USS Robert E. Simanek

USS Robert E. Simanek

Robert E. Simanek during her delivery to the US Navy, 2024
History
United States
Name	Robert E. Simanek
Namesake	Robert E. Simanek
Ordered	23 August 2019[1]
Builder	NASSCO, San Diego
Laid down	27 May 2022 (keel laid down) 21 October 2022 (keel authentication ceremony)
Sponsored by	Ann Simanek
Christened	4 May 2024
Identification	Hull number: ESB-7
Status	Under construction
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base
Displacement	Approx. 90,000 long tons (100,000 short tons) fully loaded
Length	785 ft (239 m)
Beam	164 ft (50 m)
Draft	34.4 ft (10.5 m) at full load; 39.4 ft (12.0 m) at load line
Propulsion	Commercial diesel-electric
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range	9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi)
Complement	34 ship personnel; 250 military (mission dependent)
Aviation facilities	Four-spot flight deck and hangar

USS Robert E. Simanek (ESB-7) will be a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base for the United States Navy, and she is the first United States Navy vessel named after Marine Corps Private First Class Robert Ernest Simanek, who was awarded for the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Battle of Bunker Hill, August 1952, during the Korean War. Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite officially announced the name on 15 January 2021, when he visited USS Constitution, the oldest U.S. Navy commissioned ship afloat.[2]

NASSCO laid the keel for the ship, without ceremony, in San Diego on 27 May 2022.[3] An official keel authentication ceremony was held on 21 October of the same year.[4] The Simanek was christened on 4 May 2024 by Ann Simanek Clark, the ship sponsor and daughter of the ship's namesake.[5]

References

1. "Naval Vessel Register".
2. "SECNAV Names Future Vessels while aboard Historic Navy Ship" (Press release). United States Navy. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
3. @GDNASSCO (27 May 2022). "The first block for the future Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7) has been laid! The future Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7) is the fifth ship of the U.S. Navy's reclassified Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
4. "Keel Authenticated for Future USS Robert E. Simanek" (Press release). United States Navy. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
5. "General Dynamics NASSCO Christens the Fifth Ship in the ESB Program for the U.S. Navy" (Press release). General Dynamics NASSCO. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.