The U.S. Navy christened its newest amphibious transport dock, the future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28), during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, August 21, at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Division shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The mayor of Fort Lauderdale, the Honorable Dean Trantalis, delivered the ceremony’s principal address. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Navy for Ship Programs Ms. Bilyana Anderson and Vice Admiral William Galinis, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command, also provided remarks. In a time-honored Navy tradition, the ship’s sponsor, Ms. Meredith Berger, christened the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.
«We christen the future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28), recognizing a city with a proud naval history», said Secretary of the U.S. Navy, the Honorable Carlos Del Toro. «This momentous occasion brings us one step closer to ‘manning the rails’ with the men and women who will carry on the naval tradition of defending our nation and working towards a more peaceful world».
USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) is the first ship to be named for the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) is the 12th San Antonio-class ship. The ships are designed to support embarking, transporting and bringing ashore elements of 650 Marines by landing craft or air cushion vehicles. The ship’s capabilities are further enhanced by a flight deck and hangar, which can operate CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft (MV-22). San Antonio-class ships can support a variety of amphibious assault, special operations or expeditionary warfare missions, operating independently or as part of Amphibious Readiness Groups (ARGs), Expeditionary Strike Groups, or joint task forces.
Ship Facts and Characteristics
| Propulsion | Four sequentially turbocharged marine Colt-Pielstick Diesels, two shafts, 41,600 shaft horsepower/31,021 kW |
| Length | 684 feet/208.5 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: 380 Sailors (29 officers, 351 enlisted) and 3 Marines. Embarked Landing Force: 699 (66 officers, 633 enlisted); surge capacity to 800 |
| Armament | Two Mk-46 30-mm close in Guns, fore and aft; two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launchers, fore and aft: ten .50 caliber/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 AH-1 Cobra or UH-1Y Venom helicopters |
| Landing/Attack Craft | Two Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCACs) or one Landing Craft Utility (LCU); and 14 Amphibious Assault Vehicles |
San Antonio-class
Flight I
| 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 | 12-14-2017 | San Diego, California |
| USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) | Ingalls | 03-28-2020 | ||
| USS Richard M. McCool (LPD-29) | Ingalls |
Flight II
| Ship | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Homeport |
| USS Harrisburg (LPD-30) | Ingalls | |||
| USS Pittsburgh (LPD-31) | Ingalls |