USS Arlington (LPD-24)

USS Arlington (LPD-24), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Arlington, Virginia, the location of the Pentagon and the crash site of American Airlines Flight 77 during the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. Like her sister ships, USS New York and Somerset, she is named in commemoration of the attacks.[2] Steel taken from the Pentagon after the attacks is displayed aboard in the ship's museum.[4]

For other ships with the same name, see USS Arlington.

USS Arlington (LPD-24)
USS Arlington in August 2014
History
United States
Name: USS Arlington
Namesake: Arlington County, Virginia
Awarded: 6 November 2006[1]
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down: 26 May 2008[1]
Launched: 23 November 2010[2]
Sponsored by: Mrs. Joyce Rumsfeld
Christened: 26 March 2011[3]
Commissioned: 8 February 2013 (official)
Homeport: Naval Station Norfolk
Status: In active service, as of 2015
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock
Displacement: 24,900 short tons (22,600 t) full
Length:
  • 684 ft (208 m) overall,
  • 661 ft (201 m) waterline[1]
Beam:
  • 105 ft (32 m) extreme,
  • 97 ft (30 m) waterline[1]
Draft: 23 ft (7.0 m)[1]
Propulsion: Four sequentially turbocharged Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, two shafts, 40,000 hp (30 MW)
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h)
Boats & landing
craft carried:
Capacity: 699 (66 officers, 633 enlisted); surge to 800 total; 14 Expeditionary Force vehicles
Complement: 32 officers, 332 enlisted[1]
Armament:
Aircraft carried: Four CH-53E Super Stallion heavy lift helicopters may be launched or recovered simultaneously.

Construction

Arlington's keel was laid down on 26 May 2008, at Northrop Grumman's Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Builder's Trials of the ship started on 21 August 2012. These were completed on 30 August 2012.[5] She completed Navy acceptance sea trials on 2 November 2012.[6] The US Navy formally accepted the ship on 7 December 2012.[7] Arlington arrived at her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia on 22 March 2013 in preparation for commissioning.[8] Officially, she was commissioned on 8 February 2013, but her ceremonial commissioning occurred on 6 April 2013 at Naval Station Norfolk.[9] Originally scheduled as the third ship of the San Antonio class, she was the eighth to be commissioned. Mrs. Joyce Rumsfeld, wife of former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, is the ship's sponsor.[10]

Operational history

In August 2013, Arlington conducted trials with NASA's Orion spacecraft.[11] In May 2019 she was deployed to the Persian Gulf due to reported concerns about Iranian activities.[12]

The Orion spacecraft in Arlington's well deck.

References
  1. "USS Arlington (LPD 24)". Naval Vessel Register. Naval Sea Systems Command Shipbuilding Support Office (NAVSHIPSO). Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. "Future USS Arlington Launched". Navy News Service. United States Navy. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  3. McCaffrey, Scott (12 December 2010). "Christening of Future USS Arlington Set for Late March". Sun Gazette. Suburban Washington Newspapers Inc. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  4. "Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) The Honorable Dr. Donald C. Winter speaks with Arlington County Board Chairman Walter Tejada during a ceremonial presentation of Pentagon steel". Navy News Service. United States Navy. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  5. "LPD 24 Completes Successful Builder's Sea Trials". Naval Sea Systems Command Team Ships Public Affairs. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  6. Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs (5 November 2012). "Future USS Arlington Completes Acceptance Trials" (Press release). United States Navy. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  7. "USS Arlington (LPD 24) history". uscarriers.net. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  8. U.S. Navy photo 130322-N-WA189-070
  9. Brown, Eric (6 April 2013). "In Emotional Ceremony, USS Arlington Joins the Fleet" (Press release). United States Navy. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  10. "LPD 24 Arlington". Naval Sea Systems Command. United States Navy. 28 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  11. "USS Arlington Hosts NASA Space Craft Recovery Tests" (Press release). United States Navy. 17 August 2018. NNS130817-09. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  12. "US sends Patriot missile system to Middle East amid Iran tensions". BBC News. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
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