Name William McLean Awarded 12 December 2008 Sponsored by Margaret Taylor Construction started 26 March 2010 | Namesake William McLean Laid down 26 March 2010 Acquired 28 September 2011 Launched 16 April 2011 | |
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Builder National Steel and Shipbuilding Company | ||
USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship of the United States Navy, named in honor of William McLean, a United States Navy physicist, who conceived and developed the heat-seeking Sidewinder missile. The contract to build William McLean was awarded to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company on 12 December 2008. William McLean was launched on 16 April 2011, sponsored by Dr. McLean's niece, Margaret Taylor. The ship was delivered to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) on 28 September 2011.
December 22, 2016, the crew of 129 civilian mariners onboard USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) returned to Naval Weapons Station Yorktown from a 47-day surge deployment to 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.
McLean helped the Navy’s Multipurpose Amphibious Assault and Transport ships, USS Wasp and USS San Antonio, as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning.
