USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11)
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Azure, two wings conjoined displayed fesswise Or supporting an anchor Argent with flukes of the second, in chief below a mullet reversed, four barrulets of the like.


On a wreath Or and Azure a stylized scene of the famous 1910 flight of Eugene Ely taking off in his Curtiss plane from a wooden platform built over the bow of the light cruiser USS Birmingham as seen thru the glass of a brass colored porthole, all Proper.


On a scroll Or doubled and inscribed with "UT MARE QUOD UT VENTUS" (TO SEA AND INTO THE WIND) Azure.


The arms as blazoned in full color upon a white oval enclosed by a dark blue collar edged on the outside with a gold rope and bearing the name "USNS WASHINGTON CHAMBERS" at the top and "T-AKE 11" in base,all gold.



Dark blue and gold are the colors traditionally used by the Navy. Gold is also for honor and a job well done. T-AKE 11 is a cargo/ammunition ship with the primary mission is to provide a steady stream of ammunition, spare parts and provisions (dry, refrigerated and frozen) to meet the Navy's sealift needs. The wings, reflecting the wings on the Naval Aviator Badge, and the anchor, symbol of sea prowess, commemorate Navy Capt. Washington Irving Chambers, a major pioneer in the development of Naval Aviation.The star and four bars refer to his rank and his high achievement of being the first to have oversight of the Navy's Aviation program.


The porthole is used to look through to the past to 1910 and the first flight launched from the bow of a cruiser that confirmed the potential of carrier-based aviation. Chambers arranged the world's first airplane flight from a warship. It was the birth of Naval Aviation.

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