class
Built1974–1976 as San Clemente-class oil tankers
In commission1986–present
Completed2
Active2
General characteristics
TypeHospital ship
Displacement69,360 long tons (70,473 t)
Length894 ft (272 m)
Beam105 ft 7 in (32.18 m)
PropulsionTwo boilers, two GE turbines, one shaft, 24,500 hp (18 MW)
Speed17.5 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 activate76 hours
Armament
  • Multiple crew served machine gun mounts[1]
  • Small arms
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter 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]

  1. ^ "MSC 2005 in Review Home › Publications › Annual Report › 2005 › Appendix". www.msc.navy.mil. Retrieved 12 January 2018. MSC ships need force protection, which is provided by embarked security teams. The ESTs defend against terrorists and pirates by using automatic weapons, such as this M-240 light machine gun mounted on the rail of MSC hospital ship USNS Mercy while she was underway in support of Operation Unified Assistance.
  2. ^ a b "Mercy class hospital ships". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 18 September 2010.