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USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR 300)

- Military Sealift Command -

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USNS BOB HOPE is the first ship in the Navy's first class of large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships (LMSR) specially planned and built as such. The BOB HOPE is the first ship in the Navy to honor Bob Hope. The legendary entertainer was even able to witness the ship being christened in his honor.

General Characteristics:Awarded: September 2, 1993
Keel laid: May 29, 1995
Launched: March 27, 1997
Delivered: November 18, 1998
Builder: Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA
Propulsion system: 4 Colt Pielstick 10 PC4.2 V diesels
Propellers: two
Length: 951.4 feet (290 meters)
Beam: 106 feet (32.3 meters)
Draft: 34.8 feet (10.6 meters)
Displacement: approx. 62,070 tons full load
Speed: 24 knots
Aircraft: helicopter landing area only
Armament: none
Capacity: 380,000 sq. ft.
Crew: 26 civilian crew (up to 45); up to 50 active duty
Homeport: San Diego, Calif.


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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USNS BOB HOPE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.


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About the Ship's Name:

When Secretary of the Navy John Dalton made the announcement that the new class of ships would be named for Bob Hope, he called Mr. Hope a "Military Hero" and said, "We can never repay him for his contributions to the men and women in uniform, but we can show our appreciation with a class of ships named in his honor. This is our way of saying, Thanks for the Memories."

For nearly six decades, during war or at peace, Bob, with a band of super-stars, has traveled the globe to entertain the servicemen and women. The media dubbed him "America's No. 1 Soldier in Greasepaint." To the G.I.s, he was "G.I. Bob" and their clown hero.

His unwavering commitment to American servicemen and women began in May, 1941 when Bob Hope with a group of Hollywood performers, went to March Field, California, to do a radio show for airmen stationed there. Bob's first trip into a combat area was during World War II in 1943, when he and his small USO troupe -- Frances Langford, Tony Romano and Jack Pepper -- visited U.S. military facilities in England, Africa, Sicily, and Iceland. With the world at peace, following World War II, Bob did not forget G.I. audiences. He continued to make frequent visits to military bases and hospitals. Bob began what was to become a Christmas custom in 1948. He went to Germany at the request of then Secretary of the Air Force, Stuart Symington, to entertain the troops involved in the Berlin Airlift. With the end of the Vietnam conflict in sight, Hope hailed his 1972 trip as his "last Christmas show." But each Christmas that followed, he was somewhere in the country doing a show at a military base or veterans hospital. In 1983 the call came from Beirut and Hope was "on the road again."

In 1987, Hope flew around the world to entertain servicemen and women in the Pacific. Atlantic and Indian Oceans and in the Persian Gulf. He embarked on a goodwill tour in May, 1990, to entertain military personnel stationed in England, Russia, and Germany. At Christmas that year, he was in Saudi Arabia entertaining the men and women of "Operation Desert Storm."

Bob has been honored and befriended by Presidents of the United States since Roosevelt. Hope's golfing buddies have been Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton. He has been hailed as "America's most prized ambassador of goodwill throughout the world."

His distinguished honors include:

Bob Hope and his wife Dolores had four children: Linda, Anthony, Nora, and Kelly; and four grandchildren.


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The photos below were taken by Stefan Karpinski and show the BOB HOPE being escorted through the Red Sea area of operations by the German frigate MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN (F 218) during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2003.



The photo below was taken by me and shows the BOB HOPE at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif., on March 10, 2008.



The photos below were taken by me and show the BOB HOPE at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 29, 2011.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BOB HOPE at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 2, 2015.



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