USS Detroit (LCS-7)

USS Detroit on 30 April 2018
History
United States
Name	Detroit
Namesake	Detroit
Awarded	17 March 2011[4]
Builder	Marinette Marine[4]
Laid down	8 November 2012[5]
Launched	18 October 2014[1]
Sponsored by	Mrs. Barbara Levin
Christened	18 October 2014
Acquired	12 August 2016[2]
Commissioned	22 October 2016[3]
Decommissioned	29 September 2023
Homeport	Naval Station Mayport[4]
Identification	MMSI number: 369970708 Hull number: LCS-7
Motto	Swift Vigilance
Status	Stricken, Final Disposition Pending[4]
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Freedom-class littoral combat ship
Displacement	3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) full load[7]
Length	378.3 ft (115.3 m)[4]
Beam	57.4 ft (17.5 m)[4]
Draft	13.0 ft (3.7 m)[4]
Propulsion	2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW gas turbines, 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, 4 Rolls-Royce waterjets
Speed	40 knots (46 mph; 74 km/h) (sea state 3)
Range	3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)[6]
Endurance	21 days (336 hours)
Boats & landing craft carried	11 m RHIB, 40 ft (12 m) high-speed boats
Complement	15 to 50 core crew, 75 mission crew (Blue and Gold crews)
Armament	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun 2 Mk44 Bushmaster II RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles Honeywell Mk 50 Torpedo AGM-114 Hellfire 2 .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns
Aircraft carried	2 MH-60R/S Seahawks MQ-8 Fire Scout
Notes	Electrical power is provided by 4 Isotta Fraschini V1708 diesel engines with Hitzinger generator units rated at 800 kW each.

USS Detroit (LCS-7) was the fourth Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.^[8] She is the sixth ship to be named after the city of Detroit, Michigan.^[4][9]

Design

In 2002, the U.S. Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.^[10] The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from Lockheed Martin, which became known as the Freedom-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, USS Freedom.^[10][11] Odd-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Freedom-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the trimaran hull Independence-class littoral combat ship from General Dynamics.^[10] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.^[10]  Detroit is the fourth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

Detroit includes additional stability improvements over the original Freedom design; the stern transom was lengthened and buoyancy tanks were added to the stern to increase weight service and enhance stability.^[12] The ship will also feature automated sensors to allow "conditions-based maintenance" and reduce crew overwork and fatigue issues that Freedom had on her first deployment.^[13]

Construction and career

The ceremonial “laying of the keel” was in early November 2012 at the Marinette Marine shipyards in Marinette, Wisconsin.^[14] The ship was launched on 18 October 2014.^[1] The US Navy accepted Detroit into service on 12 August 2016; the ship was commissioned on 22 October 2016.^[15][3] She is assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two. The ship is sponsored by Mrs. Barbara Levin^[1] (Wife of Senator Carl Levin)

On 30 December 2016, Detroit participated in a homeport shift ceremony that took place at Naval Station Mayport. The ship was previously scheduled to be based out of Naval Base San Diego but was reassigned while en route.^[16]

On 13 January 2017, Detroit completed her first flight deck evolutions to certify the flight deck for future air operations. The landings and VERTREP were conducted by the "Swamp Foxes" of HSM-74. On 8 March 2017, Detroit fired a vertical-launched AGM-114 Hellfire missile, the first such launch from a littoral combat ship.^[17] The Hellfire system is meant to engage small vessels and strike targets on land.

In January 2020, Detroit conducted freedom of navigation and intelligence-gathering operations in the Caribbean Sea.^[18]

Detroit, the fourth ship of the Freedom-class, was planned to be inactivated in FY 2022, and to join the Out of Commission in Reserve (OCIR) list, along with three other ships in the class: Freedom, Fort Worth, and Little Rock.^[19] However, in the final 2022 budget, Congress blocked the Navy's request to retire the three ships.^[20]

On 21 June 2023 Detroit got underway for its final deployment to the 4th fleet AOR to support regional cooperation and security.^[21]

On 27 September 2023 Detroit returned to Mayport in preparation to decommission the ship two days later.^[22]

On 29 September 2023, Detroit was decommissioned at Mayport.^[23][24]

References

• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Detroit (LCS-7).

This page was last edited on 17 February 2024, at 12:20