USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26)

John P. Murtha launched at Ingalls Shipbuilding, 2014.
History
United States
Namesake: John Murtha
Awarded: 1 April 2011 [1]
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down: 6 June 2012
Launched: 30 October 2014
Christened: 21 March 2015
Sponsored by: Donna S. Murtha
Acquired: 2015 (scheduled)
Motto: Make A Difference[2]
Status: Under construction
General characteristics
Class and type: San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock
Displacement: 25,000 tons full
Length:
  • 684 ft 1 in (208.5 m) overall,
  • 660 ft 9 in (201.4 m) waterline
Beam:
  • 104 ft 8 in (31.9 m) extreme,
  • 96 ft 9 in (29.5 m) waterline
Draft: 23 ft (7 m)
Propulsion: Four Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, two shafts, 40,000 hp (30,000 kW)
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried:
  • Two LCACs (air cushion)
  • or one LCU (conventional)
Capacity: 699 (66 officers, 633 enlisted); surge to 800 total.
Complement: 29 officers, 350 enlisted
Armament:
Aircraft carried: Launch or land two CH53E Super Stallion helicopters or two MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft or up to four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, AH-1, H-60, or UH-1 helicopters.

USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26), will be the 10th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship of the United States Navy, and will be named in honor of Congressman John Murtha (1932–2010) of Pennsylvania. A former United States Marine Corps officer, Murtha was the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1974. Murtha served as either chairman or ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee from 1989 to 2010.

All other ships of the class are named for American cities; however, two months after Murtha's death, on 9 April 2010, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus signed an official memo to the Chief of Naval Operations, designating the naming of LPD-26 as John P. Murtha.[3] The Navy Times said the official announcement "added fuel to an already smoldering backlash",[4] because of Murtha's call for withdrawing from the Iraq War in 2005, and his public pre-trial condemnation of the Marines involved in the Haditha incident.

John P. Murtha's keel was laid down on 6 June 2012, at the Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.[5] The ship was launched on 30 October 2014,[6][7] and christened five months later on 21 March 2015. The ship was sponsored by Congressman Murtha's daughter, Donna S. Murtha.[8]

The Navy has announced that John P Murtha will be homeported to Naval Base San Diego after it is commissioned in the second quarter of 2016.[9]

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.

  1. ↑ "Ingalls Shipbuilding Awarded U.S. Navy Contract Worth $1.5 Billion to Build Company's 10th San Antonio-Class Amphibious Transport Dock". Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
  2. ↑ http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/lpd26/pages/crest.aspx
  3. ↑ Ewing, Phillip (13 April 2010). "Navy to name LPD 26 for Rep. John Murtha". Navy Times. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  4. ↑ Ewing, Philip (28 April 2010). "Controversy flares over ship named for Murtha". Navy Times. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  5. ↑ Havens, April M. (6 June 2012). "Ingalls Shipbuilding authenticates keel on LPD 26 John P. Murtha". The Mississippi Press. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Clary, Gareth (30 October 2014). "Watch Ingalls Shipbuilding launch America's next amphibious transport dock John P. Murtha (LPD 26)". GulfLive.com. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Ingalls Shipbuilding Launched Amphibious Transport Dock John P. Murtha (LPD 26)". November 2, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Ingalls Shipbuilding Christens Amphibious Transport Dock John P. Murtha (LPD 26)" (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). 21 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  9. ↑ http://timesofsandiego.com/military/2016/02/11/san-diego-to-be-home-port-for-uss-john-p-murtha/


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