USS Emory S. Land – Navy submarine tender

USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) is a United States Navy submarine tender and the lead ship of her class. She was named for Admiral Emory S. Land.

The ship provides food, electricity, water, consumables, spare parts, medical, dental, disbursing, mail, legal services, ordnance, and parts or equipment repair submarines. To accomplish this, the ship has a physical plant similar to a small town, including 53 specialized shops.

US Navy Submarine Tender, USS Emory S. Land (AS-39)  YouTube video below.

While the submarine tenders remain relatively unchanged in design since their commissioning in the late 1970s, they have been constantly inspected and maintained and given modernization, maintenance, and habitability upgrades over the decades. The tenders carry ship and submarine repair parts, servicing equipment, repair departments, and the staff to conduct sixteen specialized services with 26 repair shops such as welding, carpentry, fabrication, sheet metal work, machining, and 24-hour administrative duties for those ships and submarines docked at anchor or alongside the tender.

The U.S. Navy provided an overview of the two sub-tenders.

• Ship statistics:
  – Length: 644 feet
  – Beam: 85 feet
  – Displacement: 23,000 tons
  – Draft: 28 feet
  – Speed: 20 knots
  – Propulsion: Oil-fired steam turbine
  – Crew: Emory S. Land: 292 officers and enlisted, 158 CIVMARs; Frank
  Cable: 206 officers and enlisted, 158 Civilian Mariners (CIVMARs)
  – Bunks: 847
  – Compartments: 913
  – Small Boats: 7
• The ship has five levels and eight decks.
• The bridge is located on the O-4 level
• One 30-ton crane is located on the boat deck, and two 5-ton cranes (one on each side).
• Ship can be divided into two sections, “Hull” and “Repair.” “Hull” side
  maintains the ship and crew while “Repair” takes care of tended submarines and
  surface ships.
• Repair department performs intermediate-level and limited depot-level repairs on
  5th/7th Fleet submarines in addition to surface ships. Repair department has 26
  repair shops that offer various repair services to the fleet.
• Medical, located on the O-1 level, has 14 patient beds in the medical ward and
  one operating room.”