BIW-built future USS Lyndon B. Johnson to be christened April 27
April 11, 2019
BY NATHAN STROUT
Times Record Staff
BATH — The third and final Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer built at Bath Iron Works, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson, will be christened April 27.
The Zumwalt-class are highly advanced stealth destroyers, featuring a slew of new technologies and design features including a wave-piercing tumblehome hull, an all-electric propulsion system and a low radar profile. Even though the ships are roughly 100 feet longer than the Bath-built Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, they are designed to operate with about half the crew.
While the Navy originally wanted to build 32 Zumwalts, it ultimately cut its order to just three ships, all of which were built at Bath Iron Works. The Navy has had difficulty determining how to incorporate the three destroyers into the fleet, and in 2017 they changed their mission from operating close to shore and supporting ground troops to engaging in ship to ship combat. The Navy requested $89.7 million in their 2019 budget to convert the destroyers to their new mission.
The future USS Lyndon B. Johnson is a departure from the first two Zumwalt-class destroyers in that it features a steel deckhouse, as opposed to the composite materials used in the previous ships. The composite deckhouses were used in the first two ships because they were lighter than the steel version. They were built by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Mississippi and then barged north to be added to the rest of the ship.
Since the steel deckhouse is cheaper than the composite alternative, the Navy decided to have the final deckhouse for the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson built out of steel. In 2013, the Navy awarded Bath Iron Works a $212 million contract to build the deckhouse.
Construction on the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson began in 2012. The destroyer was launched December 8 of last year.
The ship is named after the 36th president of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. The ship’s crest pays homage to its namesake, including scales representing Johnson’s landmark legislative achievement, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and an astronaut’s glove representing Johnson’s support for NASA’s Apollo program. Johnson was also an advocate for a bundle of domestic programs to address poverty that he termed “the Great Society,” which is reflected in the ship’s motto, “Defensor ex societas magna,” which translates to “In defense of great society.”
Johnson’s daughters, Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, are the ship’s sponsors and will attend the christening with their families.
The christening is scheduled for 10 a.m. on April 27 at the shipyard. The event is private, but employees, retirees and members of the public can request tickets at the company’s website. The deadline for reservations is Friday, April 12.
A coalition of peace activists on Monday announced their plans to protest the christening, including Karen Wainberg of Brunswick, who “has spent the past year gathering names of people willing to engage in civil resistance” during the ceremony, according to a news release.
Bath Iron Works will also be christening the future USS Daniel Inouye this summer, on June 22. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be launched this summer in advance of the christening.
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 607-4255
http://www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com (blog)
'Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.'
~ Henry David Thoreau
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 607-4255
http://www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com (blog)
'Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.'
~ Henry David Thoreau
No comments:
Post a Comment