The U.S. Navy christened its newest amphibious transport dock, the future USS Richard M. McCool, Jr. (LPD-29), during a 9 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, June 11, at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Division shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The principal speaker is Undersecretary of the U.S. Navy Erik Raven. Additional speakers include Lieutenant General David Bellon, commander, United States Marine Corps Reserve and Marine Corps Forces, South; Vice Admiral Randy Crites, deputy chief of naval operations for integration of capabilities and resources; and Ms. Kari Wilkinson, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. In a time-honored Navy tradition, the ship’s sponsors and granddaughters of its namesake, Shana McCool and Kate Oja, christened the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.

The ship is named in honor of Navy veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, retired Captain Richard Miles McCool, Jr., who was awarded the Medal of Honor for the heroism he displayed June 10 and 11, 1945, in coordinating damage control and rescue operations after a series of Japanese kamikaze aircraft attacks during the Battle of Okinawa. On June 10, 1945, his leadership efforts greatly assisted in evacuating survivors from a sinking destroyer. After his ship was struck by a kamikaze June 11, 1945, then Lieutenant McCool, Jr., despite suffering from shrapnel wounds and painful burns, led vigorous damage control efforts to save his ship from destruction and personally rescue Sailors trapped in blazing compartments. McCool passed away on March 5, 2008.

«We christen the future USS Richard M. McCool, Jr. (LPD-29), recognizing a Medal of Honor awardee and true American hero for his unwavering devotion to duty and service to our country», said Secretary of the U.S. Navy Carlos Del Toro. «This historic occasion brings us one step closer to ‘manning the rails’ with the men and women who will carry on the proud naval tradition of defending our nation and working towards a more peaceful world».

The future USS Richard M. McCool, Jr. (LPD-29) is the 13th San Antonio-class ship, designed to support embarking, transporting, and bringing elements of 650 Marines ashore by landing craft or air-cushion vehicles. A flight deck hangar further enhances the ship’s capabilities, which can support 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. These capabilities allow the U.S. Navy to protect America’s security abroad and promote regional stability and preserve future peace.

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Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division announced on January 7, 2022 the successful launch of amphibious transport dock USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD-29). Richard M. McCool Jr., the 13th LPD in the San Antonio class of amphibious assault force ships, will support U.S. amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions through the first half of the 21st century.

«The LPD class ships, like all of our programs, are critically important to U.S. national security», said Kari Wilkinson, president of HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. «In addition, thousands of Americans, from engineers to electricians, have worked on LPD-29 over the years. Ingalls Shipbuilding is proud to build them and even more proud of the talented people that make up our shipbuilding team».

With the assistance of tugs, USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD-29) came off the floating dry dock Wednesday morning, after first being translated via Ingalls’ rail car system. The dock was moved away from the pier and then ballasted to float off the ship.

Launching USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD-29) is the first of a series of significant milestone events in bringing the ship to life, and eventual delivery to the U.S. Navy which is planned for later next year.

Ingalls Shipbuilding is building the entire San Antonio class of ships, the newest addition to the U.S. Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long/208.5-meter-long, 105-foot-wide/32-meter-wide ships that displace 25,000 tons 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.

Ship Facts and Characteristics

San Antonio-class

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