Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division marked the start of fabrication for the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) on July 21. The start of fabrication signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut.
The ship is named in honor of Delbert D. Black, who served as a gunner’s mate in the U.S. Navy and was aboard the battleship USS Maryland during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Black served in three wars and was the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the U.S. Navy.
«Our shipbuilders are very excited about beginning the fabrication process of another DDG 51 destroyer, especially one named after the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy», said George Nungesser, Ingalls’ DDG 51 program manager. «Serial production provides the most effective and efficient way to build ships, and this is our fourth ship started in three years. We are committed to building another great warship for the Navy».
Black’s widow, Ima, is the ship’s sponsor and participated in the ceremony. She met Black after World War II, during which she served as a Navy WAVE (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service). She and Delbert were married 50 years until the time of his death in 2000.
«I want to thank all of the shipbuilders who are building this ship», she said. «Today was very emotional for me. I’m happy they did name the ship for him and that they are building it for him, but it is sad that he was not here to receive these honors. He would be very pleased about it. I know the men and women who serve on this ship will be proud to have the name Delbert D. Black on their uniform».
Delbert D. Black is the 32nd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to be built at Ingalls. From this point on, shipbuilders will assemble the ship using modular construction, where pre-fabricated units are constructed separately and later lifted in place and integrated with other units.
«I am excited to see DDG-119 production starting off strong», said Captain Mark Vandroff, the Navy’s DDG 51 class program manager. «This ship will not only honor a great Navy leader, it will serve as a testament to all our current and future senior enlisted leaders of the value the Navy places on their service. My team was greatly honored to have Mrs. Black present at the start of fabrication and looks forward to her enthusiasm guiding us during the ship’s construction».
To date, Ingalls has delivered 28 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the U.S. Navy. The highly capable, multi-mission ship can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States’ military strategy. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.
Ship Characteristics
| Length Overall | 510 feet/156 m |
| Beam – Waterline | 59 feet/18 m |
| Draft | 30.5 feet/9.3 m |
| Displacement – Full Load | 9,217 tons/9,363 metric tons |
| Power Plant | 4 General electric LM 2500-30 gas turbines; 2 shafts; 2 CRP (Contra-Rotating) propellers; 100,000 shaft horsepower/ 75,000 kW |
| Speed | in excess of 30 knots/34.5 mph/ 55.5 km/h |
| Range | 4,400 NM/8,149 km at 20 knots/23 mph/37 km/h |
| Crew | 380 total: 32 Officers, 27 CPO (Chief Petty Officer), 321 OEM |
| Surveillance | SPY-1D Phased Array Radar and Aegis Combat System (Lockheed Martin); SPS-73(V) Navigation; SPS-67(V)3 Surface Search; 3 SPG-62 Illuminator; SQQ-89(V)6 sonar incorporating SQS-53C hull mounted and SQR-19 towed array sonars used with Mark-116 Mod 7 ASW fire control system |
| Electronics/Countermeasures | SLQ-32(V)3; Mark-53 Mod 0 Decoy System; Mark-234 Decoy System; SLQ-25A Torpedo Decoy; SLQ-39 Surface Decoy; URN-25 TACAN; UPX-29 IFF System; Kollmorgen Mark-46 Mod 1 Electro-Optical Director |
| Aircraft | 2 embarked SH-60 helicopters ASW operations; RAST (Recovery Assist, Secure and Traverse) |
| Armament | 2 Mark-41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) with 90 Standard, Vertical Launch ASROC (Anti-Submarine Rocket) & Tomahawk ASM (Air-to-Surface Missile)/LAM (Loitering Attack Missile); 5-in (127-mm)/54 Mark-45 gun; 2 CIWS (Close-In Weapon System); 2 Mark-32 triple 324-mm torpedo tubes for Mark-46 or Mark-50 ASW torpedos |
Guided Missile Destroyers Lineup
| Ship | Yard | Launched | Commissioned | Homeport |
| DDG-51 Arleigh Burke | GDBIW | 09-16-89 | 07-04-91 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-52 Barry | HIIIS | 06-08-91 | 12-12-92 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-53 John Paul Jones | GDBIW | 10-26-91 | 12-18-93 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-54 Curtis Wilbur | GDBIW | 05-16-92 | 03-19-94 | Yokosuka, Japan |
| DDG-55 Stout | HIIIS | 10-16-92 | 08-13-94 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-56 John S. McCain | GDBIW | 09-26-92 | 07-02-94 | Yokosuka, Japan |
| DDG-57 Mitscher | HIIIS | 05-07-93 | 12-10-94 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-58 Laboon | GDBIW | 02-20-93 | 03-18-95 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-59 Russell | HIIIS | 10-20-93 | 05-20-95 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-60 Paul Hamilton | GDBIW | 07-24-93 | 05-27-95 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-61 Ramage | HIIIS | 02-11-94 | 07-22-95 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-62 Fitzgerald | GDBIW | 01-29-94 | 10-14-95 | Yokosuka, Japan |
| DDG-63 Stethem | HIIIS | 07-17-94 | 10-21-95 | Yokosuka, Japan |
| DDG-64 Carney | GDBIW | 07-23-94 | 04-13-96 | Mayport, Florida |
| DDG-65 Benfold | HIIIS | 11-09-94 | 03-30-96 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-66 Gonzalez | GDBIW | 02-18-95 | 10-12-96 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-67 Cole | HIIIS | 02-10-95 | 06-08-96 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-68 The Sullivans | GDBIW | 08-12-95 | 04-19-97 | Mayport, Florida |
| DDG-69 Milius | HIIIS | 08-01-95 | 11-23-96 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-70 Hopper | GDBIW | 01-06-96 | 09-06-97 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-71 Ross | HIIIS | 03-22-96 | 06-28-97 | Rota, Spain |
| DDG-72 Mahan | GDBIW | 06-29-96 | 02-14-98 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-73 Decatur | GDBIW | 11-10-96 | 08-29-98 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-74 McFaul | HIIIS | 01-18-97 | 04-25-98 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-75 Donald Cook | GDBIW | 05-03-97 | 12-04-98 | Rota, Spain |
| DDG-76 Higgins | GDBIW | 10-04-97 | 04-24-99 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-77 O’Kane | GDBIW | 03-28-98 | 10-23-99 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-78 Porter | HIIIS | 11-12-97 | 03-20-99 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-79 Oscar Austin | GDBIW | 11-07-98 | 08-19-00 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-80 Roosevelt | HIIIS | 01-10-99 | 10-14-00 | Mayport, Florida |
| DDG-81 Winston S. Churchill | GDBIW | 04-17-99 | 03-10-01 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-82 Lassen | HIIIS | 10-16-99 | 04-21-01 | Yokosuka, Japan |
| DDG-83 Howard | GDBIW | 11-20-99 | 10-20-01 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-84 Bulkeley | HIIIS | 06-21-00 | 12-08-01 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-85 McCampbell | GDBIW | 07-02-00 | 08-17-02 | Yokosuka, Japan |
| DDG-86 Shoup | HIIIS | 11-22-00 | 06-22-02 | Everett, Washington |
| DDG-87 Mason | GDBIW | 06-23-01 | 04-12-03 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-88 Preble | HIIIS | 06-01-01 | 11-09-02 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-89 Mustin | HIIIS | 12-12-01 | 07-26-03 | Yokosuka, Japan |
| DDG-90 Chafee | GDBIW | 11-02-02 | 10-18-03 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-91 Pinckney | HIIIS | 06-26-02 | 05-29-04 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-92 Momsen | GDBIW | 07-19-03 | 08-28-04 | Everett, Washington |
| DDG-93 Chung-Hoon | HIIIS | 12-15-02 | 09-18-04 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-94 Nitze | GDBIW | 04-03-04 | 03-05-05 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-95 James E. Williams | HIIIS | 06-25-03 | 12-11-04 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-96 Bainbridge | GDBIW | 11-13-04 | 11-12-05 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-97 Halsey | HIIIS | 01-09-04 | 07-30-05 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-98 Forrest Sherman | HIIIS | 10-02-04 | 01-28-06 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-99 Farragut | GDBIW | 07-23-05 | 06-10-06 | Mayport, Florida |
| DDG-100 Kidd | HIIIS | 01-22-05 | 06-09-07 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-101 Gridley | GDBIW | 12-28-05 | 02-10-07 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-102 Sampson | GDBIW | 09-16-06 | 11-03-07 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-103 Truxtun | HIIIS | 06-02-07 | 04-25-09 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-104 Sterett | GDBIW | 05-19-07 | 08-09-08 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-105 Dewey | HIIIS | 01-26-08 | 03-06-10 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-106 Stockdale | GDBIW | 05-10-08 | 04-18-09 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-107 Gravely | HIIIS | 03-30-09 | 11-20-10 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-108 Wayne E. Meyer | GDBIW | 10-18-08 | 10-10-09 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-109 Jason Dunham | GDBIW | 08-01-09 | 11-13-10 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| DDG-110 William P. Lawrence | HIIIS | 12-15-09 | 06-04-11 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-111 Spruance | GDBIW | 06-06-10 | 10-01-11 | San Diego, California |
| DDG-112 Michael Murphy | GDBIW | 05-08-11 | 10-06-12 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| DDG-113 John Finn | HIIIS | 03-28-15 | ||
| DDG-114 Ralph Johnson | HIIIS | |||
| DDG-115 Rafael Peralta | GDBIW | |||
| DDG-116 Thomas Hudner | GDBIW | |||
| DDG-117 Paul Ignatius | HIIIS | |||
| DDG-118 Daniel Inouye | GDBIW | |||
| DDG-119 Delbert D. Black | HIIIS | |||
| DDG-120 | GDBIW | |||
| DDG-121 | HIIIS | |||
| DDG-122 | GDBIW | |||
| DDG-123 | HIIIS | |||
| DDG-124 | GDBIW | |||
| DDG-125 | HIIIS | |||
| DDG-126 | GDBIW |
GDBIW – General Dynamics Bath Iron Works
HIIIS – Huntington Ingalls Industries Ingalls Shipbuilding
DDG – Destroyer, Guided Missile
