Tag Archives: Ingalls

Pascagoula ship spotting

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On my most recent trip back to the old childhood stomping grounds in Pascagoula, I made my regular pilgrimage to The Point (the rough site of the old USCG station and Pascagoula River Lighthouse) and gazed out upon HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding to see who is in the water.

Looking out to the Ingalls West Bank, which was created in the 1970s for the Spruance class DDs, Tico class CGs, and Tarawa class LHAs. Photo: Chris Eger

In the water at the mouth of the Pascagoula River under the big bird crane is PCU USS Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), a Flight III Burke, which launched on 25 March 2025 and is fitting out. Note another Burke behind her, perhaps the future USS George M. Neal (DDG-131), which is nearing launch later this year. Photo: Chris Eger

Next, afloat in the Pascagoula River proper, is the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), the first Flight I America-class Lightning carrier. There has been a building LHA or LHD in this stretch of the river my entire life, and I am in my 50s! Photo: Chris Eger

The big 45,000-ton ‘phib began construction in 2018, has been in the water since 2019, and is expected to be delivered to the Navy in August 2026. Needs lots more topside work on that island before then. Photo: Chris Eger

Then there is the future USS Harrisburg (LPD 30), the first Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. Laid down in 2022, she took to the water last January and is fitting out. Photo: Chris Eger

Further upstream is the scratch-and-dent old spaceship, USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), looking very rough just months before her 10th birthday as a “commissioned” warship. Note, her forward Advanced Gun Systems house has been removed to clear space for four launchers intended for the Dark Eagle Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) missile, with each canister capable of holding three missiles. Photo: Chris Eger

And in the old WWII-era East Bank, in one of the circa 1960s submarine berths, is the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), a Flight III Burke scheduled to be commissioned this Fall in Whittier, Alaska. Photo: Chris Eger

Also, Kevin’s Corner is still making great burgers.

Bulk Buying Burkes

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No less than 6 Spruance class destroyers on the way. DD Module Erection Area 24 June 1976. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi.

I always thought the big bulk buys of the 1970s and 1980s, such as ordering the whole 31-ship Spruance class from Ingalls all at once, was a good idea. It allows the yard to forecast workloads far enough out to literally “grow” craftspeople through apprentice programs, saves time, saves money, win-win for all involved. That’s how you win a Cold War.

Well, the Pentagon just whistled up nine advanced Flight III DDG-51s this week.

A photo I took last year, showing the future Flight IIA Burke USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), front, and PCU USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), rear, at Ingalls’s West Bank, fitting out. Note the differences in their masts. The Flight III upgrade is centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and “incorporates upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity plus additional associated changes to provide greatly enhanced warfighting capability to the fleet.”

Via DOD today, emphasis mine:

Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is awarded a fixed-price incentive (firm target) multiyear contract for construction of three DDG 51 class ships – one each in fiscal 2023, 2024, and 2026. This contract includes options for engineering change proposals, design budgeting requirements, and post-delivery availabilities on the awarded firm multiyear ships. This contract also includes options for construction of additional DDG 51 class ships, which may be subject to future competition in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Therefore, the dollar values associated with the multiyear contract are considered source selection sensitive information and will not be made public at this time (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104). Work will be performed in Bath, Maine (69%); Cincinnati, Ohio (4%); Walpole, Massachusetts (4%); York, Pennsylvania (2 %); South Portland, Maine (1%); Falls Church, Virginia (1%); and other locations below 1% (collectively totaling 19%), and is expected to be completed by December 2033. Fiscal 2022 and 2023 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured via a limited competition between Huntington Ingalls Inc., and Bath Iron Works pursuant to U.S. Code 3204 (a) (3) (A) and FAR 6.302-3 (Industrial Mobilization), with two offers received. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-23-C-2305).

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a fixed-price incentive (firm-target) multiyear contract for construction of six DDG 51 class ships – one in fiscal 2023, one in fiscal 2024, two in fiscal 2025, one in fiscal 2026, and one in fiscal 2027. This contract includes options for engineering change proposals, design budgeting requirements, and post-delivery availabilities on the awarded firm multiyear ships. This contract includes options for construction of additional DDG 51 class ships, which may be subject to future competition in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Therefore, the dollar values associated with the multiyear contract are considered source selection sensitive information and will not be made public at this time (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104). Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (77%); and other locations below 1 percent (collectively totaling 23%), and is expected to be completed by June 2034. Fiscal 2022 and 2023 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured via a limited competition between Huntington Ingalls Inc., and Bath Iron Works pursuant to U.S Code 3204 (a) (3) (A) and FAR 6.302-3 (Industrial Mobilization), with two offers received. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-23-C-2307).

East Bank buzzing again

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As a kid, I grew up in South Pascagoula, in a house, appropriately enough, on Pascagoula Street just south of Ingalls Avenue. This was in the 1970s and 80s, at a time when Ingalls Shipbuilding (then part of Litton) was cranking out the occasional submarine, squadrons of Spruance/Kidd-class destroyers, Ticonderoga-class frigates, early Burke-class DDGs, and Tarawa-class LHAs. Also passing through at about the same time was the old mothballed battlewagons Iowa and Wisconsin.

Six Spruance class destroyers fitting out, circa May 1975. Ships are, from left Paul F. Foster (DD-964); Spruance (DD-963), then running trials; Arthur W. Radford (DD-968); Elliot (DD-967); Hewitt (DD-966) and Kinkaid (DD-965). Ingalls East Bank, Pascagoula

A lot of this work was done on the yard’s historic East Bank, which was only a few blocks from my home, and at about 3:30 p.m. it was a mad dash akin to the start of the Indianapolis 500 as the workers rushed to get out of there. Sometimes, you could even see the pace car.

The last large ship I remember being at the East Bank was the 1960s-vintage USS Inchon (LPH-12/MCS-12) when she came back from the Gulf War in 1991 to get patched up after catching an Iraqi mine with her hull. After that, things slowed down as more work shifted to the West Bank which is several miles outside of town in the swamps of Mary Walker Bayou near Gautier.

There I would venture out to work when I was in my 20s, tasked with helping to bend raw steel to form warships as many Goula boys had done before. To be sure, today there are several Burkes and a couple LHDs on active duty with my initials– alongside many others– burned into out of the way inner bottom bulkheads.

Over the past couple of decades the East Bank became deserted although not completely abandoned by now-Huntington Ingalls Industries, and the old graving docks, deep enough to float a battleship, were great places to catch flounder and redfish.

Now, it seems the historic old yard is being dusted off and put back to work with the facility being repurposed to perform maintenance on DDGs. Of note, the damaged USS FitzGerald (DDG-62) has been at Ingalls for some time getting a rebuild after her collision off Japan.

Three greyhounds, fitting out

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While putting my kayak in at the Point in Pascagoula, I saw these three across the way at Ingalls SB’s West Bank.

Three greyhounds, fitting out USS John Basilone (DDG-122) USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) USS Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123) Ingalls Eger July 2019 3000

(Photo by Chris Eger)

PCU USS John Basilone (DDG-122) is afloat and fitting out to the far left, with her bow forward. Meanwhile, PCU USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) is in the center, showing off her stern and twin helicopter hangar. To the far right, with her bridge visible between the cranes, is PCU USS Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123), which is still land-bound and nearing launch.

They are named for the famous Marine machine gun Rembrandt of Henderson Field, the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) and the Superintendent of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War I.

All three are Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, the 72nd, 70th and 73rd such ships, respectively, of that huge tin can family. All are what the Navy calls “technology insertion” ships, containing elements of the Flight III ships, projected to begin with DDG-124.

The carriers that aren’t

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The below piece of shipbuilding history is a 1974 status report on the then-under construction Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship (LHA) class at Pascagoula’s Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding.

Capt. Jack Lisanby, the LHA project manager, sums up the project, which married the old 17,000-ton LPH helicopter carrier with a 14,000-ton LSD style landing ship dock to create a 40,000-ton ship that was the same size as a WWII Essex-class fleet carrier, but could accommodate 20-30 rotor-wing aircraft (and harriers) and four LCU-sized landing ships along with 1,700 transient Marines. It must have been a good idea because it has become standard ever since.

The lead ship, Tarawa, was laid down in 1971 and the last of the class, Peleliu, did not commission until 1980, meaning these “aircraft carriers that aren’t” were a fixture of my childhood. You could always go down to “The Point” across from Ingalls’ East Bank and see these flattops under construction. This was extended with the visually and mission-similar Wasp class of LHDs (1985-2009, with me, personally, working on USS Boxer in my own time at Ingalls) and now the new America-class LHAs went into production, leaving an almost unbroken chain of LHA/D’s that has stretched across almost 50 years.

LHA-6 USS America under construction at Ingalls in 2011, image as seen from Singing River Island across from the yard’s West Bank, by Chris Eger

More bad finger-painting

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I tried my ever-evolving hand at art by working up a painting “inspired” by a photo of the USS Lassen (DDG-82) under construction on a foggy day at Ingalls in Pascagoula.

Back in my contractor days I worked on a number of the Burkes at the yard including Ramage, Stethem, Benfold, Cole, Milius and Ross (and have the initials in the innerbottom and the christening coins to prove it!) so I have seen a number of those “51s” on mornings such as these with the seagulls and pelicans swarming in to get ahead of the sea smoke on the Mississippi Sound.

With that in mind, and since I did’t work on Lassen, I did not put her hull numbers on, leaving her to represent all of those other DDGs in my memory.

Looking sketchy

The fog rolling in

Man, that is a wonky mast

Still wonky, but at least the birds distract you a bit

Meh, I could sell it in the French Quarter for $11 heheh. I’ll keep working on it.

 

More on the Proteus mini-sub

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Huntington Ingalls Industries just dropped a new video hyping their swag prototype Proteus DMUV (dual mode undersea vehicle– they really need to fix that acronym) which they hope will replace the vintage MkVIII “Eight Boat” SDV (frogman sub) in use by NSWG. Sure, its a little over the top with all the cheerleading by people really happy to be part of the team building experience they can pop in on their LinkedIn page, but there are lots of shots and a little background on the Proteus. Dig those interfaces.

More on Proteus here at HI Sutton’s Covert Shores site

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