USS Hershel "Woody" Williams
US Navy expeditionary mobile base vessel
USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB-4) (formerly USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams (T-ESB-4)) is a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base (ESB), currently in service with the United States Navy. The ship is also a sub-variant of the Montford Point-class expeditionary transfer dock (ESD). The ESDs are operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command with predominantly civilian crews, while the ESBs, owing to the nature of their operations, have been commissioned and commanded directly by the U.S. Navy. The ship was named in honor of Hershel W. "Woody" Williams in an announcement by then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, on 14 January 2016. Williams was a Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the Battle of Iwo Jima, during World War II.
The $498 million contract for the then-unnamed vessel was awarded to the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a division of General Dynamics, in December 2014. Her keel was laid on 2 August 2016, and she was scheduled to be completed in early 2018. The vessel was christened on 21 October 2017, at NASSCO in San Diego. The ship was delivered to Military Sealift Command on 22 February 2018, and placed into service the same day.
Hershel "Woody" Williams will be the first Navy ship other than the Littoral Combat Ship and Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate to deploy the Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout rotary-wing UCAV.
The ship was commissioned by the Navy in Norfolk, Virginia on 7 March 2020. Williams was present for the ship commissioning ceremony.
The public source identifies “USS Hershel "Woody" Williams” as uS Navy expeditionary mobile base vessel. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hershel, Woody and Williams.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “USS Hershel "Woody" Williams”, the useful work is to connect “uS Navy expeditionary mobile base vessel” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q30597778. The first chronological checks are 2016, 2014, 2018 and 2017.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “USS Hershel "Woody" Williams”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow USS Hershel "Woody" Williams primary sources, USS Hershel "Woody" Williams archive and Hershel research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “USS Hershel "Woody" Williams”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “USS Hershel "Woody" Williams” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.