Navy

Navy Accepts Portland

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division delivered the amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD-27) to the U.S. Navy on September 18.

(Left to right) Captain J.R. Hill, Commander Jon Letourneau and Mike Pruitt sign the DD 250 document officially transferring custody of the amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD-27) from HII to the U.S. Navy. Hill is Portland’s prospective commanding officer; Letourneau is the Navy’s LPD 17-class program manager, and Pruitt is Ingalls’ LPD 27 program manager (Photo by Michael Duhe/HII)
(Left to right) Captain J.R. Hill, Commander Jon Letourneau and Mike Pruitt sign the DD 250 document officially transferring custody of the amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD-27) from HII to the U.S. Navy. Hill is Portland’s prospective commanding officer; Letourneau is the Navy’s LPD 17-class program manager, and Pruitt is Ingalls’ LPD 27 program manager (Photo by Michael Duhe/HII)

«Today is a great day for this collective industry and customer team», said Kari Wilkinson, Ingalls’ vice president, program management. «For many of the shipbuilders, Supervisor of Shipbuilding representatives and members of the U.S. Navy program office, this is the 11th ship they have built and delivered together. Their personal commitment to excellence has become the hallmark of the LPD program, and we are positioned to continue that tradition on future ships».

USS Portland (LPD-27) was delivered during an afternoon ceremony with shipbuilders, ship’s force and representatives of Supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast together in attendance. The signing of the DD 250 document officially transfers custody of the ship from HII to the U.S. Navy.

«I am amazed with the shipbuilders here at Ingalls», said Captain J.R. Hill, Portland’s prospective commanding officer. «There are thousands of them who have been working to build this ship and put it into service, and they’ve really done a great job. I’m very impressed with the team Ingalls has put together as well as the 370 crew members present today who are ecstatic about taking control of this ship. We look forward to what she can do in the future».

USS Portland (LPD-27) is named for the largest city in the state of Oregon. The state has a long history with the U.S. Navy, going back to the construction of hundreds of World War II Liberty and Victory ships at three Portland-area shipyards.

Ingalls has delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships to the U.S. Navy and currently has one more, USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28), under construction. In June, Ingalls received an advance procurement contract from the Navy to provide long-lead-time material and advance construction activities for LPD-29, the 13th ship of the San Antonio class.

The San Antonio class is the latest addition to the U.S. Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey. The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21st century.

USS Portland (LPD-27), sails through the Gulf of Mexico during her acceptance sea trials (Photo by Lance Davis/HII)
USS Portland (LPD-27), sails through the Gulf of Mexico during her acceptance sea trials (Photo by Lance Davis/HII)

 

General Characteristics

Builder Huntington Ingalls Industries
Propulsion Four sequentially turbocharged marine Colt-Pielstick Diesels, two shafts, 41,600 shaft horsepower
Length 684 feet/208 m
Beam 105 feet/32 m
Displacement Approximately 24,900 long tons (25,300 metric tons) full load
Draft 23 feet/7 m
Speed In excess of 22 knots/24.2 mph/38.7 km/h
Crew Ship’s Company: 374 Sailors (28 officers, 346 enlisted) and 3 Marines. Embarked Landing Force: 699 (66 officers, 633 enlisted); surge capacity to 800
Armament Two Bushmaster II 30-mm Close in Guns, fore and aft; two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launchers, fore and aft: ten .50 calibre/12.7-mm machine guns
Aircraft Launch or land two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters or two MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft or up to four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, AH-1 or UH-1 helicopters
Landing/Attack Craft Two LCACs or one LCU; and 14 Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles/Amphibious Assault Vehicles

 

San Antonio-class

Ship Builder Launched Commissioned Homeport
USS San Antonio (LPD-17) Avondale 07-12-2003 01-14-2006 Norfolk, Virginia
USS New Orleans (LPD-18) Avondale 12-11-2004 03-10-2007 San Diego, California
USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) Ingalls 11-19-2004 12-15-2007 Norfolk, Virginia
USS Green Bay (LPD-20) Avondale 08-11-2006 01-24-2009 San Diego, California
USS New York (LPD-21) Avondale 12-19-2007 11-07-2009 Norfolk, Virginia
USS San Diego (LPD-22) Ingalls 05-07-2010 05-19-2012 San Diego, California
USS Anchorage (LPD-23) Avondale 02-12-2011 05-04-2013 San Diego, California
USS Arlington (LPD-24) Ingalls 11-23-2010 02-08-2013 Norfolk, Virginia
USS Somerset (LPD-25) Avondale 04-14-2012 05-01-2014 San Diego, California
USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) Ingalls 11-02-2014 10-08-2016 San Diego, California
USS Portland (LPD-27) Ingalls 02-13-2016
USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) Ingalls
LPD-29