Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division christened the company’s sixth U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter (NSC), Munro (WMSL-755), on November 14, in front of nearly 600 guests. Julie Sheehan, the great niece of the ship’s namesake, Signalman First Class Douglas Munro, is the ship’s sponsor. At the culmination of the ceremony, she smashed a bottle across the bow of the ship, proclaiming, «May God bless this ship and all who sail in her».

Admiral Paul Zukunft, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, was the ceremony’s principal speaker. «I couldn’t help but notice when I drove into the shipyard today the banner that read, ‘What you do today matters,’» he said. «Nothing could be truer than what you do today at Huntington Ingalls, because 45 years from today – if not longer – this ship will continue to serve our nation. Many of us will have crossed the bar by that time, but this ship will live on».

Munro died heroically on September 27, 1942, on Guadalcanal. Having volunteered to evacuate a detachment of U.S. Marines who were facing annihilation by a large and unanticipated enemy force, he succeeded in safely extricating them and in doing so was mortally wounded. For his heroic and selfless actions in the completion of this rescue mission, Munro was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He is the Coast Guard’s sole recipient of the award. Ingalls has delivered five NSCs, and three more, including Munro, are currently under construction.

«Our Ingalls/Coast Guard team continues to get stronger, proving that serial production and stable requirements have a direct effect on improving quality, cost and schedule, and this program has been an excellent one», said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. «The National Security Cutters are clearly changing the game in how to protect our country. Not only does that make us proud, but more importantly, it makes our enemies nervous. It is our job to build a ship that protects the brave men and women who go into harm’s way. And it is a job our shipbuilders take very seriously».

Legend-class NSCs are the flagships of the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet. Designed to replace the 378‐foot/115-meter Hamilton-class High-Endurance Cutters that entered service during the 1960s, they are 418 feet/127 m long with a 54-foot/16-meter beam and displace 4,500 long tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots/32 mph/52 km/h, a range of 12,000 nautical miles/13,809 miles/22,224 km, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110.

NSCs are capable of meeting all maritime security mission needs required of the High-Endurance Cutter. They include an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats and a flight deck to accommodate a range of manned and unmanned rotary wing aircraft. The Legend class is the largest and most technologically advanced class of cutter in the Coast Guard, with robust capabilities for maritime homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defense missions. NSCs play an important role enhancing the Coast Guard’s operational readiness, capacity and effectiveness at a time when the demand for their services has never been greater.

 

Facts

Displacement	4,500 long tons
Length	418 feet/127 m
Beam	54 feet/16 m
Speed	28 knots/32 mph/52 km/h
Range	12,000 NM/13,809 miles/22,224 km
Endurance	60 days
Crew	120
Equipped with	Mk-110 57-mm turret mounted gun
	6 × 12.7-mm/.50 caliber machine guns
	3D air search radar
	2 level 1, class 1 aircraft hangers
	A stern launch ramp for mission boats

 

Ship list

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750)

USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751)

USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752)

USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753)

USCGC James (WMSL-754)

USCGC Munro (WMSL-755)

USCGC Kimball (WMSL-756)

USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757)

 

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched the U.S. Coast Guard’s newest National Security Cutter (NSC), Munro (WMSL-755), on September 12, 2015. Munro is the company’s sixth NSC and is expected to deliver by the end of next year.

«The National Security Cutter program is in a very mature state», said Derek Murphy, Ingalls’ NSC program manager. «NSC 6 is the most complete ship at launch, and we accomplished this a week earlier than scheduled. Our shipbuilders continue to improve the learning curve, and the National Security Cutter program illustrates the cost savings and first-time quality that comes from serial production. Our learning curve is the best it has been on this program, and we look forward to continuing this trend on future Coast Guard ships».

Munro was translated via Ingalls’ rail car system to the floating dry dock one week prior to launch. The dock was moved away from the pier and then flooded to float the ship. With the assistance of tugs, Munro came off the dock on September 12 morning.

«All of the folks working the translation and launch worked diligently to ensure the process was done in the most efficient manner possible, and that’s exactly what happened», said Jason Frioux, Ingalls’ NSC 6 program integration manager. «Now our NSC 6 team will continue this effort so this ship will be ready for sea trials and delivery next year. Everything we are doing on a day-to-day basis matters because we want to ensure the men and women of the Coast Guard will have a safe and quality ship to support their homeland security missions».

Ingalls has delivered the first five NSCs and has three more under construction, including Munro. The seventh ship, Kimball (WMSL-756), is scheduled for delivery in 2018. The eighth NSC, Midgett (WMSL-757), will start fabrication in November.

Munro is named to honor Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, the Coast Guard’s sole recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was mortally wounded on September 27, 1942, while evacuating a detachment of Marines on Guadalcanal.

Legend-class NSCs are the flagships of the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet. Designed to replace the 378‐foot/115-meter Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters that entered service in the 1960s, they are 418 feet/127 m long with a 54-foot/16-meter beam and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots/32 mph/52 km/h, a range of 12,000 NM/13,809 miles/22,224 km, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110.

NSCs are capable of meeting all maritime security mission needs required of the high-endurance cutter. They include an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats and a flight deck to accommodate a range of manned and unmanned rotary wing aircraft.

The Legend class is the largest and most technologically advanced class of cutter in the Coast Guard, with robust capabilities for maritime homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defense missions. NSCs play an important role enhancing the Coast Guard’s operational readiness, capacity and effectiveness at a time when the demand for their services has never been greater.

 

Facts

Displacement	4,500 long tons
Length	418 feet/127 m
Beam	54 feet/16 m
Speed	28 knots/32 mph/52 km/h
Range	12,000 NM/13,809 miles/22,224 km
Endurance	60 days
Crew	120
Equipped with	Mk-110 57-mm turret mounted gun
	6 × 12.7-mm/.50 caliber machine guns
	3D air search radar
	2 level 1, class 1 aircraft hangers
	A stern launch ramp for mission boats

 

Ship list

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750)

USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751)

USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752)

USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753)

USCGC James (WMSL-754)

USCGC Munro (WMSL-755)

USCGC Kimball (WMSL-756)

USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757)

 

Munro was translated via Ingalls’ rail car system to the floating dry dock one week prior to launch. The dock was moved away from the pier and then flooded to float the ship