USS New York Christened
Saturday, March 01, 2008
The Navy's newest amphibious transport dock ship, the USS New York, is now a part of the fleet. The christening ceremony took place today down in Avondale, Louisiana and the wife of the deputy SecDef and ship sponsor, Dottie England, broke the bottle of champagne on the bow.
The fifth ship of the new San Antonio class, the New York already holds a special place in the hearts of Americans because the steel that makes up her bow section includes steel salvaged from the World Trade Center.
Even with the headaches that came along with the first ship in the
class (sort of expected with a new design and pretty much ironed out
now), these are impressive machines. Designed to bring the Navy and US
Marine Corp expeditionary combat capability into the 21st century, the
ship was designed with low radar observables and is the first ship
fully designed from the CAD-screen up to support all three of the
Marine's primary mobility capabilities - Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle
(EFV), Landing Craft, Air Cushioned (LCAC) and the MV-22 Osprey.
Welcome to the fleet, New York!
The photo shows the bulbous bow section of the ship is moved into position. The areas primed in white contain the steel salvaged from the WTC. Photo courtesy Northrop Grumman.