USS Somerset (LPD-25)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Somerset.
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Somerset launched from the Avondale Shipyard in 2012.
History
United States
Name: Somerset
Namesake: Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Awarded: 21 December 2007
Builder: Avondale Shipyard
Laid down: 11 December 2009
Launched: 14 April 2012
Sponsored by: Mrs. Mary Jo Myers
Christened: 28 July 2012
Commissioned: 1 March 2014
Homeport: San Diego, California
Status: in active service, as of 2024
General characteristics
Class & type: San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock
Displacement: 25,000 tons full
Length:
  • 208.5 m (684 ft) overall,
  • 201.4 m (661 ft) waterline
Beam:
  •   31.9 m (105 ft) extreme,
  •   29.5 m (97 ft) waterline
Draft:     7 m (23 ft)
Propulsion: Four Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, two shafts, 40,000 hp (30 MW)
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h)
Boats & landing
craft carried:
  • Two LCACs (air cushion)
  • or one LCU (conventional)
Capacity: 699 (66 officers, 633 enlisted); surge to 800 total.
Complement: 28 officers, 333 enlisted
Armament:
Aircraft carried: Four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters or two MV-22 tilt rotor aircraft may be launched or recovered simultaneously.

USS Somerset (LPD-25), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the fifth ship of the United States Navy of that name; in this case in honor of Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

Etymology

The ship is named after the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11 attacks of 2001, whose actions prevented the plane, hijacked by terrorists, from reaching their intended target, forcing the airplane to crash in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. In the words of Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, "The courage and heroism of the people aboard the flight will never be forgotten and USS Somerset will leave a legacy that will never be forgotten by those wishing to do harm to this country." Some 22 tons of steel from a crane that stood near Flight 93's crash site have been used to construct Somerset's stemhold.[1]

History

The contract to build Somerset was awarded on 21 December 2007, to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mrs. Mary Jo Myers, the wife of General Richard Myers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the ship's sponsor. Somerset's keel was laid down on 11 December 2009, at Northrop Grumman's Avondale shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was launched on 14 April 2012, and was christened three months later, on 28 July.[2] She completed acceptance trials in September 2013.[3][4] On 3 February 2014 the USS Somerset was recorded as the last Navy ship to depart from the Avondale Ship Yard. The ship was commissioned on 1 March 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[5]

References

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

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External links

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