Navy Names Littoral Combat Ships Jackson and Montgomery

[280plus]

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today that the next two Freedom-class littoral combat ships (LCS) to be built in Alabama will be named the USS Jackson and the USS Montgomery.

            These two ships are part of a dual block buy of LCS class ships announced by Mabus in December 2010.  By procuring both versions of the LCS -- Lockheed Martin's semiplaning monohull and General Dynamic's aluminum trimaran -- the Navy can stabilize the LCS program and the industrial base with an award of 20 ships; increase ship procurement rate to support operational requirements; sustain competition through the program; and enhance foreign military sales opportunities.  Both designs meet the Navy's LCS requirement.  However, the diversity provided by two designs provides operational flexibility.

            The selection of Jackson, designated LCS 6, honors the great state capitol Jackson, Miss.  This is the first ship to bear the city's name.

            The selection of Montgomery, the capitol of Alabama, designated LCS 8, honors Montgomery, Ala.  This is the second ship to bear the city's name.

            Jackson and Montgomery will be designed to defeat growing littoral threats and provide access and dominance in the coastal waters.  A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required war fighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute focused missions close to the shore such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.

            Jackson and Montgomery will be 419 feet in length, have a waterline beam of 103 feet, displace approximately 3,000 tons, and will make speed in excess of 40 knots.

            Construction of Jackson and Montgomery will be by Austal Shipbuilding in Mobile, Ala.

            
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

Now, I gotta ask, how does a 419 ft long 103 ft wide 3000 ton ship qualify for littoral duty? Wouldn't we want thes to be just a tad smaller?  

[Jamisjockey]

I've seen the Freedom heading north up the Potomac off the beach in Woodbridge.  She's 378' long and 57.4' wide.  The big thing to note is her 12' draft.... Compare to the Vandegrift, which is 458' long and has a 22' draft. 
419' and 103' beam does seem a little big to me, though, for nearshore operations.  The draft is going to be the big thing....less than 15' draft and they can get in really, really close.  It would surprise you how close.

[dogmush]

I had to double check, because that article clearly says Freedom Class, but those dimensions sounded to me much more like the Independence Class LCS.

Yep, 418 ft long, 104 ft wide, drafts 13 ft.  For comparison, the LCU-2000 class landing craft I drove usually had a stern draft of 12 ft, and we could often run the bow up on a beach and get dry ramp.  With some careful conning a 400ft ship can get real close to shore with a 13 ft draft. Also, can carry vehicles and infantry, launch small boats and helo's, as well as has guns of her own?  If these boat's commissioning coincides with an executive w/ spine, there will be a lot of chum in the Gulf of Aden

[280plus]

I was not aware the draft was so shallow. Wow,,,

But still 400 ft of boat "agile"? It just don't seem right. Guess I'm gettin' old 

 

[Perd Hapley]

Why are they wasting our tax money on these floating book clubs? What, are they gonna read the enemy to death? 

[PTK]

That was quite a bit funnier than it had any right to be! :D

[Tallpine]

That was quite a bit funnier than it had any right to be! :D

Literally!   


You notice though - the feds ain't never gonna name a ship "Alabama" 

[280plus]

You notice though - the feds ain't never gonna name a ship "Alabama" 

They should, then the boat could use "Sweet Home Alabama" as an official song which is WAY cooler than "In the Navy". 

[dogmush]

You notice though - the feds ain't never gonna name a ship "Alabama" 

State names are usually reserved for capitol ships.

BB-8

BB-60

SSBN-731

[seeker_two]

State names are usually reserved for capitol ships.

Funny....I thought they'd use state capitols for those..... 

[dogmush]

It's the Navy.  If it makes sense, they won't do it.   Heck, look how long they wore bell bottoms.

[French G.]

Damn, hoping it was the Thomas Jackson.  Can't start that naming trend, the N.B. Forrest would be one heck of a fighting ship, just none too PC.

[ilbob]

I worked on the test stand for the engines for one of those ships.

[Chuck Dye]

Bell bottoms were neither here nor there.  What puzzled me was the longevity of thirteen button trousers.

(I still love the head scene in The Last Detail )

[Tallpine]

State names are usually reserved for capitol ships.

Was the first Alabama considered a capital ship  

[RocketMan]

Does anyone think all the ships in these lines will actually be completed, or will their numbers eventually be cut much like typical military aircraft procurement?

[KD5NRH]

Yep, 418 ft long, 104 ft wide, drafts 13 ft.

This.  I like the idea of really ginormous coastal cruisers.  The bigger they are, the meaner they look when they park right off the beach with a big gun pointed at you.  (Granted, a single 57mm is a peashooter compared to multiple turrets of 16 inchers, but still, it's gonna hurt.)

[seeker_two]

This.  I like the idea of really ginormous coastal cruisers.  The bigger they are, the meaner they look when they park right off the beach with a big gun pointed at you.  (Granted, a single 57mm is a peashooter compared to multiple turrets of 16 inchers, but still, it's gonna hurt.)

But, in this age of missles, do you need to park a ship in RPG range?....

[dogmush]

But, in this age of missles, do you need to park a ship in RPG range?....

Don't underestimate the effect of parking a big chunk of grey boat somewhere.  It's intimidating.

[roo_ster]

But, in this age of missles, do you need to park a ship in RPG range?....

Need to get eyeballs on some targets, and that 57mm (~2" bore) will need to be close to hit anything.

Personally, I am with my USMC friends when they want a big *expletive deleted*ss cannon, not these 155mm and 57mm dealies the Navy thinks is all the rage. 

[Jamisjockey]

It's the Navy.  If it makes sense, they won't do it.   Heck, look how long they wore bell bottoms.

Bell bottoms served a purpose. You can get them off while you're in the water, and then turn them into a flotation device. 

But, in this age of missles, do you need to park a ship in RPG range?....

Real useful for getting into ports or shallow water to support landings.  Also for other operations in shallower water.

[280plus]

Don't underestimate the effect of parking a big chunk of grey boat somewhere.  It's intimidating.

Especially if you understand that they can probably see you pretty much regardless of your location and zoom in pretty quick on where a missle might have come from, providing they survive the hit that is. I saw what an Exocet can do to a destroyer, not pretty.

[vaskidmark]

Need to get eyeballs on some targets, and that 57mm (~2" bore) will need to be close to hit anything.

Personally, I am with my USMC friends when they want a big *expletive deleted*ss cannon, not these 155mm and 57mm dealies the Navy thinks is all the rage. 

While I agree on the big-*expletive deleted*ss cannon part, I have a few differing comments on the flat-bottomed, shallow-draft portion of the discussion.  Having been part of the USMC cointingent aboard both an LST and a destroyer escort during different hurricanes, I can tell you that the DE is much preferred for it's sharp bow and sharp-wedge shaped hull over something resembling a dowager's bosom up front and a john boat on the bottom.  Extending the dowager bosom/john boat configuration to the size of these just makes riding out a hurricane in a DE even more the prefered ride.  That being the case I am fairly sure that it would also hold true in seas not quite as roiled as in a hurricane.

stay safe.

[dogmush]

Tri-hull with stabilizers.

I'll bet she handles seas ok.  Better then a LCU, LSD or LST anyway.

[HankB]

Granted in that it has some anti-air and anti-surface missile capability, but the 57mm gun, four .50s, and two 30mm Bushmasters isn't that much more gun-based ordnance than some skippers mounted on their PT boats during WWII.

More than enough to knock out Somali pirates or Columbian drug smugglers, but the high sides and (apparently) light armor suggest it ought to stay out of the way of anyone who could, for example, fire a salvo of RPGs . . . so I don't see it coming in close to shore in Libya, Somalia, or any of a number of other places.