Future USS Portland (LPD 27) Christened
Our newest amphibious transport dock ship, the future USS Portland (LPD 27), is now one step closer to joining the Fleet.
In a time-honored Navy tradition, ship sponsor Bonnie Amos, wife of Gen. James F. Amos (ret.), 35th commandant of the Marine Corps, christened the ship during a ceremony May 21 at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. (May 21, 2016) Ship sponsor Bonnie Amos christens the amphibious transport dock Portland (LPD 27). Amos was accompanied by (left to right) U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Christopher Owens, director of the U.S. Navy’s expeditionary warfare division; Capt. Jeremy Hill, prospective commanding officer, Portland; Ted Waller, a World War II veteran who served on the first USS Portland (CA 33); and Brian Cuccias, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. Portland is the 11th LPD to be delivered by Ingalls. (U.S. Navy photo by Lance Davis/Released)
Below are five things to know:
1) LPD-27 will be the third Navy ship named Portland, honoring both the Oregon seaport and Maine’s largest city.
The first was heavy cruiser USS Portland (CA 33), which was commissioned on Feb. 23, 1933. Serving throughout World War II, CA-33 saw action at a number of important battles, including Guadalcanal, Leyte Gulf, Corregidor and Okinawa.
USS Portland (CA 33) at sea on May 31, 1934. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command)
The second, dock landing ship USS Portland (LSD 37), was commissioned Oct. 3, 1970. Over the course of nearly 33 years of service, LSD-37 participated in a number of important operations, including the 1976 evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon, the 1983 multi-national peacekeeping mission to Beirut, Lebanon, and deployment of Marines to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 26, 2003) USS Portland (LSD 37) steams through the Atlantic Ocean as one of seven ships attached to Amphibious Task Force-East (ATF-E). All seven ships were deployed early in their schedules to support the ongoing efforts of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Robert M. Schalk/Released)
2) LPD-27 was launched Feb. 13, 2016.
3) LPD-27 will be the 11th San Antonio-class ship, and is currently scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2017.
DOHA, Qatar (April 22, 2013) The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) is anchored off the coast of Qatar supporting Exercise Eagle Resolve 2013. Eagle Resolve is an annual, multinational naval, land and air exercise designed to enhance regional cooperative defense efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council and U.S. Central Command. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lacordrick Wilson/Released)
4) San Antonio-class ships are designed to support embarking, transporting and landing elements of more than 800 Marines with both a flight deck, which accommodates CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters and MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and a well deck that can launch and recover landing craft and amphibious vehicles.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Feb. 1, 2012) Landing Craft Air-Cushion (LCAC) 37 approaches the well deck of the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Edwin F. Bryan/Released)
5) San Antonio-class ships are versatile players in maritime security with the ability to support a variety of amphibious assault, special operations or expeditionary warfare missions, operating independently or as part of Amphibious Readiness Groups, Expeditionary Strike Groups or Joint Task Forces. In addition to performing their primary mission, San Antonio-class ships have supported anti-piracy operations, provided humanitarian assistance and foreign disaster relief operations around the world.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (June 9, 2011) The amphibious transport dock ships USS San Antonio (LPD 17) and USS New York (LPD 21) are underway together in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia. San Antonio was conducting ship handling drills with New York during San Antonio’s second phase of sea trials, which are primarily focused on combat systems testing and developing crew proficiency. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Edwin F. Bryan/Released)
http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2016/05/21/future-uss-portland-lpd-27-christened/ U.S. Navy