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TAKR 314 Charlton

USNS Charlton is one of Military Sealift Command's nineteen Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ships and is part of the 42 ships in the Prepositioning Program. Most of the ship's time will be spent in and around Diego Garcia, an island in the central Indian Ocean. Large, Medium-speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ships, or LMSRs, can carry an entire U.S. Army Task Force, including 58 tanks, 48 other track vehicles, plus more than 900 trucks and other wheeled vehicles.

The ship carries vehicles and equipment to support humanitarian missions, as well as combat missions. The new construction vessels have a cargo carrying capacity of more than 380,000 square feet, equivalent to almost eight football fields. In addition, LMSRs have a slewing stern ramp and a removable ramp, which services two side ports making it easy to drive vehicles on and off the ship. Interior ramps between decks ease traffic flow once cargo is loaded aboard ship. Two 110-ton single pedestal twin cranes make it possible to load and unload cargo where shore-side infrastructure is limited or nonexistent. A commercial helicopter deck was added for emergency daytime landing.

The USNS CHARLTON (T-AKR 314) is the fifth of seven strategic sealift ships awarded to NASSCO. All seven ships are being named for U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipients.

USNS Charlton, christened in 1999.

In May 2000 NASSCO delivered the USNS Charlton to the Navy. The CHARLTON was completed under target cost and delivered to the Navy five months ahead of schedule. The ship was demonstrated at sea under NASSCO's Single Integrated Trial concept, a process that helps reduce costs and cycle time and accelerate delivery

Sgt Cornelius H. Charlton

Army Sgt. Cornelius H. Charlton, (1929-1951), awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for bravery during an attack on a heavily defended position in Korea, June 2, 1951. When his platoon leader was wounded, Charlton assumed command and rallied the men for an assault against enemy positions on a commanding hill. He personally eliminated two hostile positions, killing six of the enemy with rifle and grenades. When the unit became pinned down, he led his men forward before he suffered a severe chest wound from an enemy grenade. Charlton refused medical attention and led another daring charge despite being mortally wounded. No previous ship has been named Charlton.