USS Samuel B. Roberts Aboard Mighty Servant II
Cmdr. Paul Rinn argued that his damaged USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) should be repaired in a Dubai shipyard so it could return home under its own power, but Navy leaders rejected the idea as impractical. Instead, they decided to bring the wounded frigate home atop one of the world's most unusual vessels: the semi-submersible heavy-lift ship Mighty Servant 2.
Built in 1983, the 25,000-ton MS2 was created to haul huge and unwieldy loads around the world's oceans. Its deck was larger than a soccer pitch, and its hull was honeycombed with ballast tanks. When the tanks took on water, the deck sank beneath the surface, allowing loads to be floated into position. When the tanks were pumped dry, the MS2 rose to shoulder its cargo.
On 27 June 1988, the Roberts was towed from Dubai and loaded aboard the MS2. For security's sake, the rendezvous took place some 60 miles away from the harbor.
Loading Off the UAE Coast
The blocking cradle that will hold Roberts disappears as MS2 takes on water and sinks. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Michael Harnar)
A tug pulls Roberts into position over MS2's cargo deck. Because of tolerances measures in inches, the loading will take some 12 hours. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Michael Harnar)
Steel cables are attached to hold Roberts in place above MS2. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Michael Harnar)
Over the course of several hours, MS2 rises under Roberts until the frigate's hull comes to rest on the blocking cradle. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Michael Harnar)
A warship out of water is a rare sightseeing treat; Roberts rests on MS2's ochre deck. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Parlato)
Even with Roberts' shaft and screw removed, a hole had to be cut in MS2's deck to accommodate the frigate's rudder. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Parlato)
Close-up of the support beams near Roberts' hull stabilizers. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Michael Harnar)
More support beams, looking aft along the Roberts, but forward on MS2. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Michael Harnar)
Roberts at rest before the month-long journey home. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Michael Harnar)
Heading Home to Rhode Island
With a skeleton crew of about 40 sailors aboard, Roberts departs UAE waters, heading for the Strait of Hormuz on 1 July 1988. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Michael Harnar)
One month and 8,100 miles later, Roberts approaches Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay on 31 July 1988. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
Unloading in Narragansett Bay
At home at last. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
One gets the feeling MS2 could have held two Robertses. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
A Coast Guard boat, upper right, guards the Roberts and the MS2 in the harbor. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
A sailor watches from another boat.
Yard Patrol craft No. 700, part of the Newport Naval Education and Training Center's pocket fleet, comes alongside Roberts not far from the Newport Bridge. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
Roberts prepares to disembark. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
MS2 sinks into the bay. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
Roberts begins to float free. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
A tugboat pulls Roberts from the heavy-lift ship. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
Tied to a pier at the Newport naval station, Roberts is home at last. (U.S. Navy photo by PH2 Elliott)
About The Book
No Higher Honor is the first book to detail the extraordinary tale of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) and the crew's heroic efforts to save the ship after it hit an Iranian mine in 1988. Drawing on years of research and scores of interviews, Bradley Peniston chronicles the origins of the Perry-class frigate; the crew's training; its operations in the Persian Gulf; the U.S. retaliation against Iran, which became the biggest surface battle since World War II; and the complex repairs that returned the ship to duty.
Published by Naval Institute Press, the 275-page book contains 20 photos, several diagrams of the damage, and a muster list of the shipmates aboard the Roberts during its fight for survival.
