The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Manchester (LCS-14) during a ceremony in Mobile, Alabama, February 28.
Delivery marks the official transfer of USS Manchester (LCS-14) from the shipbuilder, an Austal USA-led team, to the U.S. Navy. It is the final milestone prior to commissioning, which is planned for May in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
«Delivery marks a major milestone in the life of the future USS Manchester (LCS-14), as she is transferred to the U.S. Navy and her in-service counter begins», said Captain Mike Taylor, LCS program manager. «Manchester is an exceptional ship which will take her crew around the globe as they sail to protect our country. I look forward to celebrating her upcoming commissioning in Portsmouth».
Manchester is the 12th Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) to be delivered to the U.S. Navy and the seventh of the Independence variant to join the fleet. The Independence variant is noted for its unique trimaran hull, ability to operate at high speeds and its large flight deck size.
«The future USS Manchester (LCS-14) is joining the fleet at a thrilling time in LCS history; LCSs are operationally proven and continue to be in high demand by combatant commanders around the globe», said Captain Jordy Harrison, commander, LCS Squadron-1 (COMLCSRON-1). «We enthusiastically welcome the future USS Manchester (LCS-14) to LCSRON-1 and I both admire and envy the work the crew has undertaken to make this important milestone in the ship’s history possible».
COMLCSRON-1 supports the operational commanders with warships ready for tasking by manning, training, equipping and maintaining littoral combat ships on the west coast. Manchester will be homeported in San Diego with her fellow ships USS Freedom (LCS-1), USS Independence (LCS-2), USS Fort Worth (LCS-3), USS Coronado (LCS-4), USS Jackson (LCS-6), USS Montgomery (LCS-8), USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) and USS Omaha (LCS-12).
«To see the crew come together with Austal, Supervisor of Shipbuilding and the Program Office to celebrate this milestone is an awesome reminder of the team effort that is shipbuilding and warfighting», said Commander Emily Bassett, Manchester’s commanding officer. «LABOR VINCIT! Work Conquers! That’s our ship’s motto. The delivery gives the work of the ship over to her Sailors, and we are ready to conquer».
The LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship designed to meet validated fleet requirements for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and mine countermeasures missions in the littoral region. An interchangeable mission package is embarked on each LCS and provides the primary mission systems in one of these warfare areas. Using an open architecture design, modular weapons, sensor systems and a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles to gain, sustain, and exploit littoral maritime supremacy, LCS provides U.S. joint force access to critical theaters.
Program Executive Office (PEO) Littoral Combat Ships is responsible for delivering and sustaining littoral mission capabilities to the fleet.
The Independence Variant of the LCS Class
| PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS | |
| Construction | Hull and superstructure – aluminium alloy |
| Length overall | 421 feet/128.3 m |
| Beam overall | 103 feet/31.4 m |
| Hull draft (maximum) | 14.8 feet/4.5 m |
| PAYLOAD AND CAPACITIES | |
| Complement | Core Crew – 40 |
| Mission crew – 36 | |
| Berthing | 76 in a mix of single, double & quad berthing compartments |
| Maximum mission load | 210 tonnes |
| Mission Bay Volume | 118,403 feet3/11,000 m3 |
| Mission packages | Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) |
| Surface Warfare (SUW) | |
| Mine Warfare (MIW) | |
| PROPULSION | |
| Main engines | 2 × GE LM2500 |
| 2 × MTU 20V 8000 | |
| Waterjets | 4 × Wartsila steerable |
| Bow thruster | Retractable azimuthing |
| PERFORMANCE | |
| Speed | 40 knots/46 mph/74 km/h |
| Range | 3,500 NM/4,028 miles/6,482 km |
| Operational limitation | Survival in Sea State 8 |
| MISSION/LOGISTICS DECK | |
| Deck area | >21,527.8 feet2/2,000 m2 |
| Launch and recovery | Twin boom extending crane |
| Loading | Side ramp |
| Internal elevator to hanger | |
| Launch/Recover Watercraft | Sea State 4 |
| FLIGHT DECK AND HANGER | |
| Flight deck dimensions | 2 × SH-60 or 1 × CH-53 or multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Vertical Take-off and Land Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs/VTUAVs) |
| Hanger | Aircraft stowage & maintenance for 2 × SH-60 |
| Launch/Recover Aircraft | Sea State 5 |
| WEAPONS AND SENSORS | |
| Standard | 1 × 57-mm gun |
| 4 × 12.7-mm/.50 caliber guns | |
| 1 × Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launcher | |
| 3 × weapons modules | |
Independence-class
| Ship | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Homeport |
| USS Independence (LCS-2) | 01-19-2006 | 04-26-2008 | 01-16-2010 | San Diego, California |
| USS Coronado (LCS-4) | 12-17-2009 | 01-14-2012 | 04-05-2014 | San Diego, California |
| USS Jackson (LCS-6) | 08-01-2011 | 12-14-2013 | 12-05-2015 | San Diego, California |
| USS Montgomery (LCS-8) | 06-25-2013 | 08-06-2014 | 09-10-2016 | San Diego, California |
| USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) | 04-16-2014 | 02-25-2015 | 06-10-2017 | San Diego, California |
| USS Omaha (LCS-12) | 02-18-2015 | 11-20-2015 | 02-03-2018 | San Diego, California |
| USS Manchester (LCS-14) | 06-29-2015 | 05-12-2016 | San Diego, California | |
| USS Tulsa (LCS-16) | 01-11-2016 | |||
| USS Charleston (LCS-18) | 06-28-2016 | |||
| USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) | 04-10-2017 | |||
| USS Kansas City (LCS-22) | 11-15-2017 | |||
| USS Oakland (LCS-24) | ||||
| USS Mobile (LCS-26) | ||||
| USS Savannah (LCS-28) | ||||
| USS Canberra (LCS-30) |