Mississippi's Navy Connections

CSS Mississippi

The CSS Mississippi, laid down by Tift in New Orleans in October 1861, may have been a formidable ship if it had been finished before the Union attack on, and capture of the city. It would have been armed with 2 7” Brooke Rifles, 4 6.4” Brooke Rifles, 4 9” Dahlgren smooth bore cannons and 6 8” Dahlgrens. Her construction was unique, as she was built according to house-building techniques. However, due to bureaucracy, lack of manufacturing facilities for the machinery and armor, and the failure of the Confederacy to recognize the importance of New Orleans, the ship was launched incomplete just before the Union attacked. The Confederates, unable to tow the ship upstream, were forced to destroy her by fire. The Mississippi was incomplete at the time, with no armament, incomplete armor, and only one of her three screws mounted. Dimensions were 250 feet x 58 feet.

Namesake:

State of Mississippi

Builder: Nelson and Asa F. TiftLaid down:

14 October 1861

Launched: 24 April 1862

Fate: Burned to avoid capture, 25 April 1862

General characteristicsDisplacement:

1400 tons

Length: 250 feet (79.2 meters)Beam: 58 feet (17.7 meters)Draft: 15 feet (4.6 meters)Propulsion:

steam, 3 screws

Armor: 4.5 inches (115 millimeters) iron

CSS Mississippi

The CSS Mississippi and her sister ship CSS North Carolina were built for the Confederacy by Laird's shipyard in Birkenhead (in Merseyside, near Liverpool), one of Britain's greatest shipbuilders and a specialist in ironwork and modern warship construction. Ordered covertly by Confederate agent James Bulloch in 1862, Mississippi would have completed near the end of 1863. Earlier in the war, Alabama, also built at Laird's, had been classed as merchant vessels while building and the British government had been able to shrug off Federal protests. They had been armed offshore only after completion. But when Federal agents in Britain uncovered the Laird's subterfuge in 1863, it was impossible to pretend the new ships were anything but men-of-war and the US ambassador demanded immediate action.

The British government quarantined the two vessels in 1863 and purchased them for the Royal Navy in 1865. Renamed Wyvern and Scorpion, the two acquisitions proved high-quality, economical additions to the Queen's fleet. They roved the globe in a variety of duties in the 1860s and 1870s. Wyvern was refitted and sent to Hong Kong in 1880 where she remained until she was scrapped in 1922.

Known in Britain as "Laird rams" – Mississippi and North Carolina could have shifted the balance in the naval war had they been delivered. Fast and maneuverable, each of these midsized ships carried a pair of 9" muzzle-loading guns in each of two Coles turrets. The turrets were carried in the waist of the ship, one before and one abaft the mainmast. The ships also carried huge spur rams. As with many Civil War era warships, hinged bulwarks folded down to permit the guns to train, or locked up when sailing.

Dimensions: 224'6" x 42'4" x 17', deep laden. Displacement: 2,750 tons. Armament: (4) 9" 250-pdr RML. Armor: Belt 4½/3½/2 inches; turret faces 10 inches; turret sides 5 inches. Engine: Single Lairds' Direct Acting steam engine developing 1450 IHP, shafted to single screw. Maximum speed under power: 10½ kts. Sail plan: 3-masted barque. Crew: 153.

USS Mississippi

USS Mississippi

Builder: Philadelphia Navy Yard

Laid down: 1839

Launched: 1842

Commissioned: 22 December 1841

Fate: Scuttled, 14 March 1863

General characteristics

Type: steam frigate

Displacement: 3,220 long tons (3,272 t)

Length: 229 ft (70 m)

Beam: 40 ft (12 m)

Depth of hold: 19 ft (5.8 m)

Propulsion: Steam engine

Speed: 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)

Armament: • 2 × 10 in (250 mm) Paixhans guns• 8 × 8 in (200 mm) Paixhans guns

USS Mississippi, a paddle frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. Her keel was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1839 and was built under the personal supervision of Commodore Matthew Perry. She was commissioned on December 22, 1841.Mexican-American WarAfter several years of service in the Home Squadron, Mississippi joined the West Indian Squadron in 1845 as flagship for Commodore Perry. During the Mexican-American War, she took part in expeditions designed to tighten American control of the Mexican coastline and interrupting coastwise commerce and military supply operations. She arrived at Veracruz on March 21 to conduct amphibious operations, supplying guns and crews to be taken ashore for the battery which fought the city to surrender in four days. Through the remainder of the war, Mississippi conducted a series of coastal raids on Mexico’s east coast, taking part in the capture of Tabasco in June.Mission to JapanAfter cruising the Mediterranean during 1849–1851, Mississippi returned to the United States to serve as the flagship of Commodore Perry's momentous voyage to Japan entering Tokyo Bay on July 8, 1853. Commodore Perry negotiated a trade treaty with the Japanese, hitherto absolutely opposed to opening their country to Western trade and influence. Mississippi returned to New York City on April 23, 1855, and again sailed for the Far East on August 19, 1857, to base at Shanghai and patrol in support of America's burgeoning trade with the Orient. She placed in reserve at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1860, but was reactivated when the American Civil War became inevitable.Civil WarUSS Mississippi arrived off Key West, Florida on June 8, 1861 to institute the naval blockade of the Confederacy there. The following spring, she joined Farragut's squadron for the planned assault on New Orleans. As Farragut brought his fleet up the river on April 24, the Mississippi ran the Confederate ram Manassas ashore, wrecking her with two mighty broadsides. After New Orleans fell, the next spring she was ordered upriver for the operations against Port Hudson, Louisiana. Mississippi grounded while attempting to pass the forts guarding Port Hudson and under enemy fire, an unsuccessful effort was made to refloat her. At last, her machinery was destroyed, her battery spiked, and she was fired to prevent Confederate capture. When the flames reached her magazines, she blew up and sank. She lost 64 men, with the accompanying ships saving 223 of her crew.

USS Mississippi (BB 23)

“U.S.S. Mississippi.Figurehead of the second Battleship Mississippi

Presented to the State of MississippiBy the U.S. Navy Department,

December 1909”


Laid down: 12 May 1904

Launched: 30 September 1905

Commissioned: 1 February 1908

Decommissioned: 21 July 1914

Struck: 21 July 1914

Fate: Sold to Greece

Career (Greece)

Name: Kilkis

Commissioned: 1914

Fate: Sunk by German aircraft in April 1941


Displacement: 13,000 tons (13,200 metric tons)


Beam: 77 ft (23 m)

Draft: 24.7 ft (8 m)

Speed: 17 kn (20 mph; 31 km/h)

Complement: 34 officers, 710 men

Armament: 4 × 12 in (300 mm)/45 cal Mark 5 (2x2)8 × 8 in (200 mm)/45 cal guns (4x2)8 × 7 in (180 mm)/45 cal guns12 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal guns6 × 3 pounders, 2 × 1 pounders6 × .30 in (7.6 mm) machine guns2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Mississippi (Battleship No. 23) was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the state of Mississippi. After her career in the USN, she was sold to Greece in 1914 and renamed Kilkis. Kilkis was sunk by German bombers in April 1941.Mississippi and her sister Idaho were designed in response to Congressional desire to cap the growth and expense of new battleships. As a result of the design compromises and the advent of a new era in battleship design introduced by the HMS Dreadnought, The USS Mississippi was considered obsolete at launch.The history of the USS Mississippi was limited in both time and scope. Following initial sea trials and training cruises, she did make a transatlantic visit to England and France in 1910. In 1912, she landed Marines in Cuba to safeguard American interests. As her only real operational deployment, Mississippi sailed to Veracruz in April 1914 with the outbreak of fighting in Mexico, arriving with the first detachment of naval aviators to go into combat. In June 1914 she returned to Hampton Roads where in July she was decommissioned and transferred to the Greek Navy to become the Kilkis. In 1916, Kilkis and the entire Greek fleet was seized by France due to Greece's neutrality in World War I. When Greece entered the war on the side of the Entente, returned the ships, but the Kilkis did not see WWI action. However, she did participate in the 1919 Allied Crimean expedition in support of White Russian forces, and the Asia Minor Campaign. Still serving in the Royal Hellenic Navy, the Kilkis was sunk by Stuka dive bombers on April 23, 1941, during the German invasion of Greece. Her wreck was refloated and salvaged for scrap in the 1950s


USS Mississippi (BB 41)(AG 128)

Namesake: The State of Mississippi

Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding

Laid down: 5 April 1915

Launched: 25 January 1917


Decommissioned 17 September 1956

Reclassified: BB-41 to AG-128

Fate: Sold for scrap

General characteristicsClass and type: New Mexico-class battleship



Beam: 97.4 ft (29.7 m)

Draft: 30 ft (9.1 m)

Speed: 21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)

Complement: 55 officers, 1,026 enlisted

Armament: 12 × 14 in (360 mm) guns,14 × 5 in (130 mm)/51 cal guns4 × 3 in (76 mm) guns, and2 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Mississippi (BB 41/AG 128), a New Mexico-class battleship, was the third ship named in honor the state. Commissioned in 1917, too late to serve in World War I, she served extensively in the Pacific in World War II, for which she earned eight battle stars. She was one of several pre-war battleships that participated in the Battle of Surigao Strait, the last battleship engagement in history. After the war, her two sisters were quickly decommissioned and scrapped, but Mississippi continued to serve another decade as a missile weapons testing ship (AG-128). After commissioning, Mississippi spent most of the inter-war years in the Pacific, interspersed with winter training cruises in the Caribbean and a 1931 modernization overhaul in Norfolk, Virginia.In June 1941, Mississippi began patrol service in the North Atlantic escorting convoy’s from the east coast to Iceland. She spent two months near Iceland protecting shipping in the area and was there when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Two days after the attack, Mississippi steamed for the Pacific.The USS Mississippi’s World War II service began with convoy escort duties during most of 1942. In July of 1943 she was in the Aleutian Islands to shell the Japanese-held Kiska Island a few days prior to the Japanese withdrawal. In October the Mississippi took part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands supplying bombardment support off Makin Island, followed by participation in Marshall Islands campaign during early 1944. After an overhaul and anti-aircraft weapons upgrade, Mississippi returned to action supporting landings on Peleliu and Leyte in the Philippines during September and October. On the night of 24 October, as part of Task Group 77.2’s mixed battleship and cruiser battleline, she helped to destroy a powerful Japanese task force at the Battle of Surigao Strait; Mississippi herself fired the final salvo in history by a battleship against other warships. In early 1945 while supporting the landings on Luzon she was received damages near her waterline from the crash of a kamikaze, but continued to provide bombardment support for the invasion forces until 10 February. Following repairs at Pearl Harbor, she sailed to Okinawa in May to support the landing forces there and was hit a second time by a kamikaze, but again stayed on station. On 2 September 1945, the Mississippi was one of many ships in Tokyo Bay to witness the end of World War II. After the war, Mississippi underwent conversion to the AG-128, a weapons development platform. She spent the last 10 years of her career carrying out investigations of gunnery problems and testing new weapons such as the Terrier missile and Petrel missiles.Mississippi decommissioned on 17 September 1956 and while there was a proposal to convert the ship to a museum, that plan did not materialize and the ship was purchased for scrap metal on 28 November of the same year.

USS Mississippi (CGN 40)

USS Mississippi’s Pascagoula visit, alongside the John L Hall

USS Mississippi (CGN 40)

Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company

Laid down: 22 February 1975

Launched: 31 July 1976

Commissioned: 5 August 1978


Motto: Virtute et armis (By valor and arms)

Fate: Stricken to be recycled

General characteristicsClass and type:

Virginia class cruiser

Displacement: approx. 11,300 tons full load


Beam: 63 ft (19 m)

Draft: 31.5 ft (9.6 m)

Propulsion: Twin D2G General Electric nuclear reactors

Speed: 30+ knots

Range: Nuclear

Complement: 39 Officers, 539 Enlisted

Armament: -Two Mk-26 "dual-arm" missile launchers for Standard missile(SAMs) and/or "matchbox" ASROC"anti-submarine" rockets -Two Mk-141 Harpoon missilelaunchers-Two "armored box" ASM/LAM launchers for Tomahawk missile-Two "triple-mount" Mk 46 torpedolaunchers-Two Mk-45 (5 inch/54 caliber) "lightweight" guns-Two Phalanx CIWS (20 mm) "anti-missile" systems-Four machine guns

Aircraft carried:

As built: Helicopter pad (Afterdeck)with hangar / elevator - until later retrofit to Tomahawk launchers.

USS Mississippi (CGN 40), a Virginia-class, nuclear powered, guided-missile cruiser, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the state .After commissioning in 1978 , the USS Mississippi spent the next two and a half years completing shake-down and training cruises before her first Mediterranean deployment. She was a part of the task force that shot down two Libyan jets that fired on American assets over international waters in the Gulf of Sidra on August 18, 1981 and on October 6 answered an emergency sortie order to from a liberty call in Venice, Italy, when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. The 1980s saw repeated Mediterranean and Caribbean deployments by Mississippi as well as the award of multiple Battle Efficiency "E" Awards. With only five days notice, she deployed in August 1990 to support OPERATION DESERT SHIELD and served as flagship for COMDESRON THREE SIX. In this capacity, Mississippi was tasked with boarding and searching merchant vessels for cargo bound for Iraq in violation of United Nations resolutions. In the midst of these duties, Mississippi was ordered to steam at flank speed to a launch area in the Red Sea and, on January 25 and 26, 1991, launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at designated strategic and military targets deep inside the country of Iraq as part of OPERATION DESERT STORM. During the first part of the 1990s, the Mississippi returned several times to the Caribbean for drug enforcement support and to the Mediterranean in 1995 to support United Nations sanctions against the former Republic of Yugoslavia.In February 1996, the USS Mississippi paid her only visit to her namesake state in a port call to Naval Station Pascagoula.Mississippi was deactivated on 6 September, 1996 at Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia in preparation for decommissioning at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia after 18 years of service. On 28 July, 1997, USS Mississippi was officially decommissioned and was later towed to Bremerton, Washington for reactor core removal and storage.Just as the ship figurehead from the USS Mississippi BB 23 resides in her namesake state, several items from the USS Mississippi CGN 40 also have permanent homes in the state.The main mast of the USS Mississippi CGN 40 is mounted at the site of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the Oceans Springs Civic Center, the bridge console piece of USS Mississippi CGN 40 is now on indefinite display at the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum located at Camp Shelby and the forward missile launcher is currently located at the former Naval Station in Pascagoula.

USS Mississippi (SSN 782)

Awarded: 14 August 2003 Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat Laid down: 9 June 2010 Status: Under constructionScheduled Commissioning: 2 June 2012General characteristics Class and type: Virginia-class submarine Displacement: 7800 tons full Length: 377 feet Beam: 34 feetPropulsion: S9G reactor Speed: 25 knots Range: Essentially unlimited distance; 33 years Test depth: greater than 800 feet Complement: 134 officers and menArmament: 12 VLS & four torpedo tubes, for Mark 48 torpedoes, Harpoon missiles, UGM-109 Tactical Tomahawks

The USS Mississippi is the ninth ship of the Virginia class of fast attack submarines (SSN). Designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions, it is designed as a less expensive alternative to the Cold War-era designed Seawolf class attack submarines, and is slated to replace the aging Los Angeles class submarines.

USS Pascagoula

Builder: Dierks-Blodgett Shipbuilding Pascagoula, Mississippi

Launched: 15 May 1918

Commissioned: 4 October 1918

Decommissioned: 21 December 1918

Fate: Sold in September 1922 for salvage

General characteristicsType: Ferris Design 1001 cargo shipDisplacement: 3,588 tons Length: 281 ft. 10 in.Beam: 45 ft. 2 in.Draft: 23 ft. 10 in.Propulsion: Coal fired steam, triple expansion

reciprocating engine, 1400 hp, single screw

Speed: 10 knotsComplement: 10 officers, 46 crew

USS Pascagoula was built by the Dierks-Blodgett Shipbuilding Company in Pascagoula, Mississippi, as a World War I cargo ship. Over 700 of these wooden freighters were ordered by the U.S. Shipping Board but the Pascagoula was one of the few that were finished before the war ended. Built to the Emergency Fleet Corporation's Design 1001, the ship was 281 feet in length, 45 feet wide, powered by a 1,400 hp coal-fired steam engine with a design speed of 10 knots. Over 1 million board feet of southern pine were required for its construction.

Launched on 15 May 1918 and sent to New Orleans for outfitting, the USS Pascagoula was commissioned by the U.S. Navy on 4 October 1918 for use by the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. On its initial voyage to Norfolk, Virginia to begin cargo service, the Pascagoula was forced to put into Key West, Florida for steering gear repair and didn’t reach Hampton Roads until 21 October. Sent to Norfolk Navy Yard to complete more permanent repairs, it was still there when the war ended on 11 November. The USS Pascagoula was decommissioned on 21 December 1918 and declared surplus. It was one of a group 226 wooden World War I ships sold for scrapping in 1922 and ended up as a hulk in Mallow’s Bay, Maryland.

(SS Pascagoula)USAT/USNS George W. Goethals

Builder: Ingalls ShipbuildingPascagoula, Mississippi

Laid down: 7 January 1941

Christened: SS PascagoulaLaunched: 23 January 1942 Renamed: USAT George W. Goethals (Sep 1942)Service: Army: 18 Sep 1942 - 1950

MSTS: 1 Mar 1950 - 29 Sep 1959

Fate: Scrapped 1971

General characteristicsType: C3-IN P&CDisplacement: 10,418 tons Length: 489 ftBeam: 69 ft 6 inDraft: 27 ft 4 inPropulsion: Steam turbine, single propellerSpeed: 16.5 knotsTroops: 1,976

Acquired by the US Navy 1 March 1950 during the Korean War and manned by a civilian crew, USNS George W. Goethals continued trooplift and passenger voyages out of New York. Transporting troops and military cargo, she steamed to England, Germany, North Africa, Italy, Greece, and Turkey during European and Mediterranean deployments. In addition, she rotated troops to American bases in the Caribbean. Between 1955 and 1959 George W. Goethals deployed 18 times to ports in Western Europe, three times to the Mediterranean, and 30 round trips to the Caribbean. After returning to New York 29 September 1959, she was inactivated. Transferred to the Maritime Administration 20 November 1960 she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet, and was berthed in the Hudson River at Jones Point, New York. She was scrapped in 1971.

The SS Pascagoula, a C-3 design, was ordered by the Maritime Commission and was laid down in January 1941 by Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, before the US entered the war. Launched as Pascagoula on 23 January 1942, the ship was delivered to the Army 18 September 1942 and renamed US Army Transport (USAT) George W. Goethals. During World War II George W. Goethals operated as an Army transport out of New York, Boston, and Gulf Coast ports to ports in North Africa, France, and the United Kingdom. After the war, she continued transatlantic runs carrying military dependents between the United States and Europe.

USS Pascagoula (PCE 874)Builder: Albina Engine & Machine Works

Portland, Oregon

Laid down: 1 March 1943

Launched: 11 May 1943


Decommissioned: 30 April 1959

Foreign service: Transferred 5 December 1960 to Ecuador Renamed Manabi (E-02)

Fate: Struck from Ecuadorian Navy List in 1971General characteristics

Type: Patrol Craft EscortDisplacement: 850 tons Length: 184 ft. 6 in.Beam: 33 ft. 1 in.Draft: 9 ft. 5 in.Propulsion: Two 1,800bhp diesel engines, two shafts. Complement: 99Speed: 15.7 knotsArmament: 1 x 3"/50 dual purpose gun

3 x twin 40mm mounts5 x 20mm mounts2 depth charge tracks4 depth charge projectors 1 depth charge projector (hedgehog)

PCE 874 served in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific during World War II escorting convoys and participating in several amphibious operations, including support for landings in the Philippine Islands. In the years after WWII, PCE 874 served as a Naval Reserve training ship based at New Orleans and Corpus Christi, and on 15 February 1956, was named the USS Pascagoula. After conducting countless reservist training cruises throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean including a visit to its namesake on 18-19 May 1956, the Pascagoula was decommissioned on 25 November 1959. Loaned to the Ecuadoran Navy, she served as the Manabi through 1970 before being struck from the Ecuadorian Navy List in 1971. Her ultimate fate is unknown.

USS Pascagoula was built as Patrol Craft Escort PCE 874, built by the Albina Engineering & Machine Works in Portland, Oregon, and was commissioned on 31 December 1943. Designed as an anti-submarine escort, this class was smaller than destroyers or destroyer escorts, but capable of independent deep-water operations. 185 feet in length with a crew of 99 and a 15-knot speed, the ship was armed with a dual-purpose 3"/50 gun, three 40mm guns, five 20mm guns, two depth charge tracks, along with depth charge projectors.

USS Laurel (1862) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy as a tugboat.

• Ordered as Erebus• Launched: 1862, St. Louis, Missouri• Commissioned: 19 October 1862• Decommissioned: 12 August 1865• Fate: sold, 17 August 1865• General characteristics

– Displacement: 50 tons– Length: not known– Beam: not known– Draught: 6 ft (1.8 m)– Propulsion: steam engine screw-propelled– Speed: 5 knots– Complement: not known– Armament: none

• The tug operated on the Mississippi River during the Civil War supporting operations of both the Army and Navy

• After the war ended, she assisted in the demobilization of the Mississippi Squadron before decommissioning at Mound City, Illinois., 12 August 1865. She was sold at auction there 5 days later and remained in civilian service as the Laurel until abandoned in 1903.

USS Laurel

Grand Gulf was purchased in New York as Onward 14 September 1863 from her builders, Cornelius and Richard Poillon; and commissioned 28 September 1863.Assigned to the North Atlantic BlockadeGrand Gulf stood to sea from New York on 11 October and 9 days later joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Wilmington, North Carolina, one of the most important and most difficult to blockade of all Confederate ports. On 21 November 1863, assisted by Army Transport Fulton, Grand Gulf took blockade runner Banshee with a general cargo of contraband from Nassau. Off the Carolina coast, Grand Gulf, 6 March 1864, captured the British steamer Mary Ann trying to run the blockade with a cargo of cotton and tobacco; seizing the cargo and 82 passengers and crew members, Grand Gulf put a prize crew on the steamer and sent her to Boston, Massachusetts. A second British ship, Young Republic, fell captive to Grand Gulf after a wild chase 6 May 1864, with both ships steaming at full speed and the blockade runner throwing overboard bale after bale of precious cotton and even the anchor chain in a futile attempt to lighten ship.Searching for Confederate raider TallahasseeReturning to New York 4 August 1864, she was ordered out in search of the Confederate raider CSS Tallahassee, reported in Long Island Sound. However, 17 August she gave over the search to tow into port demasted brig Billow, which had been captured by Tallahassee; scuttled but did not sink. Convoy DutyGrand Gulf left New York 23 September to convoy California steamer Ocean Queen to Aspinwall (now Colon), Panama, arriving there 3 October and returning to New York 16 October. From 24 October to 16 November she and Ocean Queen repeated the voyage. One day from New York on the outward passage, Grand Gulf, herself leaking badly, took into tow sinking British bark Linden. Reassigned to the West Gulf BlockadeOn 17 March 1865 the Grand Gulf sailed to join the West Gulf Blockading Fleet off Galveston, Texas. She reached Galveston 4 April and remained on blockade duty until 25 June, when she steamed up the Mississippi River to New Orleans, Louisiana. There she served as a prison ship and site for courts martial until 18 October, when she cleared New Orleans for New York, New York.DecommissioningArriving in New York 2 November, Grand Gulf decommissioned 10 November and was sold 30 November to C. Comstock & Co. She was later resold to William F. Feld & Co. of Boston, Massachusetts; renamed General Grant; and put in service in their Merchants of Boston SS. Co. operating between Boston and New Orleans. She burned and sank at a wharf in New Orleans 19 April 1869.

USS Grand Gulf (1863)USS Grand Gulf (1863) was a screw steamer acquired to perform blockade duty during the Civil War.

USS VicksburgUSS Vicksburg was a wooden steamship built in 1863 at Mystic, Connecticut; purchased by the United States Navy at New York City on 20 October 1863; converted into a gunboat; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 2 December. Vicksburg was named in honor of the Union victory at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Acquired: by purchase, 20 October 1863



Fate: Sold for merchant service, 12 July 1865


Type: Steamship

Displacement: 886 long tons (900 t)


Beam: 33 ft (10 m)


Propulsion: Steam engine

Speed: 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)

Complement: 66 officers and enlisted

Armament: • 1 × 100-pounder Parrott rifle• 4 × 30-pounder Parrott rifles• 1 × 20-pounder Parrott rifle• 1 × 20-pounder smoothbore

USS Vicksburg took up station in December 1863 off Sandy Hook, NJ and Staten Island, NY , detaining for inspection all commercial ships outbound from New York, an action prompted by Confederate agents' seizure of the steamship Chesapeake in December 1863In early 1864 was ordered to sail for Hampton Roads, Va., for duty with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.On 11 July, Vicksburg received orders north to Annapolis, Maryland, to help protect Union emplacements there from Confederate raiders. For the rest of 1864, participated in the blockade of Wilmington, NC, chasing Confederate blockade runners.For the rest of the war, Vicksburg was assigned to Hampton Roads, VA in support of General Ulysses Grant's campaign to break through the defenses of Richmond.After the Civil War ended in April 1865, Vicksburg was decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 29 April and sold at auction on 12 July. Her name last appeared on lists of merchant vessels in the autumn of 1868

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonne

USS Vicksburg (PG 11)Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine


Launched: 5 December 1896


Decommissioned: 24 May 1899

Recommissioned: 15 May 1900


Recommissioned: 17 May 1909

Decommissioned: 18 June 1912

Recommissioned: May 1914

Decommissioned: June 1914

Recommissioned: 13 April 1917

Decommissioned: 16 October 1919

Struck: 2 May 1921

Transfer: To Coast Guard, 18 August 1922 as USCGC Alexander Hamilton

Fate: Returned to US Navy, 12 March 1945 Sold for scrap, 28 March 1956

General characteristicsType: Annapolis class gunboat


Length: 204 ft 5 in (62.31 m)

Beam: 36 ft (11 m)

Draft: 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)

Propulsion: 1 × 1,118 bhp (834 kW) triple expansion steam engine, 1 shaft

Speed: Under steam: 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)Under sail: 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph)

Complement: 143

Armament: • 6 × 4 in (100 mm) guns• 4 × 6-pounder rapid fire guns• 2 × 1-pounder rapid fire guns• 1 × Colt machine gun

USS Vicksburg (PG 11)

Spanish-American War, 1898–1899 On 26 April 1898, at the start of the Spanish-American War, The Vicksburg sailed south to join in the blockade of Cuba. For the next three months, Vicksburg patrolled the Cuban coast near Havana where she captured three blockade runners. The gunboat took each to Key West where they were condemned by a prize court. On one occasion, Vicksburg came under the fire of a shore battery near Havana. By August, hostilities in Cuba were ending, and the need for blockading ships diminished. Vicksburg departed Cuban waters on the 14th and, after a three-day stop at Key West, continued north to Newport where she arrived on 23 August. During the remaining months of 1898 and the first five months of 1899, she operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean. On 24 May 1899, Vicksburg was placed out of commission at Boston.Asiatic Station, 1900–1904Almost a year later, on 15 May 1900, the gunboat was recommissioned at Newport, R.I. and sailed on 9 November for duty on the Asiatic Station. She sailed via the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal and arrived at Cavite — on the island of Luzon in the Philippines — on 2 February 1901. During the first of her three years in the Far East, Vicksburg joined other Navy units in supporting the Army's campaign against the insurrection in the Philippines which followed Spain's ceding the islands to the United States. Vicksburg herself contributed significantly to the success of those operations when she assisted Army forces in capturing the leader of the revolt, Emilio Aguinaldo, at Palawan Island in March 1901. She also cooperated with the Army again in June during the occupation of Puerta Princessa and Cuyo, the two major cities on the island.In 1902, the warship moved north and, for the remaining two years of her tour, cruised the waters off the coasts of China, Japan, and Korea. She spent the entire first quarter of 1904 at Chemulpo, Korea, protecting American interests during the initial stages of the Russo-Japanese War. On 9 June 1904, Vicksburg took leave of Asia when she stood out of Yokohama, Japan, and shaped a course for home. She reached Mare Island Navy Yard near San Francisco, California and was placed out of commission, in reserve, on 15 July 1904.Central America, 1909–1912After almost five years of inactivity, Vicksburg was placed back in commission and departed San Francisco on 16 June 1909 and headed south to the coast of Mexico and the Isthmus of Panama. During the next four years, she cruised the western coast of Central America in an effort to support American diplomatic moves to maintain peace in the revolution-prone nations in the area. For that purpose, she made calls at ports in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama. Conditions in Nicaragua were especially volatile during those years, and Vicksburg returned to Corinto and other Nicaraguan ports time and time again.During the early summer of 1912, she began operating primarily along the California coast. In late August, she cruised south for an extended courtesy visit to Guaymas, Mexico. The gunboat returned to the United States at San Diego on 3 November 1912.Training ship, 1912–1917Following repairs at the Mare Island and the Puget Sound Navy Yards, she began duty with the Washington Naval Militia on 18 June. That service occupied her almost completely until the United States entered World War I in the spring of 1917. The only exception came in May and June 1914 when she was placed back in full commission for a brief cruise to Mexico. Upon her return to Puget Sound, she reverted to reserve status and resumed training duty with the Washington Naval Militia.World War I, 1917–1921On 13 April 1917 after the US entered WWI, Vicksburg was placed back in full commission at Puget Sound. The gunboat patrolled the western coasts of the United States and Mexico through the end of the war. That German influence was particularly strong in Mexico during the war and the Vicksburg and the other ships which patrolled the Mexican coasts helped provide the influence necessary to keep that nation out of the enemy camp.The gunboat continued her active service for almost a year after hostilities stopped in November 1918. On 16 October 1919, she was finally decommissioned for the last time at Puget Sound; and, four days later, she was transferred to the Washington State Nautical School. Vicksburg served as a training ship with the school until 1921. During this period, she received the designation PG-11 on 17 July 1920, when the Navy adopted the alphanumeric system of hull designations.Coast Guard, 1921–1944On 2 May 1921, Vicksburg was transferred once more — this time to the Coast Guard — and her name was struck from the Navy List. She was renamed Alexander Hamilton on 18 August 1922 and served as a training ship at the Coast Guard Academy until 1930. The Coast Guard decommissioned her on 7 June 1930, she became permanently assigned as a station ship. That duty lasted until 30 December 1944 when she was finally placed out of service completely. On 28 March 1946, the hulk was turned over to the War Shipping Administration for final disposition and was scrapped.

Vicksburg served the Navy, the State of Washington and the Coast Guard

USS Vicksburg (CL 86)General characteristics

Class and type: Cleveland-class cruiser


Length: 610 ft 1 in (185.95 m)

Beam: 66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)




Armament: 12 × 6 in (150 mm) guns (4×3), 12 × 5 in (130 mm) guns (6×2), 28 × 40 mm guns (4×4, 6×2), 10 × 20 mm guns (10×1)

Aircraft carried:

4 scout planes

Aviation facilities:

2 launching catapults

World War II Service historyAfter fitting out, the USS Vicksburg spent the remainder of 1944 in sea trials, shakedown cruises and training missions. She departed Hampton Roads on 1 January 1945, transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 17 January. After additional training exercises she arrived at Saipan, in the Marianas to prepare for the ship's upcoming operation, and her baptism of fire, the bombardment of Iwo Jima.On 15 February at 0709, Vicksburg catapult-launched the first of her plane sorties and commenced fire. Directed by the ship's spotter in a OS2U Kingfisher, the light cruiser's 6 inch guns opened up from a range of 12,000 yards, shelling enemy installations on the northern end of the island of Iwo Jima. Vicksburg remained off Iwo Jima, providing gunfire support for the landings, into March before joining TG 58.1, part of the 5th Fleet's fast carrier striking arm, which was then undertaking air strikes to neutralize Japanese air power as the Allies prepared to invade Okinawa.In support of the 1 April Okinawa invasion, Vicksburg began shore bombardment and close support duties. Highlighting the operation for the light cruiser was firing nearly 2,300 rounds of 6 inch and 5 inch projectiles in a six-hour time span, supporting an Army advance up the southern part of the island. Some of her targets were only a few hundred yards ahead of the advancing troops, a situation that required accurate targeting of Japanese gun positions, caves, and strong-points. The Vicksburg remained unscathed during the intense Kamikaze campaign.As a part of TG 38.2 covering the approaches to Tokyo Bay prior to, and during, the formal Japanese surrender on 2 September, the Vicksburg entered Tokyo Bay three days after the surrender ceremony. The USS Vicksburg earned 2 battle stars.After a stop in Okinawa to pick up 2,200 passengers for transportation back to the United States on 15 October 1945 the USS Vicksburg arrived in San Francisco Bay, California. Vicksburg was ultimately decommissioned on 30 June 1947 at San Francisco, California where she remained "mothballed" until struck from the Navy list on 1 October 1962. On 25 August 1964, she was sold, then scrapped.

The USS Vicksburg was first laid down as Cheyenne on 26 October 1942 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, but, exactly one month later, was renamed Vicksburg. Launched on 14 December 1943, she was sponsored by Miss Muriel Hamilton, the daughter of Mayor J. C. Hamilton, of Vicksburg, Mississippi; and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 12 June 1944.

USS Vicksburg (CG 69)

• USS Vicksburg (CG 69) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser.• Vicksburg was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Her keel was laid down

on 30 May 1990 as the Port Royal, but was renamed Vicksburg during construction. Launched on 7 September 1991, Vicksburg was sponsored by Tricia Lott, wife of Mississippi’s Senator, Trent Lott. On 12 October 1991, Mrs. Lott christened CG 69 as Vicksburg. She was commissioned on 14 November 1992.

• With her guided missiles and rapid-fire cannons, Vicksburg is capable of facing threats in the air, on the sea, ashore, and underneath the sea. She is also capable of carrying two SH-60 Sea Hawk Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS III) helicopters.

• The Vicksburg participated in Operation Deny Flight and Operation Provide Promise, serving as an airspace command and control platform. In May 1994, the Vicksburg participated in NATO's "Dynamic Impact 94" exercise in the western Mediterranean, and in August 1994 the Vicksburg joined Operation Able Vigil, helping to intercept Cuban migrants crossing the Florida Straits.

Class and type: Ticonderoga-class cruiserMotto: Key to VictoryHomeport: Mayport, FloridaDisplacement: approx. 9,600 long tons (9,750 t) full loadLength: 567 feet (173 m)Beam: 55 feet (16.8 meters)Draft: 34 feet (10.2 meters)Propulsion: 4 × General Electric LM2500 Gas Turbine

Engines, 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW)

Speed: 32.5 knots (60 km/h)Complement: 33 Officers, 27 Chief Petty Officers, approx.

340 enlisted

Armament: 2 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems122 × Mix of RIM-66M-5 Standard SM-2MR Block IIIB, RIM-156 SM-2ER Block IV, RIM-162A ESSM, RIM-174A Standard ERAM, BGM-109 Tomahawk, or RUM-139 VL-Asroc8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles2 × Mk 45 Mod 2 5 in / 54 cal lightweight gun2 × 25 mm Mk 38 gun2–4 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) gun2 × Phalanx CIWS Block 1B2 × Mk 32 12.75 in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes

Aircraft carried: 2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.

USS Biloxi (CL 80)Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry

Dock Company

Laid down: 9 July 1941

Launched: 23 February 1943

Sponsored by: Mrs. Katharine G. Braun(wife of Biloxi’s mayor)


Decommissioned: 29 August 1946

Struck: 1 December 1961

Nickname: The "Busy Bee"

Honors and awards: 9 battle stars

Fate: Scrapped, 1962


Class and type: Cleveland-class cruiser

Displacement: 10,000 tons

Length: 610 ft 1 in (185.95 m)

Beam: 66 ft 4 in (20.22 m)

Draft: 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)

Propulsion: Geared turbines, 100,000 shp (75 MW), 4 screws


Complement: 1,255 (70 officers, 1,115 men)

Armament: • 12 × Mk.16 6 inch guns (4×3)• 12 × 5 in/38 cal guns (6×2)• 28 × 40 mm Bofors guns• 10 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons

Armor: • Belt : 3.25–5 in (83–130 mm)• Deck : 2 in (51 mm)• Turrets : 1.5–6 in (38–150 mm)• Barbettes : 6 in (150 mm)• Conning Tower : 2.25–5 in (57–130 mm)

Aircraft carried: Originally 4 Curtiss SO3C floatplanes, replaced in 1943 by Vought OS2U Kingfishers

Aviation facilities: 2 catapults for seaplanes

USS Biloxi (CL 80) was a United States Navy Cleveland-class light cruiser, named after the city of Biloxi, Mississippi.

USS Biloxi (CL 80)

USS Biloxi, a 10,000-ton Cleveland class light cruiser built at Newport News, Virginia, was commissioned at the end of August 1943. Late in the year, after a training cruise along the U.S. East Coast and in the Caribbean area and post-shakedown overhaul, the new cruiser steamed to the Pacific to join the war against Japan. In 1944 she was primarily assigned to screen the carrier striking forces during their frequent attacks on Japanese-held islands and in the battles of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 and Leyte Gulf in October. She also used her guns to bombard enemy positions during the assaults on the Marshall Islands in January-February 1944, Northern New Guinea in April.Biloxi's work with the carriers continued during the first months of 1945, as the war moved up to Japan. In addition she bombarded Iwo Jima when that island was invaded in February. During late March and the first weeks of April her guns actively supported the landings and ground operations on Okinawa. While taking part in pre-invasion bombardment there on 27 March Biloxi was hit by a Japanese suicide attack plane, but damage was relatively light and she remained in action. A West Coast shipyard overhaul kept her away from the combat zone from late April until mid-August 1945, and the end of the war came just as she arrived back in the Western Pacific. From then until early November Biloxi supported the occupation of Japan. Returning to the U.S. late in 1945, she soon began inactivation preparations, decommissioning at Bremerton, Washington, in October 1946. She was part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet for the next decade and a half. USS Biloxi was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in September 1961 and sold for scrapping in March 1962.

USS Natchez

Builder: Norfolk Navy Yard

Launched: 1827

Fate: Scrapped, 1840


Type: Sloop-of-war

Displacement: 200 long tons (203 t)

Length: 127 ft (39 m) p/p

Beam: 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)

Draft: 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m)


Armament: 18 guns

The first USS Natchez was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy.Natchez was built by Norfolk Navy Yard in 1827, and departed Hampton Roads on 26 July 1827 for the Caribbean. She patrolled with the West Indies Squadron as a deterrent against a resurgence of piracy until forced to sail north by an outbreak of yellow fever among the crew, arriving New York on 24 November 1828.The sloop again got underway for the Caribbean on 9 July 1829 and operated in the West Indies and along the Atlantic Coast until she decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia on 24 August 1831 and was placed in ordinary. Reactivated during the South Carolina nullification crisis, Natchez was re-commissioned on 28 December and sailed for Charleston on 2 January 1833, anchoring in Rebellion Roads on the 19th. She moved up to Charleston Battery on 12 March and remained in that important Southern port until tensions were eased when Congress lowered the tariff. She sailed for Hampton Roads on 4 April and, upon arriving Norfolk, was again placed in ordinary.Natchez returned to the West Indies in 1836 and operated there into 1838. She again cruised in the Caribbean in 1839. She was scrapped at the New York Navy Yard in 1840.

USS Natchez (PF 2)

Builder: Canadian Vickers Ltd.,Montreal, Quebec

Laid down: 16 March 1942 as HMS Annan(K297)


Acquired: 20 July 1942


Reclassified: PF-2, 15 April 1943


Fate: Sold into civilian service, 29 July 1947; subsequently sold to Dominican Navy, 19 March 1948 as the Juan Pablo Duarte (F102); 1950 private yacht; scrapped, 1959

General characteristicsClass and type: Asheville-class frigate

Displacement: 2,360 tonsLength: 301 ft 6 in (91.90 m)Beam: 36 ft 6 in (11.13 m)Draft: 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)Propulsion: two 225psi 3-drum express boilers,

two 5,500 shp Canadian Vickers vertical triple expansionsteam engines, two shaft.

Speed: 20.3 knotsComplement: 194Armament: three 3"/50 dual purpose gun

mounts, two twin 40 mm gun mounts, nine 20 mm gun mounts, two depth charge racks, eight depth charge projectors, and one hedgehog depth charge projector

USS Natchez (PG 102/PF 2) was a Asheville class patrol frigate acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II as one of the few foreign-built warships. She was originally ordered and laid down 16 March 1942 by Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, Canada as HMS Annan (K297), and reclassified as HMCS Annan (K297) before transfer to the U.S. Navy before launch. Post-war, she was decommissioned and ended up in the hands of the Dominican Navy as Juan Pablo Duarte (F102) in 1947, but ran aground and taken out of service in 1949. In the 1950 she was sold to Puerto Rican engineer Félix Benítez as a private yacht. The ship was broken up in 1959.

•Natchez sailed to the Boston Navy Yard 16 January 1943 for fitting out. On 1 March she reported for duty to Commander Eastern Sea Frontier and was assigned escort duty for merchant convoys between Cuba and New York. Natchez was reclassified as PF 2 on 15 April 1943.•On 4 December, Cuban freighter SS Libertad was reported missing from her convoy off the southern Atlantic coast. Natchez with several other patrol vessels, was dispatched to the scene, guided by homing signals from Navy blimps. Natchez found only three survivors who related that their ship had been torpedoed and sank before they could notify the convoy commander.•Through 1944, Natchez escorted convoys and performed ASW patrol duties. While on convoy duty 29 April 1943, she simultaneously received a sonar contact and sighted the snorkel of a German U-boat, 98 miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia. Launching an immediate attack, she was quickly joined by three destroyer escorts: Coffman, Bostwick and Thomas. Hedgehogs and depth charges erupted large areas of the ocean bottom as the four vessels sought to trap the enemy submarine. Finally contact was lost and a large quantity of oil was seen to rise to the surface, indicating destruction of the U-boat. German sources, at the end of the war, substantiated that U-548 had been lost as a result of this attack.•At the end of the war, Natchez was still patrolling in the Atlantic. She returned to Charleston, South Carolina, 29 June 1945 for inactivation and disposal.

USS Gulfport (AK 5)USS Gulfport (AK 5) was a cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy for service in World War I.Acquiring a captured German freighterGulfport, formerly SS Locksun, ex-SS Andree Rickmers, was built at Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1902 by Rickmers Aktien Ges. and was owned by the German Norddeutscher Lloyd Steamship Lines Co. In Pearl Harbor when the United States entered World War I, she was seized by Government orders and converted to a cargo transport at the Honolulu Navy Yard. She commissioned 1 September 1917 at Honolulu, Lt. Comdr. P. F. Johnson, USNR, in command.World War I North Atlantic operationsIn company with four submarines, Gulfport sailed from Hawaii on 30 October 1917, reaching New York 28 January 1918 via San Diego, California, Corinto, Nicaragua, Balboa, Key West, Florida, and Norfolk, Virginia. At New York she discharged her cargo, primarily pineapple, and was attached to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service.Post-war operationsUntil she decommissioned in 1922, Gulfport served as a cargo ship linking New York and Charleston with various Caribbean ports, particularly Guantanamo, Cuba; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. During this period she made a total of 23 round trips to the West Indies, carrying oil and other necessary supplies to American troops based there and frequently returning with a cargo of sugar from the islands. Gulfport was detached from NOTS on 10 October 1919 and placed under the military jurisdiction of the Commandant, 6th Naval District, Charleston, for duty in the West Indies Freight Service.Last voyage and decommissioningGulfport completed her last voyage to the Caribbean on 25 November 1921 as she returned to New York; there she decommissioned 3 March 1922 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and was sold to Moore & McCormack Inc. of New York on 25 July 1922 and became the merchantman Commercial Scout. Renamed Lok Sun in 1924, she was wrecked near Hong Kong in July 1929 and later scrapped.Military awards and honorsHer crew was authorized the following medals:

World War I Victory Medal

Haitian Campaign Medal

Launched: 1902, as SS Andree Rickmers

Commissioned: USS Gulfport (SP-2989),1 September 1917

Decommissioned: 3 March 1922Fate: sold, 25 May 1922

1924 - Renamed Lok Sun 1929 – Wrecked, Scrapped


Displacement: 3,800 tonsLength: 267 ft 4 in (81.48 m)Beam: 37 ft 2 in (11.33 m)Draught: 18 ft (5.5 m)Speed: 7.5 ktsComplement: 52

Armament: One 4"/50 gun mount, one 6-pdr

Officers and crew posing in front of their ship at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 13 January 1921.

USS Gulfport (PF 20)

USS Gulfport (PF 20), a Tacoma-class frigate, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Gulfport, Mississippi.Gulfport (PF 20), a frigate, originally classified PG 128, was launched on 21 August 1943 at the American Ship Building Company in Cleveland, Ohio, and commissioned at Gulfport, Mississippi, on 16 September 1944, Service historyGulfport underwent shakedown at Bermuda, and then returned to Norfolk, Virginia, for training on 2 December 1944. The frigate was soon active as a convoy escort, departing with her first convoy from Norfolk to Oran, Algeria, on 18 December. She continued on this vital duty between Algeria and the United States until VE day.Scheduled for conversion to a weather ship, Gulfport entered the New York Navy Yard on 5 July 1945. Upon completion, she was assigned to the Pacific Fleet, sailing via the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor to her new home port of Adak, Alaska, where she arrived on 16 September 1945. Gulfport performed weather duties important in the movements of both ships and aircraft in the Pacific area until decommissioning on 28 May 1946 at Seattle, Washington.Her name was struck from the Navy List on 19 June 1946, and she was sold to Zidell Ship Dismantling Company for scrap on 13 November 1947 at Seattle.

Name: USS Gulfport

Builder: American Ship Building Company, Lorain, Ohio

Launched: 21 August 1943

Commissioned: 16 September 1944


Struck: 19 June 1946

Fate: Sold for scrapping, 13 November 1947


Class and type: Tacoma-class frigate

Displacement: 1,430 long tons (1,453 t) light2,415 long tons (2,454 t) full

Length: 303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)

Beam: 37 ft 11 in (11.56 m)

Draft: 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)

Propulsion: 2 × 5,500 shp (4,101 kW) turbines3 boilers2 shafts


Complement: 190

Armament: • 3 × 3"/50 caliber guns (3×1)• 4 × 40 mm guns (2×2)• 9 × 20 mm guns (9×1)• 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar• 8 × Y-gun depth charge projectors• 2 × depth charge tracks


USS Oxford (APA 189)Type: VC2-S-AP5Laid down:17 April 1944Launched: 12 July 1944Commissioned: 11 September 1944Decommissioned: 17 April 1946Struck: 1 May 1946Fate: scrapped, 1974General characteristics

Displacement:12,450 tons (full load)Length:455 ft 0 in (138.68 m)Beam:62 ft 0 in (18.90 m)Draught:24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)Speed:19 knotsCapacity:150,000 cu. ft, 2,900 tonsComplement:56 Officers 480 EnlistedArmament: one 5/38” gun mount,twelve 40mm mounts,ten 20mm mounts

USS Oxford, one of 117 Haskell-class attack transports, was built to a modified Victory ship design at Vancouver, Washington, and was commissioned in September 1944. After shakedown training off Seattle and San Diego, she loaded troops and sailed for New Guinea, where she arrived in November. In January 1945 Oxford participated in landing operations in Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines. She also provided transport services during the initial landings at Okinawa in early April. Arriving at San Francisco in May to load replacement troops, she transported them to the Central and Southwest Pacific. On her way back to the United States in July she had to put in at Midway to repack her stern tube. Oxford arrived at San Pedro in mid-August to receive voyage repairs.In late August 1945, after the Japanese had agreed to surrender, Oxford left San Francisco with replacement troops. Following stops in the Central Pacific and Japan, she brought Pacific War veterans to San Francisco in late November as part of Operation "Magic Carpet." In February 1946 she steamed to the East Coast for disposal. USS Oxford was decommissioned at Norfolk and returned to the Maritime Commission in April, stricken from the Navy List in May, and placed in the Maritime Commission's reserve fleet. She was sold for scrapping in July 1974.

USS Oxford (AGTR 1)

USS Oxford (AGTR 1/AG 159) was an Oxford-class technical research ship acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of conducting research in the reception of electromagnetic propagations.The second ship to be named Oxford by the Navy, AGTR-1, a Liberty ship, was laid down 23 June 1945 under Maritime Commission contract by the New England Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Maine.; launched 31 July as Samuel R. Aitken (MCE 3127); sponsored by Mrs. Margaret C. Aitken; and delivered to the Maritime Commission 25 August.As Samuel R. Aitken she served the merchant fleet, first with the Moore-McCormack Steam Ship Lines and then with the Arnold Bernstein Line. She was laid up 10 April 1948 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina.Conversion from merchantman to technical research ship USS Oxford AG 159In October 1960 Samuel R. Aitken was towed to the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York. for conversion. Named Oxford (AG 159) on 25 November 1960, she commissioned at New York 8 July 1961. She reported to Norfolk, Virginia, 11 September for duty with the Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, and shortly thereafter conducted shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.Oxford was designed to conduct research in the reception of electromagnetic propagations. Equipped with state-of-the-art antenna systems and measuring devices, she steamed to various parts of the world participating in the Navy’s program of research and development projects in communications. A “first” in moon bounce communicationsOne of Oxford’s publicized operations took place 15 December 1961 when she became the first ship to receive a message from a shore based facility via the moon successfully. Next she departed Norfolk, Virginia, 4 January 1962 for a South Atlantic Ocean deployment, returning four months later. Another four month South Atlantic deployment followed in May 1963, after which Oxford underwent overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia.January 1964 brought refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, and from 22 February until 10 June Oxford conducted further research operations in South Atlantic and Pacific Ocean waters.Redesignated AGTR 1Oxford (AG 159) was redesignated technical research ship (AGTR 1) on 1 April 1964. She departed 4 August on yet another South Atlantic cruise, conducting research not only in electromagnetic reception, but also in oceanography and related areas. She returned to Norfolk 1 December.Oxford steamed for Africa 3 February 1965, calling at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Lagos, Nigeria, and Durban, South Africa. A message arrived 26 May reassigning the ship to the U.S. Pacific Fleet, with a new homeport at San Diego, California. She stood out of Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, 16 June for a one month deployment to the South China Sea, and thus set the pattern for her operations into 1969.DecommissioningOxford decommissioned and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 19 December 1969 at Yokosuka, Japan.

USS Escatawpa (AOG 27)

Builder: East Coast Shipyards Inc., Bayonne, N.J.

Type: as T1-M-A2 tanker hull

Launched: 3 June 1944


Decommissioned: 20 March 1946

Civilian Service: 1947, ESSO PORTO ALEGRE1957, GRAVATAI

Fate: sunk in 1970

General characteristicsDisplacement: 846 tons(empty)

2,270 tons(loaded)

Length: 220 ft 6 in

Beam: 37 ft

Draught: 17 ft

Propulsion: Diesel direct drive, single screw, 720 hp

Speed: 10 knots

Complement: 62

Armament: one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount, two 40 mm guns, three single 20 mm gun mounts

USS Escatawpa (the name comes from the Choctaw Indian name for the area "Oestcatawpa"; which literally translates to "trim cane") was a Mettawee-class gasoline tanker acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations. After commissioning, USS Escatawpa spent her World War II Navy career in the central Pacific manned by a Coast Guard crew. In September 1945, a typhoon drove her aground off the coast of Japan. She was refloated on 10 October and returned to San Francisco, California, and placed out of commission. In April 1947, Escatawpa was sold to Standard Oil of Brazil and renamed Porto Alegre (Happy Harbour) after the capital and largest city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. In 1957, the ship was renamed GRAVATAI (a Brazilian city near Porto Alegre). She was stranded and sank on 28 Sep 1970, in bad weather off the south coast of Brazil.

International Radio Call Sign:November - Hotel - Uniform - Romeo

NHUR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_mount

(SS Pass Christian)USNS Fred C. Ainsworth

Career Name: USNS Fred C. Ainsworth (T-AP 181)Builder: Ingalls ShipbuildingLaid down: 1943Christened: Pass ChristianCompleted: June 1943In service: Army: 1943 - 1950

MSTS: 1 Mar 1950 - 2 Nov 1959Struck: 1 July 1961Fate: Sold 26 June 1973, fate unknown

General characteristicsDisplacement:12,093 tonsLength:489 ftBeam:69 ft 6 inDraft:27 ft 4 inPropulsion: Steam turbine, single propellerSpeed:16.5 knotsTroops:1,976

The ship was originally laid down as SS Pass Christian by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi, and completed in June 1943. She was transferred to the Army, and renamed USAT Fred C. Ainsworth. The ship operated in the Pacific during World War II, except for a brief voyage to Europe in mid-1945 to redeploy troops to the Pacific Theater.Fred C. Ainsworth continued her Army service after the end of World War II. When the Army's Water Transport Service was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service on 1 March 1950, she became the USNS Fred C. Ainsworth (T-AP 181). The ship served actively on troop transportation duties through the 1950s, including trans-Pacific operations during the Korean War. She participated in several Korean War operations including the Inchon landings.Fred C. Ainsworth was placed out of service and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on 2 November 1959, after which she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Her title was formally transferred to MARAD on 1 November 1960, and she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 1 July 1961. On 1 March 1973 she was sold for scrap, but the deal was cancelled due to buyer default. Instead, she was sold for non-operational use to Inter-Ocean Grain Storage Ltd on 26 June 1973, and physically removed from the Reserve Fleet 23 August.

SS Pass Christian Victory

• Built by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland• SS Pass Christian Victory was the last Victory ship launched on the East Coast. • July 27, 1945 announcement of the ship's keel completion within just 46 working

days.• Placed into storage in Beaumont, Texas immediately after the war, the SS Pass

Christian Victory was scrapped in New Orleans in 1971.

SS Pass Christian Victory builders plate presented to the City of Pass Christian on April 28, 1971

Tonnage: 7200 (gross), 4300 (net),10,600(deadweight)

Displacement: 15200 tons

Length: 455 feet (139 m)

Beam: 62 feet (19 m)

Draft: 28 feet (7.6 m)

Depth of hold: 38 feet (11.5 m)

Speed: 15 to 17 knots

The Mississippi County LSTs

USS BENTON COUNTY LST 263USS CALHOUN COUNTY LST 519 USS CLARKE COUNTY LST 601USS HOLMES COUNTY LST 836 USS JEFFERSON COUNTY LST 845USS KEMPER COUNTY LST 854 USS LAFAYETTE COUNTY LST 859USS LAWRENCE COUNTY LST 887 USS LEE COUNTY LST 888USS LINCOLN COUNTY LST 898USS MARION COUNTY LST 975USS MONROE COUNTY LST 1038USS MONTGOMERY COUNTY 1048USS STONE COUNTY LST 1141USS TALLAHATCHIE COUNTY LST 1153 USS DE SOTO COUNTY LST 1171

Landing Ship Tank (LST)

Landing Ship, Tank (LST) was the military designation for over 1000 naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore. To meet the conflicting requirements of deep draft for ocean travel and shallow draft for beaching the ship was designed with a large ballast system that could be filled for ocean passage and pumped out for beaching operations. From their combat debut in the Solomon Islands in June 1943 until the end of the hostilities in August 1945, the LSTs performed a vital service in World War II. They participated in the invasions of Sicily (Operation Husky),Italy, Normandy, and southern France in the European Theater and were an essential element in the island-hopping campaigns in the Pacific which culminated in the liberation of the Philippines and the capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.


Displacement: 1,780 long tons (1,809 t) light3,880 long tons (3,942 t) full load

Length: 327 ft 9 in (99.90 m)

Beam: 50 ft (15 m)

Draught: Unloaded :3 ft 4 in (1.02 m) bow7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) sternLoaded :8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) bow14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) stern

Propulsion: 2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders

Speed: 12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h)

Boats carried: 2 to 6 LCVPs

Troops: Approx. 140 officers and other ranks

Complement: 8 to 10 officers, 100 to 115 enlisted

Armament: • 1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun• 6 × 40 mm Bofors guns• 6 × 20 mm guns• 2 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns• 4 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns

The end of World War II left the Navy with a huge inventory of amphibious ships, but Hundreds of these were scrapped, sunk, put in "mothballs“, demilitarized and sold to the private sector. Also, many LSTs were used as targets in aquatic nuclear testing after the war, being readily available and serving no apparent military applications. Many LSTs found a number of novel commercial uses, including operating as small freighters, ferries, and dredges. However, the success of the amphibious assault at Inchon during the Korean War pointed out the military utility of LSTs once again.

On 1 July 1955, county names were assigned to many LSTs, which up to then had borne only a letter-number hull designation.


Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding

Sponsor: Mrs. James Eastland(wife of Senator Eastland)



Commissioned: 6 April 1944

Decommissioned: 7 March 1946

Honors: 5 Battle Stars

Civilian Service: SS J.L. Luckenbach SS Evergreen State

Fate: Scrapped in Taiwan, 1971


Class and type: Bayfield-class attack transport



Beam: 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m)

Draft: 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)

Speed: 18.4 knots

Complement: 581

Armament: 2x5”guns4x40 mm twin mounts18x20 mm single mounts

USS Lamar (APA 47)

USS Lamar (APA 47) was an Ingalls-built Bayfield-class attack transport named after Lamar County, Mississippi. Lamar earned five battle stars for landings during the invasions of Guam, Leyte, Luzon and Okinawa and operations in Subic Bay, Philippines. After hostilities ended, Lamar participated in “Operation Magic Carpet”, returning servicemen to the U.S.

After being struck from the Naval Register on 1 April 1946, was renamed SS J.L. Luckenbach in 1948 and SS Evergreen State in 1959. She was scrapped in 1971.

Builder: Willamette Iron & Steel Corporation in Portland, Oregon



Commissioned: 17 March 1945


USCG Commissioned: 29 July 1964

Decommissioned: 30 September 1969

Fate: Sold for scrap ($23,300 ) in 1971, Taiwan


Type: Patrol Craft Escort

Displacement: 640 tons

Length: 184 ft 6in (56.24 m)

Beam: 33 ft 1 in (10.08 m)

Draft: 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)

Speed: 16 knots

Complement: 99 (USN) 39 (USCG)

Armament: 1x3”/50 cal3x40 mm twin mounts5x20 mm single mounts2 depth charge tracks1 MK10 Hedgehog projector

USS Lamar (PCE 899)

USS Lamar (PCE 899) was commissioned just before WWII ended and then served until 1949 in the Pacific on weather patrols. She then spent most of her Navy career as a Navy Reserve training ship in the Great Lakes.

Transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard, she was converted for her new duties and was re-commissioned on 11 September 1965. Assigned to Monterey, California, as a reserve training vessel, USCGC Lamar (WTR 899) served until September 1969.

Builder: North Carolina Shipbuilding

Laid down: 31 Oct 1944


Commissioned: 25 February 1945


Re-commissioned: 22 March 1952


Fate: Sunk as fishing reef off Florida in 1988



Length: 459 ft 2 in (139.95 m)

Beam: 63 ft (19 m)

Draft: 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)

Propulsion: GE geared turbine drive, single propeller, 6,000 shp

Speed: 16.5 knots

Landing craft carried: 14 × LCVP, 8 × LCM


Armament: 1 5"/38 gun4 40 mm twin mounts16 20 mm single mounts

USS Rankin (AKA 103)

USS Rankin (AKA 103/LKA 103) was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship named after Rankin County, Mississippi. Rankin was put in mothballs after the war, then re-commissioned during the Korean War in 1952. The USS Rankin was sunk in 1988 as a fishing and diving reef off the coast of Stuart, Florida.

During the eight years after her 1952 re-commissioning, Rankin won the Battle Efficiency Award six times, including an unprecedented five straight from 1956-1960. By special order of Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, Rankin sailors were authorized to wear a Gold E on their arms, and the ship wore a Gold E on her stack.

Builder: California Shipbuilding

Laid down: 18 July 1944


Commissioned: 30 November 1944

Decommissioned: 26 February 1946

Struck: 20 March 1946

Honors: Battle starFate: Scrapped 1974




Beam: 62 ft (19 m)


Propulsion: Oil Fired Steam Turbine1 Shaft

Speed: 17 knots

Boats and landingcraft carried:

26

Complement: 56 Officers, 480 EnlistedArmament: 1 5"/38 gun

1 40 mm quad mount4 40 mm twin mounts10 20 mm single mounts

USS Attala (APA 130)

USS Attala (APA 130) was a Haskell-class attack transport named for Attala County, Mississippi. Commissioned in late 1944, it transported men and equipment throughout the Pacific during WWII, including visits to Pearl Harbor, San Francisco, Iwo Jima, Eniwetok, Saipan, Philippines, and Okinawa. Immediately after the war, the Attala supported occupation activities in China and Korea, before returning to Norfolk and being decommissioned on 26 February 1946.

Builder: Oregon Shipbuilding Co.Portland, Oregon

Launched: 18 July 1944Commissioned: 14 September 1944Decommissioned: 17 April 1946Honors: 2 Battle StarsFate: Mothballed in the

James River Reserve Fleet off Fort Eustis, Virginia until scrapping on 16 January 1984, in Spain.


Class and type: Bayfield-class attack transport

Displacement: 12,450 tons (full load)

Length: 455 ft 0 in (138.68 m)

Beam: 62 ft 0 in (18.90 m)

Draught: 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)

Speed: 19 knots

Complement: 536

Armament: one 5” gun mount,twelve 40mm mounts,ten 20mm mounts

USS Lowndes (APA 154)

USS Lowndes (APA 154) was one of 117 VC2-S-AP5 Haskell-class attack transports. These Victory ships were based on the earlier Liberty Ship design, but with higher speed (19 knots vs. 11 knots), improved diesel engines, and strengthened hulls. Victory ships were also slightly larger than Liberty ships, at 455 feet long and 62 feet wide with 28 feet With a fine raked bow and a 'cruiser' stern, to help achieve the higher speed, they had a quite different appearance to Liberty ships.In a letter receive from Lowndes County, Mississippi, honoring its commissioning, it was expressed: "The citizens are proud for one of our ships to bear the name 'LOWNDES'. May its record be covered with glory." In 1945, the Lowndes earned two battle stars, participating in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa invasions.

The broached LCVP at right is from USS Lowndes (APA-154).

Type: VC2-S-AP5

Builder: Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon

Launched: 23 November 1944



Honors: 1 Battle Star

Fate: National Defense Reserve Fleet, scrapped, 2005


Displacement: 12,450 tons (full load)

Length: 455 ft 0 in (138.68 m)

Beam: 62 ft 0 in (18.90 m)

Draught: 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)

Speed: 19 knots

Capacity: 150,000 cu. ft, 2,900 tons

Complement: 56 Officers 480 Enlisted

Armament: one 5/38” gun mount,twelve 40mm mounts,ten 20mm mounts

USS Lauderdale (APA 179)

USS Lauderdale (APA 179) was one of many Victory Ships outfitted with heavy boat davits and other arrangements to enable them to handle landing craft for amphibious assault operations. These attack transports, designated APAs, were designed to carry and land combat troops and were very similar to attack cargo ships designated AKAs.

American Campaign Medal

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal

World War II Victory Medal

Navy Occupation Service Medal

USS Lauderdale arrived off Okinawa in 11 April 1945, where after landing troops and equipment, she served as receiving ship for uninjured survivors of ships damaged or sunk during the protracted struggle Okinawa. In addition she served as a detention ship, for captured Japanese prisoners of war

Builder: Permanente Metals Corp.Richmond, California

Launched: 7 October 1944

Commissioned: 16 November 1944


Struck: 1 October 1958

Honors: 1 battle star

Fate: Sold for scrapping,5 March 1975




Beam: 62 ft (19 m)


Propulsion: Oil Fired Steam Turbine1 Shaft



26


Armament: • 1 × 5"/38 caliber guns• 1 × quad 40 mm gun• 4 × twin 40 mm guns• 10 × single 20 mm guns

USS Neshoba (APA 216)

USS Neshoba (APA 216) was a Victory Ship of the Haskell class. Built by the Permanente Metals Corporation of Richmond, California, the ship was converted to an attack transport at Hunter's Point Ship Yard in San Francisco. The conversion consisted of installing Navy radio and radar equipment, armament, adding davits for landing craft, and loading the landing craft themselves. Boats from the Neshoba landed troops from the 96th Infantry Division in the first six waves of the assault on Okinawa. After the war, Neshoba returned combat veterans to the United States and transported occupation troops to China.The USS Neshoba was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet in 1946, and later transferred to the National Defense Reserve Fleet.

USS Billingsley (DD 293)

Builder: Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Squantum Victory Yard

Laid down: 8 September 1919


Commissioned: 1 March 1920



Fate: sold for scrapping, 17 January 1931


Class Clemson-class destroyer


Length: 314 feet 4 inches

Beam: 31 feet 9 inches

Draft: 9 feet 10 inches

Propulsion: 26,500 shp (20 MW);geared turbines,2 screws

Speed: 35 knots

Range: 4,900 nmi @ 15 kt


Armament: 4 × 4" (102 mm), 1 × 3" (76 mm), 12 × 21" (533 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Billingsley (DD 293) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. She was named for William Billingsley (1887-1913), one of the first Navy pilots, Naval Aviator No. 9 and a native of Winona, Mississippi.Billingsley joined Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, in operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean until the summer of 1920 when she made Naval Reserve training cruises. In reserve until June 1922, she then joined Division 26, Squadron 9, Destroyer Force, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She cruised along the Atlantic coast until June 1924, when Division 26 joined United States Naval Forces Europe. Billingsley cruised in European and Mediterranean waters for the next year and assisted refugees in the Near East. In the spring of 1925 she acted as plane guard for the North Atlantic crossing of the Army "Around-the-World Flight." Later in the year she returned home and resumed her routine activities along the east coast until the summer of 1929 when she again made Naval Reserve cruises.

USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE 13)Builder: National Steel and Shipbuilding

Laid down: 26 October 2010

Status: Under construction, Completion 1stQtr 2012


Class and type:

Lewis and Clark-class cargo ship

Displacement: 23,852 tons light,40,298 tons full,16,446 tons dead

Length: 210 m (689 ft) overall,199.3 m (654 ft) waterline

Beam: 32.3 m (106 ft) extreme,32.3 m (106 ft) waterline

Draft: 9.1 m (30 ft) maximum,9.4 m (31 ft) limit

Propulsion: Integrated propulsion and ship service electrical system, with generation at 6.6 kV by FM/MAN B&W diesel generators; one fixed pitch propeller; bow thruster

Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)

Range: 14,000 nautical miles at 20 kt

Capacity: • Max dry cargo weight: 5,910 long tons (6,005 t)• Max dry cargo volume: 783,000 cubic feet (22,000 m³) • Max cargo fuel weight: 2,350 long tons (2,390 t)• Cargo fuel volume: 18,000 barrels (2,900 m³) (DFM: 10,500) (JP5:7,500)

Complement: 49 military, 123 civilian

Armament: 2–6 × 12.7 mm machine gunsor 7.62 mm medium machine guns

Aircraft carried:

two helicopters, either Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk or Aerospatiale Super Puma

Designated T-AKE 13, Medgar Evers will be the 13th ship of the class, and is being built by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego. As a combat logistics force ship, Medgar Evers will help the Navy maintain a worldwide forward presence by delivering ammunition, food, fuel, and other dry cargo to U.S. and allied ships at sea.

As part of Military Sealift Command's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, Medgar Evers will be designated as a United States Naval Ship (USNS) and will be crewed by 124 civil service mariners and 11 Navy sailors. The ship is designed to operate independently for extended periods at sea, can carry a helicopter, is 689 feet in length, has an overall beam of 106 feet, has a navigational draft of 30 feet, displaces approximately 42,000 tons, and is capable of reaching a speed of 20 knots using a single-shaft, diesel-electric propulsion system.

USS Holder (DE 401)

The USS Holder (DE 401) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort named for Lieutenant (jg) Randolph Mitchell Holder, a naval aviator from Jackson, Mississippi, posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for valor during the Battle of Midway. Holder was launched by Brown Shipbuilding of Houston, Texas 27 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Annette Holder, mother of Lieutenant (jg) Holder; and commissioned 18 January 1944.After completion of her shakedown cruise, Holder departed 24 March escorting a convoy bound for Mediterranean ports. Just before midnight 11 April it was attacked by German aircraft off the coast of Algeria. Holder and the other escorts immediately opened fire and began making smoke, but a torpedo struck the escort vessel amidships on the port side, causing two heavy explosions. Though fires spread and flooding was serious. Holder's crew remained at their guns to drive off the attackers without damage to the convoy. Alert damage control kept the ship seaworthy and she arrived in tow at Oran for repairs. There it was decided to tow her to New York, where she arrived safely 9 June 1944. Holder decommissioned at New York Navy Yard 13 September 1944. The USS Holder [DE 401] was in active service for just 83 days and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 23 September 1944. A 95'-long section of the stern portion of Holder's hull was used to repair the USS Menges (DE 320); the remainder was sold for scrap to John A. Witte, Station Island, New York on 19 June 1947.

Builder: Brown Shipbuilding

Laid down: 6 October 1943


Commissioned: 18 January 1944

Struck: 23 September 1944

Fate: Irreparably damaged by German aircraft on 11 April 1944


Class: Edsall-class destroyer escort

Displacement: 1,253 tons standard1,590 tons full load

Length: 306 feet

Beam: 36.58 feet

Draft: 10.42 full load feet

Propulsion: 4 FM diesel engines,4 diesel-generators,6,000 shp (4.5 MW),2 screws

Speed: 21 knots

Range: 9,100 nmi. at 12 knots

Complement: 8 officers, 201 enlisted

Armament: •3 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 guns •2 × 40 mm AA guns •8 × 20 mm AA guns •3 × 21 in torpedo tubes •8 × depth charge projectors•1 × depth charge projector (hedgehog)•2 × depth charge tracks

USS Holder (DD 819)Namesake: Randolph M. Holder

Builder: Consolidated Steel Corporation

Laid down: 23 April 1945


Commissioned: 18 May 1946


Reclassified: DDE-819, 4 March 1950DD-819, 7 August 1962


Fate: Transferred to Ecuador, 23 February 1977, Served as BAE Presidente Eloy AlfaroBroken up for scrap, 1991


Class and type: Gearing-class destroyer

Displacement: 3,460 long tons full

Length: 390 ft 6 in

Beam: 40 ft 10 in

Draft: 14 ft 4 in

Propulsion: Geared turbines, 2 shafts, 60,000 shp (45 MW)


Range: 4,500 nmi at 20 kn (23 mph)

Complement: 336

Armament: • 6 × 5"/38 caliber guns• 12 × 40 mm AA guns• 11 × 20 mm AA guns• 10 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes• 6 × depth charge projectors• 2 × depth charge tracks

USS Holder (DD/DDE 819) was a Gearing-class destroyer , the second Navy ship named for Lieutenant (jg) Randolph Mitchell Holder, a Navy pilot killed during the Battle of Midway and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Following her commissioning in 1946, Holder alternated anti-submarine exercises in the Caribbean with operations with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. She participated in the US response to the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis and the 1958 Lebanon landings.

In 1962, the Holder was a part of the naval quarantine of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and inspected one of the Russian ships. She received a FRAM overhaul in 1963, adding helicopter capability.

Joining the Pacific Fleet in 1966, the USS Holder served as plane guard during Gulf of Tonkin flight operation and also conducted naval gunfire support off Vietnam.

The Holder was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1976. The ship was then transferred to Ecuador on 23 February 1977 and renamed Presidente Eloy Alfaro. Presidente Elroy Alfarowas stricken and broken up for scrap in 1991.

USS Vandivier (DER 540)

Builder: Boston Navy Yard

Laid down: 8 November 1943



Decommissioned: 30 June 1960

Reclassified: DER 540 on 2 September 1954

Struck: 1 November 1974

Fate: Sunk as target off Florida on, 7 February 1975

General characteristicsClass and type: John C. Butler-class

destroyer escort



Beam: 36 ft 8 in (11 m)

Draft: 9 ft 5 in (3 m)

Propulsion: 2 boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, 12,000 shp; 2 propellers


Range: 6,000 nmi. (12,000 km) @ 12 kt


Armament: 2 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 guns (2×1)• 4 × 40 mm AA guns (2×2)• 10 × 20 mm AA guns (10×1)• 3 × 21 in. torpedo tubes (1×3)• 8 × depth charge projectors• 1 × depth charge projector (hedgehog)• 2 × depth charge tracks

USS Vandivier (DER 540) was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard on 8 November 1943 as a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort DE 540; launched on 27 December 1943; and was sponsored by Mrs. Mary Hardin Vandivier. Since World War II came to an end before she was completed, work on her gradually tapered off and was finally suspended on 1947. Seven years later work was resumed to complete her and to convert her to a destroyer escort radar picket ship and was placed in commission on 11 October 1955.

She was named USS Vandivier in honor of Norman Francis Vandivier, born in Edwards Mississippi. An SBD Dauntless dive bomber pilot in Bombing Squadron 6 on the USS Enterprise, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his attack on the Pearl Harbor carrier Akagi during the Battle of Midway.

Throughout her brief career, the Vandivier served along the Atlantic Ocean seaboard and operated out of Newport, Rhode Island. Her duties consisted solely of patrols off the coast as a sea-going extension of the distant early warning system, cruising on station for periods of approximately two weeks in duration while her radar equipment scanned the horizon for any airborne intruders—missiles or planes. When not on station, she conducted upkeep in port at Newport and made special event cruises. In 1956, she conducted cruises for the American Society of Planners and for women officer candidates as well as for her crewmen's families. On 20 September 1958, she had the honor of escorting President Dwight D. Eisenhower during the America's Cup Races held off Narragansett Bay. On the following day, Vandivier resumed duty guarding the country from the threat of aerial sneak attack.

On 30 June 1960, after all preparations, USS Vandivier was decommissioned and placed in reserve with the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Vandivier remained in reserve until late 1974 when she was sunk as a target and struck from the Navy list.

USS Marchand (DE 249)Namesake: Roy Joseph Marchand

Builder: Brown Shipbuilding Houston, Texas

Laid down: 30 December 1942

Launched: 20 March 1943

Commissioned: 8 September 1943


Struck: 2 January 1971

Fate: Sold for scrapping 30 January 1974

General characteristicsClass and type: Edsall-class destroyer escort


Length: 306 feet (93.27 m)

Beam: 36.58 feet (11.15 m)

Draft: 10.42 full load feet (3.18 m)

Propulsion: 4 FM diesel engines,4 diesel-generators,6,000 shp (4.5 MW),2 screws


Range: 9,100 nmi. at 12 knots(17,000 km at 22 km/h)


Armament: •3 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 guns (3 × 1)•2 × 40 mm AA guns (1 × 2)•8 × 20 mm AA guns (8 × 1)•3 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (1 × 3)•8 × depth charge projectors•1 × depth charge projector (hedgehog)•2 × depth charge tracks

USS Marchand (DE 249) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort serving in both the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean, providing escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.She was named in honor of Fireman First Class Roy Joseph Marchand, a native of Crandall, Mississippi. For his courageous actions on 1 March 1942 during a Japanese attack on his ship, the USS Pecos. Assigned to an antiaircraft gun, he remained at his post until bomb fragments put the gun out of commission; then he acted as messenger for the commanding officer until fatally wounded. Fireman First Class Marchand was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his courageous dedication to duty. Marchand (DF 249) was laid down by Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas, 30 December 1942; launched 30 March 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Charles D. Marchand, mother of Fireman First Class Marchand; and commissioned 8 September 1943.Through 1944 and the first half of 1945, USS Marchand provided escort to a dozen convoys to Europe, sailing from Boston or New York to ports in the United Kingdom. The Marchand was one of 30 destroyer escorts in the North Atlantic that, although US Navy ships, were fully manned by US Coast Guard crews. With the end of World War II in Europe, the Marchand was ordered to the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 26 July 1945. She was still in Hawaii when the war ended in August. On 17 November the escort ship steamed for home, arriving San Diego, California, 6 days later to debark some of the Coast Guard crew. On the 25th Marchand headed for the east coast, via the Panama Canal, reaching New York 11 December. She then got underway 21 January 1946 for Green Cove Springs, Florida, arriving the 23d for inactivation. On 15 April 1947 she decommissioned and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Green Cove Springs. She was struck from the Navy List on 2 January 1971 and sold for scrapping 30 January 1974. US Navy Mouthballed Fleet at Green Cove Springs, FL

USS John S. McCain (DL 3)Namesake: John S. McCain, Sr.Builder: Bath Iron WorksLaid down: 24 October 1949Launched: 12 July 1952Acquired: September 23, 1953Commissioned: 12 October 1953Decommissioned: 29 April 1978Reclassified: DDG-36, 15 March 1967Struck: 29 April 1978Motto: DL-3, Crusader for Peace;

DDG-36, Praestate - "Excel"

Fate: Sold for scrap, Jan 1980

General characteristicsClass and type: Mitscher class destroyerDisplacement: 3,675 tonsLength: 493 ft (150 m)Beam: 50 ft (15.2 m)Draft: 13 ft 10 in (4.2 m)Speed: 30+ knots (55+ m)Complement: 403 officers and crewArmament: 2 x 1 5"/54 cal,

2 x 2 3"/70 cal,4 21" torpedo tubes,1 ASROC,1 depth charge track, as built, and before conversion to a DDG

The USS John S. McCain, named for the native Mississippian, was one of the Mitscher-class of large and fast destroyer leaders, carrying new guided-missile armament and embodying new ideas in hull design and construction. The destroyer sailed for her first Far East cruise on 11 April 1957, and after a visit to Australia, she joined the Formosa Patrol, helping to deter a military clash between Nationalist and Communist Chinese forces. In early September1958 the ship deployed to the Formosa-South China Sea area to help the Seventh Fleet deter a possible Communist invasion of Quemoy and Matsu Islands. In 28 November 1962 she returned to patrol duties in the South China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin, buttressing the South Vietnamese government in its fight against the Viet Cong. She also took part in Formosa Patrol in the Straits before returning to Pearl Harbor on 16 June 1963. In 1965 John S. McCain was reclassified DDG-36, 15 April and deployed to South Vietnam shelling Viet Cong positions..The USS John S. McCain was converted to a guided missile destroyer by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and designated DDG-36 on 15 March 1967.

USS John S. McCain (DDG 56)

Builder: Bath Iron WorksLaid down: 3 September 1991


Commissioned: 2 July 1994

Motto: Fortune Favors the Brave

Status: in active service, as of 2011

General characteristicsClass and type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

Displacement: Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t)Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t)


Beam: 66 ft (20 m)


Propulsion: 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower (75 MW)

Speed: >30 knots (56 km/h)

Range: 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots

Complement: 33 Officers, 38 Chief Petty Officers210 Enlisted Personnel

Armament: 1 × 29 cell, 1 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems with 90 × RIM-156 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-Asroc missiles1 × Mark 45 5/54 in (127/54 mm)2 × 25 mm chain gun4 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS2 × Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes

Aircraft carried: 1 SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter can be embarked

USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is part of the Seventh Fleet, and she has her homeport at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan.

This warship is named after John S. McCain, Jr., and John S. McCain, Sr., both Admirals in the United States Navy. John S. McCain, Sr. was born in Carroll County, Mississippi, attended the University of Mississippi for two years before acceptance into the United States Naval Academy. Commissioned in 1906, he sailed in Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet’s world cruise in 1907-9, World War I convoy duty in the Atlantic and during WWII he commanded the aircraft carrier Ranger (CV-4), and acted as commander of a Fast Carrier Task . He was the grandfather of John S. McCain III; former naval aviator captain, Vietnam POW and Arizona’s Senator.

USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)Builder: Newport News

Shipbuilding Co.




Motto: Look Ahead

Nickname: Johnny Reb

General characteristicsClass and type: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier

Displacement: 103,300 long tons

Length: Overall: 1,092 feet (332.8 m)Waterline: 1,040 feet (317.0 m)

Beam: Overall: 252 ft (76.8 m)Waterline: 134 ft (40.8 m)

Draft: 37 ft

Propulsion: 2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors4 × steam turbines4 × shafts260,000 shp (194 MW)

Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h; 35+ mph)

Capacity: 6500 officers and crew (with embarked airwing)

Complement: Ship's company: 3,200Air wing: 2,480

Armament: 2 × Mk 57 Mod3 Sea Sparrow2 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile3 × Phalanx CIWS

Aircraft carried: 90 fixed wing and helicopters

Aviation facilities: catapults: 4aircraft elevators: 4

USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) is the seventh Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the United States Navy, and was named for Mississippi’s Senator John Cornelius Stennis. Her home port is Bremerton, Washington.

Known as the “Johnny Reb”, the USS John C. Stennis conducted air operations in the Persian Gulf supporting Operation Southern Watch on 1998 and 2000. In 2002, she supported Operation Enduring Freedom air operations over Afghanistan, followed by a 2004 deployment to the Pacific, ranging from Alaska to Australia. The John C. Stennis returned to the Persian Gulf in support of US operations in 2007 and 2009.

USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat (T-AK 3016)

Builder: Chernomorskiy (Russia)

Laid down: 1987Prior Names: GTS Vladimir

ValyayevGTS Bazaliya

USN Service: 7 Oct 2003General characteristics

Type: Container & Roll-on, Roll-off

Displacement: 50,059 tons Length: Overall: 863’ 2”

Beam: Overall: 98’ 5”

Draft: 35 ft

Propulsion: 2 gas turbines2shafts50,000 shp

Speed: 22 knotsCapacity: 128,000 sq. ft. Armament: noneComplement: 29 Civilians

USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat (T-AK 3016) is named for Medal of Honor recipient Lance Cpl. Roy M. Wheat, USMC, the only Mississippian to receive the nation's highest military honor during the Vietnam War. LCPL Wheat was born on July 24, 1947, in Moselle, Mississippi, and attended public schools in Ellisville, Mississippi. In September 1966, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and arrived in Vietnam in March 1967. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life to save two fellow Marines from a tripped land mine.

The noncombatant ship is operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command, the sea transportation agency for the Department of Defense. Strategically prepositioned in the Mediterranean, it maintains U.S. Marine Corps combat material at sea, enabling quick transport to a trouble spot as Marines are flown into theater.

USS Cairo

It was only through dedicated research in the 1960s that Cairo was located -- beautifully preserved by the cool blue-clay river mud, filled with a treasure trove of historic artifacts. The wreck was raised in 1964, accidentally being broken into three pieces in the process. These were stabilized and reassembled at the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, on the Gulf coast. Title was passed to the National Park Service, and the partially reconstructed ship is now on display at the Vicksburg National Military Park, her guns and engines magnificently restored, her forward armored bulkhead in position, but parts of her casement structure indicated only by the burly white-oak beams left in place.

Built in 1861, USS Cairo was a part of the Union Army's Western Gunboat Flotilla, operating on the Mississippi River in support of ground forces. On 12 December 1862, while clearing mines from the river preparatory to the attack on Haines Bluff, Mississippi, Cairo struck a torpedo detonated by volunteers hidden behind the river bank and sank in 12 minutes; there were no casualties. Cairo became the first armored warship sunk by an electrically detonated mine. Over the years the gunboat was forgotten and her watery grave was slowly covered by a shroud of silt and sand.

USS Jackson (LCS 6)

Builder: Austal USA (Mobile, AL)

Laid down: 1 August 2011General characteristics

Type: Littoral Combat ShipDisplacement: 2,784 tons Length: Overall: 418’

(127.4m)Beam: Overall: 104’ (31.6m)Draft: 13 ft Propulsion: 2 gas turbines

2 diesel4 waterjetsRetractable Azimuth Thruster4 diesel generators

Speed: 40+ knotsRange: 10,000 nautical milesCapacity: 210 tonsArmament: 57mm gun

4 .50-cal gunsSeaRam Missile (11 cells)Mission modules2 MH-60R SeahawksMQ-8 Fire Scout

Complement: 8 officers, 32 enlistedUp to 35 mission crew

Although several ships have been named for President Andrew Jackson, this Independence-class design is the first to be named for the city of Jackson, Mississippi. Based on a high speed cruise ship design and the helm controlled by joysticks instead of traditional steering wheels, the Jackson will carry a default armament for self-defense, and command and control. However unlike traditional fighting ships with fixed armament such as guns and missiles, tailored mission modules can be configured for one mission package at a time. Modules may consist of manned aircraft, unmanned vehicles, off-board sensors, or mission-manning detachments.

The habitability area is located under the bridge where bunks for ships personnel are situated. With an interior volume and payload greater than some destroyers, the mission bay takes up most of the deck below the hangar and flight deck. In addition to container-sized mission modules, the bay can carry four lanes of multiple Strykers, armored Humvees, and their associated troops. An elevator allows air transport of packages the size of a 20-foot-long shipping container that can be moved into the mission bay while at sea. A side access ramp allows for vehicle roll-on/roll-off loading to a dock and allows the ship to transport the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.

Dantzler Shipbuilding Co. Moss Point MS Boone

Moss Point Hodge Shipbuilding Co. Moss Point MS USS Alpaco

BanaranBoonsborough Nika

Dierks-Blodgett Shipbuilding Co. Pascagoula MS USS Pascagoula

Belair Berela Cawker Panga

World War I ShipyardsEntry of the United States into World War I and the loss of shipping to submarine warfare created a massive need for more cargo vessels. To supplement traditional steel ship construction, dozens of shipyards were created to build wood transports, including three yards in Jackson County, Mississippi. Of the 703 wooden hull ships contracted nationally, only 323 were launched and even fewer fully completed. Only four were commissioned Into the US Navy and two of those were from local yards: USS Pascagoula and USS Alpaco. Their service lives were short however, and both were decommissioned a month after war’s end without having completed even a single cargo mission.

USS Pascagoula

USS Alapaco ready to launch

Jackson County WWI Shipyards and their ships

USS AlpacoCommissioned:18 November 1918Decommissioned:19 December 1918

USS PascagoulaCommissioned: 4 October 1918


Ingalls Shipbuilding was established in 1938 on the east bank of the Pascagoula Rive by the Ingalls Iron Works of Birmingham, Alabama. It was built in anticipation of the U.S. Maritime Commission's long-range shipbuilding in a location with access to a deep water channel, a railroad, and a large work force. company representatives approached the city of Pascagoula, Mississippi, about building the new shipyard on its river bank.

Ingalls Shipbuilding's first vessel was the SS Exchequer, a cargo ship launched on October 16, 1940. The ship was unique because it was the first one in the world to sport an all-welded steel hull. Prior to the SS Exchequer, ship hulls were created by overlapping steel plates and attaching them with rivets. In contrast, Ingalls welded the steel plates end-to-end, which resulted in a smooth and much more durable hull.

With the onset of World War II, Ingalls's shifted into high gear for the war effort, operating around the clock building all types of ships for the U.S. military. As production surged and the traditional Ingalls work force was depleted as its young men went off to war, women were called on to replace them. Vera Anderson, for example, became the shipbuilding version of "Rosie the Riveter," and went on to become a national welding champion. Throughout World War II, Ingalls built more than 60 ships ranging from submarine tenders and aircraft carriers to troopships and net layers.

Although Ingalls focused on the booming commercial sector after the war, it continued to build Navy combat ships. Including tank landing ships as well as eight dock landing ships. Also during the 1950s, Ingalls entered the submarine business by modifying two of its shipways in 1955 to accommodate submarine construction.

In 1961, Litton Industries, Inc. purchased the company for $8 million along with $9 million in assumed debt. Ingalls's first move under the Litton umbrella was to begin the construction of a new, ultra-modern shipyard that could produce complex ships faster and more efficiently. Dubbed the "shipyard of the future" by Litton, the “West Bank” facility was begun in 1968 on the river bank facing Ingalls's original facility in Pascagoula. Litton's plan for the new facility was to utilize "inverted modular" construction techniques, in which entire sections of the ship would be built--including piping, electrical systems, and ventilation--and then assembled and installed on land prior to completing the hull.

In 1969 and 1970, Ingalls landed two pivotal contracts for a series of new-generation amphibious assault ships and 30 high-tech "multimission" destroyers. By 1975, Ingalls was delivering high-tech destroyers and assault ships at the rate of one every six weeks. The company delivered the last eight units of its two pivotal Navy contracts at the rate of one per month, setting a new peacetime production record.

During the 1980s, Ingalls was awarded contracts to build 19 of the 27 Navy's Aegis cruisers, followed in the 90’s by new classes of amphibious assault ships and destroyers. Litton was bought by Northrop Grumman in 2001 and Ingalls was integrated with Avondale as Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. In 2008, Ship Systems was integrated with Newport News as Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. In March 2011, the yard was spun off, together with Newport News, as Huntington Ingalls Industries, with Pascagoula operations again known as Ingalls Shipbuilding.

USS Vernon County (LST 1161) 1952-1973USS Wahkiakum County (LST 1162) 1953-1970USS Waldo County (LST 1163) 1953-1973USS Walworth County (LST 1164) 1953-1973USS Washoe County (LST 1165) 1953-1973

The end of World War II left the Navy with a huge inventory of LSTs. Hundreds of these were scrapped or sunk, and most of the remaining ships were put in "mothballs" to be preserved for the future. Additionally, many of the LSTs were demilitarized and sold to the private sector serving a number of novel commercial uses, including operating as small freighters, ferries, and dredges. Also, many LSTs were used as targets in aquatic nuclear testing after the war, being readily available and serving no apparent military applications.

The success of the amphibious assault at Inchon during the Korean War pointed out the utility of LSTs once again. As a consequence, fifteen LSTs of what were later to be known as the Terrebonne Parish-class were constructed in the early 1950s. These new LSTs were 56 feet (17 m) longer than the WWII versions and were equipped with four, rather than two, diesel engines, which increased their speed to 15 knots (28 km/h). Three-inch 50-caliber twin mounts replaced the old twin 40-millimeter guns, and controllable pitch propellers improved the ship's backing power.

Landing Ship, Tank (LST)

Thomaston-class Landing Ship, Dock


Class and type: Thomaston-class dock landing ship

Service Life: 1953-1990

Displacement: 8,899 long tons (9,042 t) light11,525 long tons (11,710 t) full load


Beam: 84 ft (26 m)


Propulsion: 2 × steam turbines, 2 shafts, 23,000 shp (17 MW)



21 × LCM-6 landing craft in well deck

Troops: 300

Complement: 304

Armament: • 4 × twin 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal guns• 6 × twin 20 mm AA guns

Aircraft carried: One helicopter

Aviation facilities: Helicopter landing area usually of wood construction; no hangar

USS Thomaston (LSD 28)USS Plymouth Rock (LSD 29)USS Fort Snelling (LSD 30)USS Point Defiance (LSD 31)USS Spiegel Grove (LSD 32)USS Alamo (LSD 33)USS Hermitage (LSD 34)USS Monticello (LSD 35)USS Anchorage (LSD 36)

The Landing Ship Dock (LSD) class of ships support operations to transport and launch amphibious craft, vehicles such as the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) and helicopters, along with embarked Marine Corps personnel. The Landing Ship Dock also provide docking and repair services for the smaller landing craft. The Landing Dock Ship's company consisted of approximately 300 and could host up to 325 combat troop personnel. LSDs boasted a huge well deck measuring 430 x 50.

USS Blueback (SS 581)

USS Blueback (SS 581) was a Barbel-class submarine in the United States Navy. She was one of three in her class, the last diesel-electric propelled submarines built by the United States Navy. They incorporated numerous, radical engineering improvements over previous classes and were the first production warships built with the teardrop-shape hull and “attack center” within the hull rather than a conning tower in the sail.

Blueback earned two battle stars for her Vietnam War service.

Keel Laid: April 15, 1957Launched: May 16, 1959Commissioned: October 15, 1959Decommissioned: October 1, 1990Struck: October 30, 1990

Displacement: 2,637 tons Length: 219 feet, 6 inches overallBeam: 29 feetDraft: 25 feet maxPropulsion: Three diesel engines, 4,500 shp Two electric motors, 6,440 bhp Speed: 17 knots surfaced; 21 knots submergedTest depth: 712 feet operating; 1,050 feet collapseComplement: 8 officers, 77 menArmament: 6 x 21 inches bow torpedo tubes, 22 torpedoes

USS Blueback is on public display at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Oregon

USS Sculpin (SSN 590)USS Snook (SSN 592)

The Skipjack-class introduced the S5W reactor to U.S. nuclear submarines with a design maximized for underwater speed by shaping the hull like a blimp. This required that the single screw was aft of the rudders and dive planes. This so called "body-of-revolution hull" reduced surface sea-keeping ability, but allowed improved underwater performance. The hull was also a single hull design, where the pressure hull and outer hull are the same for most of the length of the ship. The bow planes were moved to the massive sail to cut down on flow-induced noise near the bow sonar array.

Skipjack-class

USS SculpinCommissioned: 1 June 1961

Decommissioned: 3 August 1990Motto: "Videte eos prius" ("See 'em first“)

USS Snook Commissioned: 24 October 1961

Decommissioned: 14 November 1986Motto: “Festina Lente” (“Hurry up and wait!”)

General characteristicsClass and type: Skipjack-class submarineDisplacement: 3,500 tonsLength: 251 ft 9 in (76.73 m)Beam: 32 ft (9.8 m)Draft: 28 ft (8.5 m)Propulsion: 1 × S5W reactor

2 × Westinghouse steam turbines, 15,000 shp1 shaft

Speed: 15 knots surfaced30+ knots submerged

Test depth: 700 ft (210 m)Complement: 118Armament: 6 × 21 in. torpedo tubes

USS Sculpin with Admiral Rickover on her wings

Snook flying a rebel flag on leaving Pascagoula, Mississippi on her way to homeport San Diego

USS Barb (SSN 596)USS Dace (SSN 607)

USS Haddock (SSN 621) Thresher/Permit-class Fast Attack Submarine

Thresher/Permit-classType: Fast attack submarineUSS Barb 24 August 1963 – 20 December 1989USS Dace 4 April 1964 – 2 December 1988USS Haddock 22 December 1967 – 7 April 1993Displacement: 4,300 tons Length: 278 ft 5 in (84.86 m)Beam: 31 ft 7 in (9.63 m)Draft: 25 ft 2 in (7.67 m)Propulsion: 1 S5W Pressurized Water Reactor

2 steam turbines, 15,000 shp1 shaft

Speed: 15 knots surfaced28 knots submerged

Range: Unlimited, except by food supplies

Test depth: 1,300 ft (400 m)Complement: 112Electronic warfareand decoys:

ESM

Armament: • 4 × 21 in torpedo tubes amidships• 12-18 × Mark 48 torpedoes• 4-6 × SUBROC anti-submarine missiles• 4 × UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles

The first submarine commissioned in this class was the ill-fated Thresher, and so the class was known by her name. When Thresher was lost, the class took the name of the second ship in the class, USS Permit. The new class kept the proven S5W reactor plant from the immediately preceding Skipjack's, but included some radical changes. The pressure hulls were made using an improved process that extended test depth to 1,300 ft. The engineering spaces were also redesigned, with the turbines supported on "rafts" that were suspended from the hull on sound damping isolation mounts. Their hulls were more effectively streamlined and had smaller sails, but the increased displacement over the Skipjacks lead to top speed of around 28kts, five knots slower than the Skipjacks. The ships also had torpedo launchers moved to the middle of the hull which made available the required large space in the bow sonar system

USS Tautog (SSN 639)USS Pogy (SSN 647)

USS Aspro (SSN 648)USS Puffer (SSN 652)

USS William H Bates (SSN 680)USS Tunney (SSN 682) USS Parche (SSN 683)

Sturgeon-classType: Fast attack submarineUSS Tautog 17 August 1968 – 31 March 1997USS Pogy 15 May 1971 – 11 June 1999USS Aspro 20 February 1969 - 31 March 1995USS Puffer 9 August 1969 – 12 July 1996USS William H Bates 5 May 1973 – 11 February 2000USS Tunney 26 January 1974 – 13 March 1998USS Parche 17 August 1974 -19 October 2004Displacement: 4,640 tons Length: 292 ft 3 in (89.08 m)Beam: 31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)Draft: 25 ft 2 in (7.67 m)Propulsion: 1 S5W Pressurized Water Reactor

2 steam turbines, 11.2 MW1 shaft

Speed: 15 knots surfaced26 knots submerged

Range: Unlimited, except by food supplies

Test depth: 1,320 ft (400 m)Complement: 107Armament: 4 × 21 in torpedo tubes amidships

• Mark 48 torpedoes •Harpoon anti-ship missiles • Tomahawk SLCM • Submarine launched mines

Sturgeon-classAttack Submarine

The Sturgeon class (colloquially in Navy circles, the 637 class) were a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) in service with the United States Navy from the 1960s until 2004. Similarto the previous Permit-class, these craftwere designed with a larger sail to house additional surveillance systems. The last nine Sturgeons , including Tunney and William H Bates, were lengthened 10 feet to provide more space for intelligence-gathering equipment and added SEAL Dry Deck Shelters with hyperbaric chambers to facilitate the covert insertion of special forces troops.

USS Parche received an additional 100-foot (30 meter) hull extension containing cable tapping equipment that brought her total length to 401 feet. Parche was involved in several reconnaissance missions, including cable tap operations in the Barents and Okhotsk seas. USS Parche received 9 Presidential Unit Citations, 10 Navy Unit Citations and 13 Navy Expeditionary Medals

Named for Glacier Bay, Alaska, the icebreaker USS Glacier (AGB 4) (later USCGC Glacier (WAGB 4) was launched on 27 August 1954 at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Mississippi. Glacier was in U.S. Navy service for 11 years, and U.S. Coast Guard service for 21 years.

USS Glacier served in the first through fifteenth Operation Deep Freeze expeditions. Glacier was first icebreaker to make her way through the frozen Bellingshausen Sea, and most of the topography in the area is named for her crewmembers. When built, Glacier had the largest capacity single armature DC motors ever installed on a ship. Glacier was capable of breaking ice up to 20 feet (6.1 m) thick, and of continuous breaking of 4-foot (1.2 m) thick ice at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph). Crew complement was 14 officers, 2 warrant officers, and 225 enlisted

Laid down: 3 August 1953Launched: 27 August 1954USN Commissioned: 27 May 1955USN Decommissioned: 30 June 1966USCG Commissioned: 30 June 1966USCG Decommissioned: 7 July 1987Displacement: 8,449 long tons (8,585 t) full loadLength: 309 ft 6 in (94.34 m)Beam: 74 ft (23 m)Draft: 29 ft (8.8 m)Propulsion: Diesel-Electric, 10 × Fairbanks-Morse diesels

2 × Westinghouse electric motors, 21,000 shp (16,000 kW)Speed: 17.6 knots (32.6 km/h; 20.3 mph)Range: 29,200 nautical miles

USS Glacier (AGB 4)USCGC Glacier (WAGB 4)

Icebreaker

USS Rigel (AFS 58)USS Vega (AFS 59)Refrigerated Stores Ship

The two Ingalls-built Rigel-class stores ships’ task was to carry stores, refrigerated items, and equipment to ships in the fleet, and to remote stations and staging areas. Rigel was home-ported on the east coast and served in the Atlantic while Vega served in the Pacific and returned home from the Vietnam War with 10 campaign stars and numerous commendations.


Displacement: 15,150 tons(fl)


Beam: 72 ft (22 m)

Draught: 29 ft (8.8 m)

Propulsion: 600psi cross compound steam turbine, single propeller

Speed: 21 kts.

Complement: 350 (USS crew)

Armament: four dual mount 3"/50 gun mounts

USS Rigel (AFS-58)Laid down: 15 March 1954Launched: 15 March 1955Commissioned: 2 September 1955Decommissioned: June 1975In service: as USNS Rigel (T-AF 58),

23 June 1975Struck: 16 May 1994Fate: scrapped in late 2003

USS Vega (AFS-59)Laid down: 7 June 1954Launched: 28 April 1955Commissioned: 19 November 1955Decommissioned: 29 April 1977Fate: Sold 1 December 1977

Scrapped 1985

USS Morton (DD 948)USS Parsons (DD 949/33) Destroyer

USS Morton (DD 948) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton USN (1907–1943), commanding officer of the submarine USS Wahoo (SS 238) during World War II. The ship’s nickname was "The Saltiest Ship in the Fleet!"


Type: Forrest Sherman-class Destroyer


Length: 407 ft (124 m) waterline418 ft (127 m) overall

Beam: 45 ft (14 m)


Propulsion: General Electric steam turbines 4 × 1,200 psi boilers 70,000 shp (52 MW)2 × shafts.

Speed: 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h)

Range: 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)


Armament: 3 × 5 inch/54-calibre single gun mounts4 × 3 inch/50-caliber guns2 × Mark 10/11 Hedgehogs4 × 21 inch torpedo tubes.

Parsons was one of four Forrest Sherman-class destroyers selected for conversion from all-gun destroyers to the new Decatur-class of guided missile destroyer and assigned a new hull classification symbol: DDG-33. The conversion removed both of the after 5 in (127 mm) 54-caliber gun mounts and installed a Mk.13 Tartar Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) and Anti-Submarine Rocket (ASROC) system.

USNS Range Tracker (AGM 1)Missile Range Instrumentation Ship

• USNS Range Tracker was launched 19 May 1945 as the Skidmore Victory by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp and later served the American President Lines as SS President Buchanan.

• Placed into the National Defense Reserve Fleet, the ship was acquired by the U.S. Air Force and converted by Ingalls Shipbuilding into a complex electronics center to track missiles, space vehicles, and satellites.

• Renamed USNS Range Tracker and reclassified AGM 1 on 27 November 1960 and placed in service in May 1961.

• A mobile tracking platform for recording data on missiles and satellites that are out of range of established land stations, Range Tracker was homeported at Port Hueneme, Calif., on the Pacific Missile Range from June 1961 to 1969. She was operated by the Military Sea Transportation Service with a Civil Service crew. In 1969, when the Air Force Systems Command no longer needed Range Tracker, she was placed out of service and transferred to the Maritime Administration 12 November 1969. Sold to American Ship Dismantlers on 10 July 1970 for scrapping.

Displacement: 11,100 tonsLength: 455’ Beam: 62’Draft: 22’Speed: 17 knotsComplement: 89

USS Holland (AS 32)USS Canopus (AS 34)

Ballistic Missile Submarine TenderUSS Holland (AS 32) was a submarine tender launched by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company in Pascagoula, Mississippi on 19 January 1963. The first ship built specifically to service Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines (FBMs), she was sponsored by Mrs. John C. Stennis, wife of US Senator John C. Stennis, and was named after the Navy’s first commissioned submarine – USS Holland (SS 1).

USS Canopus (AS 34) was a Simon Lake-class submarine tender of the United States Navy, operational from 1965 to 1994. (The first USS Canopus (AS 9) was a submarine tender deliberately sunk in the Philippines after Bataan fell to prevent capture by the Japanese.) Canopus was launched on 12 February 1965, decommissioned on 7 October 1994 and scrapped in 2010.


Class and type: Simon Lake-class submarine tender



Beam: 85 ft (26 m)


Propulsion: 2 boilers, steam turbine, single shaft


Complement: 1,420

Armament: 4 × 3"/50 caliber gun mounts

USS Tripoli (LPH 10)USS Inchon (LPH 12/MCS 12)

Amphibious Assault Ship

USS Tripoli (LPH 10) served on three deployments to Vietnamese waters during the Vietnam War, earning nine campaign stars. During the First Gulf War in 1990, Tripoli struck a mine in the Persian Gulf, but was able to maintain operations. In 1992, Tripoli landed forces in support of Operation Restore Hope to restore order to Somalia. Decommissioned in 1995, she is on loan to the Army, and was towed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for a new role as a launch platform with the nation's developing ballistic missile defense program.

The Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy were the first amphibious assault ships designed and built as dedicated helicopter carriers, capable of operating up to 20 helicopters to carry up to 1,800 marines ashore. They were named for battles featuring the United States Marine Corps, starting with the Battle of Iwo Jima. Because these ships bore the hull classification of LPH they have often been referred to as "Landing Platform, Helicopter".

USS Inchon was launched on 24 May 1969 an Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship. Inchon returned to Ingalls Shipbuilding in March 1995 for conversion to a Mine Countermeasures Command and Support Ship (MCS 12). On 19 October 2001, severe damage occurred to her boiler plant and was decommissioned on 20 June 2002, at NS Ingleside, Texas.


Type: Amphibious Assault Ship (LPH)



Beam: 84 ft (26 m)


Propulsion: 2 × 600 psi boilers,one geared steam turbine, one shaft,22,000 shaft horsepower

Speed: 22 knots

Troops: 2,157

Complement: 667

Armament: 2 × 3-inch (76 mm) / 50 caliber AA guns,8 cell Sea Sparrow BPDMS launchers,2 × Phalanx CIWS

Aviation facilities: 25 helicoptersFlight deck width: 105 ft

USS Cleveland (LPD 7)USS Dubuque (LPD 8)

Amphibious Transport DockUSS Cleveland (LPD 7), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock was launched on 7 May 1966. During the Vietnam War, USS Cleveland earned nine campaign stars for Vietnam War service. She later served in both Gulf Wars in Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. On 30 September 2011, USS Cleveland (LPD 7) was decommissioned after more than 44 years of service.


Type: USS Austin-classAmphibious Transport Dock

Tonnage: 7,713 tons dwt

Displacement: 9,201 tons (light)16,914 tons (full)


Beam: 105 ft (32 m)


Propulsion: 2 × boilers, 2 × steam turbines, 2 × shafts, 24,000 shp (18,000 kW)



1 × LCAC, or1 × LCU, or4 × LCM-8, or9 × LCM-6, or24 × AAV

Complement: 24 officers, 396 enlisted, 900 marines

Armament: 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 guns2 × Phalanx CIWS8 × .50-calibre machine guns

Aircraft carried: Up to 6 CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters

Launched on 6 August 1966, the USS Dubuque supported combat operations in Vietnam and both Gulf Wars. The Dubuque received a Navy Unit Commendation, four Meritorious Unit Commendations, three Battle Efficiency Awards, three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, three Humanitarian Service Medals and nine campaign stars. On 9 September 2010, Marines launched from the Dubuque off the coast of Somalia and boarded a ship seized by pirates the previous day. capturing nine pirates and rescuing eleven crew members. USS Dubuque was decommissioned on 30 June 2011.

Most sources consider Cleveland and Dubuque to be a part of the Austin-class, but they were designed with an extra level in the superstructure housing a flag bridge and command and control facilities for an embarked staff which the earlier ships lack and are sometimes considered a separate class.

USS Flint (AE 32)USS Shasta (AE 33)

USS Mount Baker (AE 34) USS Kiska (AE 35)

Ammunition Ship

USS Flint (AE 32) Launched: 9 November 1970Re-designated: USNS Flint (T-AE 32), 4 August 1995Still in active service

USS Shasta (AE 33) Launched: 3 April 1971Re-designated: USNS Shasta (T-AE 33), 1 October 1997Out of service: 29 April 1911

USS Mount Baker (AE 34) Launched: 23 October 1971Re-designated: USNS Mount Baker (T-AE 34), 18 December 1996Out of service: 2 August 2010

USS Kiska (AE 35) Launched: 11 March 1972Re-designated: USNS Kiska (T-AE 35), 1 August 1996Out of service: January 15, 2011

Kilauea-class ammunition ships capable of underway replenishment at a sustained speed of 20 knots, which enables her to keep pace with fast moving Naval task forces. Her modern transfer-at-sea facilities included the capability of utilizing two CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters for vertical replenishment (VERTREP). Ship holds were specifically configured for ease of handling, loading and stowing of missiles, rocket boosters, and all types of munitions required by the Fleet. These ships are capable of providing living accommodations for more than 400 men and women.

Class and type:

Kilauea-class ammunition ship

Displacement: 11,915 long tons (12,106 t) light20,169 long tons (20,493 t) fully loaded


Beam: 81 ft (25 m)



Complement: 28 officers and 375 enlisted

Spruance-class DestroyersUSS Spruance (DD 963)USS Paul F. Foster (DD 964)USS Kinkaid (DD 965)USS Hewitt (DD 966)USS Elliot (DD 967)USS Arthur W. Radford (DD 968)USS Peterson (DD 969)USS Caron (DD 970)USS David R. Ray (DD 971)USS Oldendorf (DD 972)USS John Young (DD 973)USS Comte de Grasse (DD 974)USS O'Brien (DD 975)USS Merrill (DD 976)USS Briscoe (DD 977)USS Stump (DD 978)USS Conolly (DD 979)USS Moosbrugger (DD 980)USS John Hancock (DD 981)USS Nicholson (DD 982)USS John Rodgers (DD 983)USS Leftwich (DD 984)USS Cushing (DD 985)USS Harry W. Hill (DD 986)USS O'Bannon (DD 987)USS Thorn (DD 988)USS Deyo (DD 989)USS Ingersoll (DD 990)USS Fife (DD 991)USS Fletcher (DD 992)USS Hayler (DD -997)

The Spruance-class was designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with point defense anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) missiles; upgrades provided anti-ship and land attack capabilities.

Despite their "DD" designation indicating gun destroyers, their primary armament was the missiles they carried, and arguably they should have been designated DDG (or perhaps CG, given that they were comparable in size to cruisers) under the US Navy's hull classification symbol system.

The "Spru-cans" were the first large U.S. Navy ships to use gas turbine propulsion; they have four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines to generate about 80,000 horsepower (60 MW). This configuration (developed in the 1960s by the Royal Navy and known as COmbined Gas And Gas, or COGAG) very successful and used on all subsequent U.S. warships.

The entire class of 30 ships was contracted on June 23, 1970 to Litton-Ingalls shipyard, under the Total Package Procurement concept. One additional ship, USS Hayler, was ordered on September 29, 1979. Hayler was originally planned as a DDH (Destroyer, Helicopter) design, which would carry more Anti-Submarine helicopters than the standard design of the Spruance class. Eventually this plan to build a DDH was scrapped and a slightly modified DD-963 class hull was put in commission. Four additional ships were built for the Iranian Navy with the Mark 26/Standard AAW missile system but were completed as Kidds for the U.S. Navy. The Kidds were nearly identical to the Spruances but they were more advanced general-purpose ships.

Spruance-class

Kidd-class DestroyersUSS Kidd (DD 993)USS Callaghan (DD 994)USS Scott (DD 995)USS Chandler (DD 996)

Originally built for the Shah of Iran's government for Persian Gulf service in an air defense role, the contracts were canceled when the 1979 Iranian Revolution began, and the ships were completed for the U.S. Navy. Because they were equipped with heavy-duty air conditioning and other features that made them suitable in hot climates, they tended to be used in the Middle East, specifically the Persian Gulf itself. During their service with the U.S. Navy the ships were popularly known as the "Ayatollah" or "dead admiral" class.

• USS Kidd (DDG 993) was named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship, the USS Arizona (BB 39), during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

• USS Callaghan (DDG 994) was named after Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan, killed during a surface action at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13 November 1942, aboard the USS San Francisco (CA 38).

• USS Scott (DDG 995) was named after Rear Admiral Norman Scott, who was killed during the same surface action that killed Admiral Callaghan at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, aboard the USS Atlanta (CL 51).

• USS Chandler (DDG 996) was named after Rear Admiral Theodore Chandler, who died on 7 January 1945, as a result of burns received from a kamikaze crashing into his flagship, the USS Louisville (CA 28), the previous day.

All four ships were decommissioned from the U.S. Navy in the late 1990s, and were initially offered for sale to Australia in 1997 for A$30 million each. In 1999, the offer was rejected, based on extensive problems the Royal Australian Navy had encountered during the acquisition of two surplus Newport class tank landing ships from the U.S. Navy in 1994. After the Australian refusal, the four ships were offered to Greece, which also refused.

In 2001, the US authorized the sale of all four ships to Taiwan. All four have been transferred to the

Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy under Kuang Hua VII program. They were sold for a total price of US$732

million with upgraded hardware, overhaul, activation, and training, included a reduced missile

loadout of 148 SM-2 Block IIIA and 32 RGM-84L Block II Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The reactivation was

done in Charleston, South Carolina, by VSE/BAV.

The former (USS Kidd DDG 993) now Tzuo-Ying (DDG 1803) and USS Chandler (DDG 996) now Ma-Kong (DDG 1805) in the Taiwanese Navy.

Ticonderoga-class

• The Ticonderoga class of guide missile cruisers were first ordered and authorized in FY 1978. The class uses phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class of destroyers based on the same hull as the Spruance-class. However, the increased combat capability offered by the Aegis combat system and the AN/SPY-1 radar system changed the classification from DDG (guided missile destroyer) to CG (guided missile cruiser) shortly before the keels of Ticonderoga and Yorktown were laid down.

• Of the twenty-seven vessels in the class, nineteen were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding. Ships in the class are named for noteworthy events in U.S. military history, and 10 of the Ingalls-built ships bear the name of World War II aircraft carriers: Ticonderoga, Anzio, Yorktown, Valley Forge, Bunker Hill, Antietam, San Jacinto, Lake Champlain, Princeton, and Vella Gulf.

General characteristicsType: Guided missile cruiserDisplacement: Approx. 9,600 long tons (9,800 t) full loadLength: 567 feet (173 m)Beam: 55 feet (16.8 meters)Draught: 34 feet (10.2 meters)Propulsion: 4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbine

engines, 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW)2 × controllable-reversible pitch propellers

2 × rudders

Speed: 32.5 knots (60 km/h)Range: 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h);

3,300 nmi (6,100 km) at 30 kn (56 km/h).

Complement: 33 officers, 27 Chief Petty Officers, and approx. 340 enlisted

Sensors andprocessing systems:

AN/SPY-1A/B multi-function radarAN/SPS-49 air search radarAN/SPG-62 fire control radarAN/SPS-73 surface search radarAN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radarAN/SQQ-89(V)3 Sonar suite, consisting of•AN/SQS-53B/C/D active sonar•AN/SQR-19 TACTAS passive sonar•AN/SQQ-28 light airborne multi-purpose systemAN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare Suite

Electronic warfareand decoys:

Mark 36 SRBOCAN/SLQ-25 Nixie

Armament: cruiser mark 262 × Mk 26 missile launchers68 × RIM-66 SM-2, and 20 × RUR-5 ASROC8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles2 × Mark 45 5 in / 54 cal lightweight gun2–4 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) gun2 × Phalanx CIWS2 × Mk 32 12.75 in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubescruiser mark 412 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems122 × Mix of RIM-66M-5 Standard SM-2MR Block IIIB, RIM-156A SM-2ER Block IV, RIM-161 SM-3, RIM-162A ESSM, RIM-174A Standard ERAM,BGM-109 Tomahawk, or RUM-139A VL-ASROC8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles2 × Mk 45 Mod 2 5 in / 54 cal gun2 × 25 mm Mk 38 gun2 x quad .50 cal (12.7 mm) gun2 × Phalanx CIWS Block 1B2 × Mk 32 12.75 in triple torpedo tubes

Armor: Kevlar splinter protection in critical areasAircraft carried: 2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R

Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters

Ticonderoga-class Cruisers

USS Ticonderoga (CG 47) * USS Yorktown (CG 48) * USS Vincennes (CG 49) * USS Valley Forge (CG 50) * USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) USS Antietam (CG 54) USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) USS San Jacinto (CG 56) USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) USS Princeton (CG 59) USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) USS Chosin (CG 65) USS Hué City (CG 66) USS Anzio (CG 68) USS Vicksburg (CG 69) USS Cape St. George (CG 71) USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) USS Port Royal (CG 73)

* Decommissioned

Ticonderoga-class Cruisers

Arleigh Burke-classGuided Missile Destroyers

USS Barry (DDG 52) USS Stout (DDG 55) USS Mitscher (DDG 57) USS Russell (DDG 59) USS Ramage (DDG 61) USS Stethem (DDG 63) USS Benfold (DDG 65) USS Cole (DDG 67) USS Milius (DDG 69) USS Ross (DDG 71) USS McFaul (DDG 74) USS Porter (DDG 78) USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) USS Lassen (DDG 82) USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) USS Shoup (DDG 86) USS Preble (DDG 88) USS Mustin (DDG 89) USS Pinckney (DDG 91) USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) USS Halsey (DDG 97) USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) USS Kidd (DDG 100) USS Truxtun (DDG 103) USS Dewey (DDG 105) USS Gravely (DDG 107) USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110)

The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers (DDGs) is the United States Navy's first class of destroyer built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh "31-Knot" Burke, the most famous American destroyer officer of World War II, and later Chief of Naval Operations. Admiral Burke was alive when the class leader, the USS Arleigh Burke, was commissioned.With an overall length of 510 feet, displacement of 9200 tons, and weaponry including over 90 missiles, the Arleigh Burke-class ships are larger and more heavily armed than most previous ships classified as guided missile cruisers.

The USS Cole (DDG 67) was launched from Ingalls and

commissioned on 8 June 1996. On 12 October 2000, while at anchor

in Aden, the Cole was attacked by Al-Qaeda suicide bombers and

Seriously damaged. Returning to Ingalls on 13 December 2000 and

after 14 months of repair, USS Cole returned to Duty on

19 April 2002.

Arleigh Burke-class

Arleigh Burke-class General characteristicsType: Guided Missile DestroyerDisplacement: Fully loaded:8,315 to 10,000 tonsLength: 505 ft (154 m)Beam: 66 ft (20 m)Draft: 30.5 ft (9.3 m)Propulsion: 4 gas turbines 27,000 shp each

coupled to two shafts, 2 five-bladed reversible controllable pitch propellers

Speed: In excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)Range: 4,400 nmi (8,100 km)Boats carried: 2 Rigid hull inflatable boatsComplement: 23 officers, 300 enlistedSensors andprocessing systems:

AN/SPY-1D 3D RadarAN/SPS-67(V)2 Surface Search RadarAN/SPS-73(V)12 Surface Search RadarAN/SQS-53C Sonar ArrayAN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array SonarAN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III Shipboard System


Electronic Warfare SystemNixie Torpedo CountermeasuresDecoy Launching SystemCHAFF Buoys

Armament: 96 cell vertical launch systemBGM-109 TomahawkStandard medium range SAMStandard Ballistic missile defense missileVertical Launch ASROCone 5 inch Mk-45 (lightweight gun) two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS two 25 mm bushmasterstwo Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes

Aircraft carried: two MH-60R Seahawk helicoptersAviation facilities: Flight deck and enclosed hangar for up to two MH-

60R Seahawk helicopters

USS Tarawa (LHA 1)USS Saipan (LHA 2)USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3)USS Nassau (LHA 4)USS Peleliu (LHA 5)


Class and type: Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship



Beam: 106 ft (32 m)

Draught: 26 ft (7.9 m)


Complement: 960+ officers and enlisted 2000+ marines

Armament: 4 × 25 mm Bushmaster cannons5 × .50-caliber machine guns2 × Phalanx (CIWS)2 × Mk 49 RAM launchers

Aircraft carried: Up to 35 Helicopters8 AV-8B Harrier II VSTOL aircraft

The five ships of the Tarawa-class were a new type of general-purpose amphibious assault ships, combining in one ship type the functions previously performed by four different types: the amphibious assault ship (LPH), the amphibious transport dock (LPD), the amphibious cargo ship (LKA), and the dock landing ship (LSD). She was capable of landing elements of a Marine Corps battalion landing team and their supporting equipment by landing craft, by helicopters, or by a combination of both.

USS Tarawa-class Amphibious assault ship (LHA)

USS Tarawa (LHA 1) Launched: 1 December 1973

Commissioned: 29 May 1976 Decommissioned: 31 March 2009

USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3)Launched: 11 April 1977

Commissioned: 23 September 1978 Decommissioned: 28 October 2005

USS Peleliu (LHA 5) Launched: 25 November 1978

Commissioned: 3 May 1980 in active service, as of 2011

USS Nassau (LHA 4)Launched: 21 January 1978Commissioned: 28 July 1979Decommissioned: 31 March 2011

USS Saipan (LHA 2)Launched: 20 July 1974 Commissioned: 15 October 1977Decommissioned: 25 April 2007

USS Wasp-classAmphibious assault ship

USS Wasp (LHD 1)USS Essex (LHD 2)USS Kearsarge (LHD 3)USS Boxer (LHD 4)USS Bataan (LHD 5)USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6)USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7)USS Makin Island (LHD 8)

General characteristicsType: Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD)

amphibious assault ship


Length: 253.2 m (831 ft)

Beam: 31.8 m (104 ft)

Draft: 8.1 m (27 ft)

Propulsion: Two boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts, 70,000 shaft-horsepower;


Range: 9,500 nautical miles at 18 knots


3 Landing Craft Air Cushion or12 Landing Craft Mechanized

Troops: 1,894 Marine Detachment

Complement: 1,208

Armament: Two Rolling Airframe Missile launchersTwo Sea Sparrow missile launchersThree 20 mm Phalanx CIWS systems Four .50 BMG machine gunsFour 25 mm Mk 38 chain guns

Aircraft carried: 6 AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft4 AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter12 CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters or 4+ MV-22 Osprey4 CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters3-4 UH-1N Huey helicopters

USS Wasp-classAmphibious Assault Ship

General characteristicsDisplacement: 40,532 tons full load


Beam: 106 ft (32 m)

Draft: 26.5 ft (8.1 m)

Propulsion: Steam turbines, 70,000 shp (52 MW)2 × Boilers, 600 psi (4.1 MPa)2 × shafts


Range: 9,500 nmi (17,600 km) at 20 kn

Troops: Up to 2,200 Marines

Complement: 1,075 officers and enlisted

Armament: • 2 × Sea Sparrow missile systems• 2 × Rolling Airframe Missile systems• 2 × Phalanx CIWS• 3 × 25 mm Mk 38 cannons• .50-cal machine guns

Aircraft carried: Variable by mission:• 12 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters• 4 × CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters• 6 × AV-8B Harrier attack aircraft• 3 × UH-1N Huey helicopters• 4 × AH-1Z Viper helicopters• MV-22 Osprey VTOL tiltrotor aircraft

USS Wasp (LHD 1)USS Essex (LHD 2)USS Kearsarge (LHD 3)USS Boxer (LHD 4)USS Bataan (LHD 5)USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6)USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7)USS Makin Island (LHD 8)

Legend-classU.S. Coast Guard Cutters

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL 750)

USCGC Waesche (WMSL 751)

USCGC Stratton (WMSL 752)

Type: National Security Cutter

Displacement: 4500 LT

Length: 418 feet (127.40 meters)

Beam: 54 feet (16.46 meters)

Draft: 30 feet (9.14 meters)

Propulsion: Combined diesel and gas2 × 7.400 kW diesel engines1 × 22.000 kW gas turbine engine

Speed: 28+ knots

Range: 12,000 nm

Complement: 113 (14 Officers)

Sensors andprocessing systems:

EADS 3D TRS-16 Air Search RadarSPQ-9B Fire Control RadarAN/SPS-73 Surface Search RadarAN/SLQ-32


AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System2 SRBOC/ 2 NULKA countermeasures chaff/rapid decoy launcher

Armament: 57 mm gun and Gunfire Control SystemClose-In Weapons System4 50 Caliber Machine Guns2 M240B 7.62mm Light Machine Guns

Aircraft carried: (2) MH-65C Dolphin MCH, or (4) VUAV or (1) MH-65C Dolphin MCH and (2) VUAV

Aviation facilities: 50x80 foot flight deck, hangar for all aircraft

USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19)USS San Diego (LPD 22) USS Arlington (LPD 24)

USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26)

General characteristicsType: Amphibious transport dock

San Antonio-class

Ships: USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) Commissioned: 15 December 2007 In service, Norfolk, VAUSS San Diego (LPD 22) Launched: 7 May 2010 to be commissioned 2012USS Arlington (LPD 24) Launched: 23 November 2010 to be commissioned 2012USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) under construction

Displacement: 24,900 t


Beam: 105 ft (32 m)

Draft: 23 ft (7.0 m), full load

Propulsion: Four sequentially turbocharged marine diesel engines, two shafts, 41,600 shp

Speed: In excess of 22 knots (41 km/h)


2× LCACs (air cushion); or1× LCU (conventional)14× Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles/Amphibious Assault Vehicles

Complement: Crew: 28 officers, and 333 enlistedLanding force: 66 officers, and 633 enlisted

Armament: 2× Bushmaster II 30 mm Close in Guns2× Rolling Airframe Missile launchers2× Mk 41 8 Cell VLS for quad-packed ESSMsM2 Browning Machine Gun turrets

Aircraft carried:

Launch or land up to four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters; or up to two MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft simultaneously with room to spot four MV-22s on deck and one in the hangar

USS America (LHA 6)Amphibious assault ship

USS America (LHA 6) will be the first of the America-class amphibious assault ships for the U.S. Navy, and she will be the fourth American warship to bear this name. The America-class will replace the last of the Tarawa-class amphibious assault ships. Based upon the USS Makin Island (LHD 8) design, America will be a gas-turbine powered warship capable of carrying elements of a Marine Expeditionary Unit with the capacity for carrying many Marine helicopters, V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and F-35B V/STOL F-35 Lightning IIs. This warship is due to be delivered to the Navy in 2012. At a displacement of 45,000 tons, and carrying a complement of F-35 Lightning IIs, it will be able to serve in the role of a small aircraft carrier, as demonstrated by Landing Helicopter Dock operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Naval Station PascagoulaNaval Station Pascagoula was created in 1985 when the Navy selected the man-made, 437-acre Singing River Island location as one of the new Gulf Coast strategic homeport sites. Base construction began in 1988, and the station became an operational homeport of Perry-class guided-missile frigates in 1992 with the arrival of the first ship, USS. In addition to the FFGs, NAVSTA Pascagoula also homeported Ticonderoga-class Aegis guided-missile cruisers and a Reliance-class (210’) Coast Guard cutter at the relocated Pascagoula Coast Guard Station.NAVSTA Pascagoula epitomized the "clean sheet" design for a modern naval station. Waterfront support infrastructure at NAVSTA Pascagoula included a 680-foot double-deck pier (utilities on lower deck; upper deck free for operational support), two quayside berths, and the full range of services for "cold iron" support of homeported and visiting ships along with ship maintenance and repair support from the Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity (SIMA).NAVSTA Pascagoula was marked for consolidation under the Defense Secretary’s list of base closings in the May 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round. The base officially closed November 15, 2006. The Navy did decide to retain the 33-acre Lakeside housing facility that had been slated to close along with NAVSTA Pascagoula under BRAC 2005. The Navy returned the naval station, located on Singing River Island, to the state of Mississippi in 2007.

NAVSTA PascagoulaHomeport Ships

USS Ticonderoga (CG 47)USS Yorktown (CG 48)USS Thomas S Gates (CG 51) CG 51

USS Antrim (FFG 20)USS Flatley (FFG 21)USS Jack Williams (FFG 24)USS Gallery (FFG 26 )USS John L Hall (FFG 32) USS Stephen W Groves (FFG 29)

Several Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates (FFG), designed in the mid-1970s as general-purpose escort vessels, were NAVSTA Pascagoula-homeported at various times.

• While the ships homeported at Naval Station Pascagoula were the first assigned to a US Navy installation in Mississippi, there was one ship previously stationed in Pascagoula. In the late 1950s Ingalls Shipbuilding began construction of conventional and nuclear submarines. Due to the specialized nature of submarine operations, Navy crews were required to conduct builder’s sea trials and certain dockside tests that were normally performed by contractor’s trial crews. Still under construction and being fitted-out, the submarines were not yet able to accommodate their crews, so the USS Marlboro was brought to Ingalls Shipyard to house the submarine crews.

• Built on an LST hull, USS Marlboro was launched as a Benawah-class barracks ship (APB) by Boston Naval Shipyard in November 1944, serving along the east coast during the remainder of World War II. After brief post-war service, Marlboro was decommissioned in January 1947 and placed in storage at Green Cove Springs, Florida.

• In March 1959, USS Marlboro was again activated and moved to Pascagoula to support construction of the Blueback, Sculpin, Snook, Barb and Dace. The Marlboro was self-contained and had all necessary accommodations (38 officers, 300 enlisted) for the pre-commissioning crews including galley, lounges and sleeping quarters. In 1963, USS Marlboro was again taken out of service and returned to the Reserve Fleet in the St. James River, Florida. Marlboro was Struck from the Naval Register 1 December 1963 and sold for scraping.

USS Marlboro APB 38Self-propelled Barracks Ship

U.S. Coast Guard Station Pascagoula

USCGC Decisive (WMEC 629)USCGC Tempest (WPC 2)USCGC Shamal (WPC 13)USCGC Tornado (WPC 14)

Naval Air Station Meridian

• On July 16, 1957, the first shovel of earth was thrown, marking the beginning of the Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS), which was commissioned on July 14, 1961 hosting Training Squadrons VT-7 and VT-9

• Mississippi U.S. Senator John C. Stennis was the guest speaker for the ceremony and the operations area was named McCain Field in honor of the late Admiral John S. McCain of Teoc, Mississippi.

• The Naval Auxiliary Air Station continued to grow, and by July 1968, the station became a full Naval Air Station.

• In 1971, Training Air Wing One (CTW-1) was commissioned and saw the arrival of the TA-4J, the new advanced jet trainer based on the A-4 "Skyhawk”. Beginning in 1991, the A-45 “Goshawk” has been used for intermediate and advanced portions of the Navy/Marine Corps Student Naval Aviator strike pilot training.

• The main base of NAS Meridian occupies over 8,000 acres of land, with an additional 4,000 acres at Williams Field and the target facility SEARAY. The size of NAS Meridian may be compared to that of other major naval air stations such as NAS Pensacola, Fl., which has about 5,000 acres, and NAS Memphis, Tn., which has about 3,455 acres.

• Over 4,700 military, civilians and dependents work and live at the air station.

Naval Construction Battalion Center

Gulfport• In December 1941, with U.S. involvement in war soon expected on

both oceans, Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks, recommended establishing Naval Construction Battalions

• June 2, 1942, an Advanced Base Depot was established in Gulfport and the first Seabees started coming through Gulfport. The earliest Seabees were recruited from the civilian construction trades and were placed under the leadership of the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps. Because of the emphasis on experience and skill rather than physical standards, the average age of Seabees during the early days of the war was 37.

• The mission of the Center changed in March 1944 from a receiving organization to a U.S. Naval Training Center, and provided for training for base engineering, diesel, radioman, quartermaster and electrician's ratings.

• Realignments then created a single command of the Naval Training Center and the Advanced Base Depot. The depot became the U.S. Naval Storehouse in 1945 and the training center was decommissioned in 1946. In 1948 the station became custodian of national stockpile materials.

• Today, the Center functions as a support for operating units of the Naval Construction Force. Specifically, it supports Naval Mobile Construction Battalions ONE, SEVEN, SEVENTY-FOUR, and ONE THIRTY-THREE, TWENTIETH Naval Construction Regiment, the Naval Construction Training Center, and other smaller tenant activities.

• The Center is also responsible for preservation and storage of war reserves including construction equipment and materials.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationGulf Marine Support FacilityPascagoula, Mississippi

NOAA’s Gulf Marine Support Facility is co-located with the National Marine Fisheries Service Mississippi Laboratory in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Laboratory’s 65 personnel, with cooperation from the Pascagoula-based NOAA Ships Gordon Gunter and Oregon II conduct scientific surveys of the health and abundance of adult and larval commercial and recreational fish, health and distribution of marine mammals, oceanographic studies and habitat investigations..

NOAA Ship Oregon IIBuilder: Ingalls ShipbuildingDelivered: 15-Aug-67NOAA Commissioned: 12-March-75Displacement: 952 tonsLength: 170 ft.Beam: 34 ft.Draft: 14.0 ft.)Propulsion: 2 1600 BHP DieselSpeed: 10 knotsRange: 7,810 nmiEndurance: 33 daysComplement: 7 officers/engineers, 10 crew

15 scientists

NOAA Ship Gordon GunterBuilder: Halter Marine, Inc.

Moss Point, MississippiDelivered to US Navyas Relentless (T-AGOS 18): January 12, 1990Transferred to NOAA: March 17, 1993Renamed andNOAA Commissioned: August 28, 1998Length: 170 ft.Beam: 34 ft.Draft: 14.0 ft.)Propulsion: 2x800 BHP Diesel-Electric

550 BHP bow thrusterSpeed: 10.5 knotsRange: 8,000 nmiEndurance: 30 daysComplement: 8 officers/engineers, 10 crew

15 scientists

David Glasgow FarragutAdmiral, United States Navy

David Glasgow Farragut (July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. His father George, was a major in American Revolution and first Justice of Peace in Pascagoula Parish, later Jackson County, Mississippi. America's first Admiral, David Glasgow Farragut was described as having "lived on the West Bank of the Pascagoula River." In 1808, Commodore David Porter offered to take eight-year-old James Glasgow Farragut into his own household after his mother died. Young James readily agreed. In 1809 he moved with Porter to Washington, where he met Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton and expressed his wish for a midshipman's appointment. The commission came through on December 17, 1810, six months before the boy reached his tenth birthday. When James went to sea soon after with his adoptive father, he changed his name from James to David, and it is as David Glasgow Farragut that he is remembered.In an interesting twist of fate, the boy who would leave Gautier at the age of 10 to go to sea would come back as the Commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron and capture the territory from New Orleans to Mobile Bay (including his boyhood home of Gautier).He is remembered in popular culture for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" by U.S. Navy tradition

At the Battle of Mobile Bay , two local immigrant seaman commissioned by Farragut , Martin Freeman (1814-1894) of Pascagoula and Antoine V. Bellande (1829-1918) of Back Bay, now D’Iberville, Mississippi as acting ensigns and pilots in the Union Navy. Freeman piloted the USS Hartford, Farragut’s flagship, while Bellande was aboard the USS Monongahela, which rammed the CSA Tennessee.

Raymond Edwin "Ray" Mabus, Jr. (born October 11, 1948) is the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy. Mabus was born in Starkville and is a fourth-generation Mississippian; growing up in Ackerman, Mississippi. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi, with a B.A. in English and political science. He earned an M.A. in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Ray Mabus served two years in the Navy as a surface warfare officer from 1970 to 1972 aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock. He later returned to Mississippi and was elected State Auditor in 1984 and became Governor in 1988, the nation’s youngest governor at the time. Later, he was appointed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, serving from 1994 to 1996. Mabus was officially sworn in by the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at the Washington Navy Yard on June 18, 2009.

Ray MabusSecretary of the Navy

Education

Mississippi's Navy Connections