Tag Archives: San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock

Welcome, Harrisburg

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Ship’s sponsors Alexandra Curry and Jennifer Dlaz christened the Harrisburg (LPD 30) af HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding. Pictured from left is Rear Adm. Thomas Anderson, United States Navy, program executive officer for ships; Chief Nigel James, United States Navy, senior enlisted leader, Pre-Commissioning Detachment for Harrisburg; Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette, Gen. Christopher Mahoney, United States Marine Corps, and Ship Sponsors Alexandra Curry and Jennifer Diaz

The U.S. Navy’s much-needed 14th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, the future USS Harrisburg (LPD 30), was christened at Pascagoula over the weekend.

Importantly, she is the first Flight II vessel in the class, which incorporates over 200 structural updates from the baseline design as well as increased cargo handling capability, the latter feature essential with the Navy scrapping all of its LSDs in the near future.

It is a name long missing from the Naval List, somehow missed by the SECNAV’s office across hundreds of cruisers and SSNs commissioned over the past century. 

The first (and only until this week) USS Harrisburg was a fine British-made three master/three stacked transatlantic liner (SS City of Paris) of the Inman Line that, taken up from service, was used first as an auxiliary cruiser in the SpanAm War and later as a fast transport in the Great War.

USS Harrisburg (ID # 1663) Moored in port with a barge alongside, circa 1918. Note her pattern camouflage. The original image was printed on postal card (AZO) stock. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Catalog #: NH 103919

Going back to the San Antonios, currently, Ingalls has two Flight II LPDs under construction including Harrisburg and Pittsburgh (LPD 31).

Pre-construction activities are currently underway for the construction of Philadelphia (LPD 32).

Additionally, the Navy last September awarded Ingalls a contract for the construction of three additional San Antonio-class amphibious ships (LPDs 33-35).

The current program of record is for 26 ships (LPD 17-43), although it has taken 25 years to get this far.

Ingalls Update

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Had a chance to swing by my old childhood stomping grounds at “The Point” in Pascagoula and captured some snapshots of the Navy’s newest under construction at HII.

This included the 13th and final Flight I San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, the future USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD-29), fitting out post-delivery at the yard’s historic deep-water East Bank, where the old LPHs and the last American-made cruise ships were completed.

The future USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD-29). She carries the AN/SPY-6(V)2 EASR rotating radar. Photo by Chris Eger

Note her hangar arrangement with 21-cell Mk 49 RAM GMLS launcher to starboard and 30mm Mk 46 Mod 2 Gun Weapon System (GWS) to port. Photo by Chris Eger

As well as a good shot of her bow, with the ‘Richard McCool” nameplate over her bridge next to her SLQ-32 EW system. Photo by Chris Eger

While the drydock is empty, the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG-128), the 78th Burke, a Flight III vessel, is fitting out. Note her AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and the Aegis Baseline 10 Combat System, which has a much different look from the old Flight I and II Burkes.

The future USS Ted Stevens (DDG-128). Note the bow of a building Burke to her portside and an LPD behind her. Photo by Chris Eger

Meanwhile, further down the Pascagoula River is the future Flight I America-class big deck gator, USS Bougainville (LHA-8), which was launched last October. The first in her class with a well deck, Bougainville should rightly be classified as LHD-9, but nobody cares what I think.

The future USS Bougainville (LHA-8) fitting out. Photo by Chris Eger

And the ever-troubled 15,000-ton Zumwalt-class “destroyer” PCU Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), which was awarded 13 years ago and took to the water in 2018 but has not been commissioned as of yet. She has been in Pascagoula now for three years where her 155 mm/62 Mark 51 Advanced Gun System (AGS) will be removed and replaced by planned LRHW hypersonic missile tubes. As you can tell, her guns are still installed, so there is that.

PCU Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002). Photo by Chris Eger

Meanwhile, across the mud lumps over at the old Naval Station Pascagoula on Singing River Island, two new (to them) MSC Ready Reserve Force sealift ships were tied up, M/V Cape Arundel and M/V Cape Cortes, formerly the M/V Honor and M/V Freedom. These 50,000-ton RORO vehicle carriers have been homeported there since last October.

NS Pascagoula was envisioned in the 1980s to base a battleship action group but only ever got to homeport some NRF short hull FFGs and a couple old non-VLS Ticos, so it is nice to see 100,000 tons of Something finally kept there. Photo by Chris Eger

Welcome back: Chesapeake, Silversides, Pittsburgh

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it, I think that traditional ship names for warships need to be recycled. That goes for any fleet, not just the U.S. Navy. While current SECNAV Kenneth J. Braithwaite no doubt is updating his Linkedin and Jobs.com accounts in preparation for the new administration, he at least chalked up some great ship names last week.

The future ships will bear the names and hull numbers:

USS Chesapeake (FFG 64), Constellation-class frigate.
USS Silversides (SSN 807), Virginia-class attack submarine.
USS Pittsburgh (LPD 31), San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock.
USNS Lenni Lenape (T-ATS 9), Navajo-class towing, salvage, and rescue ship.
USS Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7), Puller-class Expeditionary Sea Base.

While Simanek, named for a Korean War Marine hero, and Lenape, named after the first tribe to sign a treaty with the United States in 1778, are new names to the Naval List, the other three vessels have been there numerous times. Chesapeake, going back to 1799, has appeared four times, Silversides twice (both to other subs) and Pittsburgh four times, going back to a Civil War ironclad.

As detailed by the Navy: 

The future Constellation-class frigate USS Chesapeake (FFG 64) will be named for one of the first six Navy frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. The first USS Chesapeake served with honor against the Barbary Pirates in the early 1800s.

To honor the Silent Service, the future Virginia-class attack submarine USS Silversides (SSN 807) will carry the name of a WWII Gato-class submarine. The first Silversides (SS 236) completed 14 tours beneath the Pacific Ocean spanning the entire length of WWII. She inflicted heavy damage on enemy shipping, saved downed aviators, and even drew enemy fire to protect a fellow submarine. A second Silversides (SSN 679) was a Sturgeon-class submarine that served during the Cold War. This will be the third naval vessel to carry the name Silversides. The name comes from a small fish marked with a silvery stripe along each side of its body.

The future San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Pittsburgh (LPD 31) will be the fifth Navy vessel to bear the name. The first was an ironclad gunboat that served during the American Civil War. The second USS Pittsburgh (CA 4) was an armored cruiser that served during WWI, and a third USS Pittsburgh (CA 72) was a Baltimore-class cruiser that served during WWII – supporting the landing at Iwo Jima. The fourth USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720) was a Los Angeles-class submarine that served the Navy from December 1984 to August 2019.

I only wish that Pittsburgh could have been used on a combatant, but at least it falls in line with the naming convention of the current crop (and previous Austin– and Raleigh classes) of LPDs, which are all named after well-known large cities.

Hopefully, the new SECNAV will keep the theme going and not revert to the sins of Mr. Mabus, who was infamous for naming ships after non-serving politicans and labor/LGBT leaders.