USS ''Manchester'' (LCS-14) is an in the
United States Navy. She is the second ship to be named for
Manchester, New Hampshire.
Design
In 2002, the
United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of
littoral combat ships.
The Navy initially ordered two
trimaran
A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreati ...
hulled ships from
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
, which became known as the after the first ship of the class, .
Even-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the ''Independence''-class trimaran design, while odd-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the conventional
monohull .
The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the ''Independence''-class design.
On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional ''Independence''-class littoral combat ships.
Construction and career
The ship's keel was laid on 29 June 2015, at
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
.
The initials of New Hampshire senator
Jeanne Shaheen, the
ship's sponsor, were welded into the hull of ''Manchester'' during the traditional
keel laying
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
ceremony. ''Manchester'' was
christened on 7 May 2016 and she was launched on 12 May 2016.
''Manchester'' was
commissioned on 26 May 2018.
She is assigned to
Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One
Naval Base San Diego, also known as 32nd Street Naval Station, is the second largest surface ship base of the United States Navy and is located in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, cons ...
.
References
*
External links
Ship's website
Independence-class littoral combat ships
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