USS Charleston (LCS-18)

Last updated

USS Charleston (LCS-18) in acceptance trials - 1.jpg
USS Charleston on 18 July 2018
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameCharleston
Namesake Charleston
Awarded29 December 2010 [1]
Builder Austal USA [1]
Laid down28 June 2016 [1] [2]
Launched14 September 2017 [1]
Sponsored by Bradley Byrne and Charlotte Riley
Christened26 August 2017 [3]
Acquired31 August 2018 [4]
Commissioned2 March 2019 [5]
Homeport San Diego
Identification
MottoWhile We Breathe, We Fight
StatusActive
Badge USS Charleston (LCS-18) insignia, 2019.png
General characteristics
Class and type Independence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight
Length127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
Speed40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity210 tonnes
Complement40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR
  • Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR
  • AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • EDO ES-3601 ESM
  • 4× SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament
Aircraft carried2× MH-60R/S Seahawks

USS Charleston (LCS-18) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the sixth ship to be named for Charleston, the oldest and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. [6]

Contents

Design

In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships. [7] The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence. [7] 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 Freedom-class littoral combat ship. [7] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design. [7] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships. [8] [9]

Construction and career

Charleston was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. A ceremonial laying of the keel was held at the Austal USA shipyards in Mobile on 28 June 2016. The ship's sponsor, U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne, welded his initials into the keel of Charleston as part of the ceremony. [2]

Charleston was commissioned on 2 March 2019 [5] and she has been assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One [10] at her homeport of San Diego.

On 27 April 2021, an unmanned helicopter, a MQ-8 Fire Scout, took off from the ship at about 3:40 a.m. [11] The aircraft, which is 31.7 feet long and roughly 10 feet tall, then crashed into the side of Charleston and was not recovered after falling into the sea. [11] [12] Despite damage to a safety net on the ship and a strike to the hull, Charleston was able to safely operate after the crash. [13]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Independence</i> (LCS-2) Independence-class littoral combat ship

USS Independence (LCS-2) is the lead ship of the Independence-class of littoral combat ships. She is the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the concept of independence. The design was produced by the General Dynamics consortium for the Navy's LCS program, and competes with the Lockheed Martin–designed Freedom variant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austal</span> Australian defence company

Austal Limited is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, high-speed ferries, and supply or crew transfer vessels for offshore windfarms and oil and gas platforms.

<i>Independence</i>-class littoral combat ship US Navy small coastal combat ships

The Independence class is a class of littoral combat ships built for the United States Navy.

USS <i>Coronado</i> (LCS-4) Independence-class littoral combat ship

USS Coronado (LCS-4) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship. She is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after Coronado, California.

USS <i>Jackson</i> (LCS-6) Independence-class littoral combat ship

USS Jackson (LCS-6) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy, and the first ship to be named for Jackson, the capital of Mississippi.

USS <i>Montgomery</i> (LCS-8) Independence-class littoral combat ship

USS Montgomery (LCS-8) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the fourth ship to be named for Montgomery, the capital of Alabama.

USS <i>Gabrielle Giffords</i> Independence-class littoral combat ship

USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. The ship is named after former United States Representative Gabby Giffords, who was shot along with eighteen other people during a 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona. The ship's name was announced by then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus on 10 February 2012. Gabrielle Giffords is the 16th U.S. naval ship to be named for a woman by the United States Navy, and the 13th U.S. naval ship since 1850 to be named after a living person.

USS <i>Omaha</i> (LCS-12) Independence-class littoral combat ship

USS Omaha (LCS-12) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the fourth ship to be named for Omaha, the largest city in Nebraska. The vessel's keel was laid down on 18 February 2015 at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama and launched on 20 November. The ship was commissioned at San Diego, California on 3 February 2018 and was assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One.

USS <i>Tulsa</i> (LCS-16) Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Tulsa (LCS-16) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the third ship to be named for Tulsa, second-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

USS <i>Manchester</i> (LCS-14) Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Manchester (LCS-14) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship in the United States Navy. She is the second ship to be named for Manchester, New Hampshire.

USS <i>Cincinnati</i> (LCS-20) Littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the fifth ship to be named after Cincinnati, Ohio.

USS <i>Kansas City</i> (LCS-22) Independence-class littoral combat ship

USS Kansas City (LCS-22) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the third ship to be named for Kansas City, the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri.

USS <i>Oakland</i> (LCS-24) Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Oakland (LCS-24) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the third ship to be named for the City of Oakland, California.

USS <i>Minneapolis-Saint Paul</i> (LCS-21) Littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the second ship in naval service named after Minnesota's Twin Cities.

USS <i>Mobile</i> (LCS-26) Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Mobile (LCS-26) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. Named for the city of Mobile, Alabama, she is the fifth ship to carry the name.

USS <i>Savannah</i> (LCS-28) Littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Savannah (LCS-28) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the sixth ship to be named Savannah.

USS <i>Santa Barbara</i> (LCS-32) Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the 32nd ship of the type, and 16th of the class, which is inter-numbered with the Freedom-class littoral combat ships. With 35 LCSs now active or planned, the type is the Navy's second largest number of surface warfare ships in production, next only to its guided missile destroyers. She is the third US Navy ship to be named for the city of Santa Barbara, California.

USS <i>Augusta</i> (LCS-34) Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Augusta (LCS-34) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the second ship to be named for Augusta, Maine.

USS <i>Kingsville</i> Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Kingsville (LCS-36) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She will be the first ship to be named for Kingsville, Texas, which is home to Naval Air Station Kingsville.

USS <i>Pierre</i> (LCS-38) Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy

USS Pierre (LCS-38) will be an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She will be the second ship to be named for Pierre, South Dakota, the first being USS Pierre (PC-1141), a PC-461-class submarine chaser from World War II.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Charleston (LCS-18)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Austal USA Hosts Keel Laying Ceremony for LCS 18" (Press release). Austal USA. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Austal USA Christens Charleston (LCS 18)" (Press release). Austal USA. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  4. ↑ "Navy Takes Delivery of Future USS Charleston (LCS 18)" (Press release). United States Navy. 4 September 2018. NNS180904-17. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Commissioning Ceremony Breathes Life into USS Charleston" (Press release). United States Navy. 3 March 2019. NNS190303-01. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Navy secretary to visit Charleston Friday for USS Charleston ship-naming". The Post and Courier. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Special from Navy Office of Information (29 December 2010). "Littoral Combat Ship Contract Award Announced" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS101229-09. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "LCS Squadron 1". public.navy.mil. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  11. 1 2 Military Helicopter Crashes Into USS Charleston, Sinks Into Sea. 27 April 2021. NBC San Diego. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  12. ↑ (Vietnamese) Trực thăng không người lái đâm vào chiến hạm Mỹ, làm hư hại thân tàu. 28 April 2021. Nguoi Viet Daily News. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  13. ↑ MQ-8B Fire Scout Crashes Into Littoral Combat Ship USS Charleston On Deployment. 27 April 2021. USNI News. Retrieved 28 April 2021.


Royal Navy Type 42 Destroyer Batch 3 silhouette.svg

This article about a specific ship or boat of the United States Armed Forces is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.