Portsmouth, n.h. (ap)
New Hampshire’s Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ship’s sponsor whose initials are welded into the ship’s hull, said serving as the ship’s sponsor was “the thrill of a lifetime.” Joining her at the event was the ship’s skipper, Cmdr. Emily Bassett, the first female commander of a littoral combat ship.
The ceremony marked the point where the 418-foot ship officially joined the Navy fleet. It will be based in San Diego. Speed and maneuverability distinguish littoral combat ships from larger warships like destroyers and cruisers. The warships can reach speeds of about 50 mph and utilize steerable waterjets instead of propellers and rudders to operate in shallow water.
The Navy has two different designs. The Manchester is the seventh in a line of tri-hulled, aluminum ships. They are designed to be equipped with swappable mission modules for surface warfare, anti-submarine duty or mine removal.
It’s the second warship to honor New Hampshire’s biggest city. A Navy light cruiser that bore the name USS Manchester saw action in the Korean War before being decommissioned in 1956. New Hampshire is also represented as the namesake of a Virginia-class attack submarine, the USS New Hampshire, which was commissioned in 2008 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.