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March 18, 2024
USN Ship New York
Navy Christens Amphibious Transport Dock Ship New York

 

The Navy will christen the newest San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship New York (LPD 21) at 10 a.m. CST on Saturday, March 1, 2008, during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding facilities in New Orleans, La. 
 
The ship is named New York in honor of the state, the city and the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. A unique characteristic of the ship is the use of 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center wreckage that was incorporated into the construction process. The steel was melted and formed to make the bow stem of the ship. Use of this steel symbolizes the spirit and resiliency of the people of New York. The official motto of New York is: “Never Forget.”
 
Four previous ships have been named New York. The first, a gondola that served in 1776; the second, a frigate that served 1800-1814; the third, an armored cruiser that served 1893-1938; and the fourth, a battleship that served 1914-1946. 
 
Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. His wife, Mrs. Dotty England is serving as the ship’s sponsor. The ceremony will be highlighted in the time-honored Navy tradition when she will break a bottle of champagne across the ship’s bow to formally christen the ship.
 
Designated LPD 21, New York is the fifth amphibious transport dock ship in the San Antonio class. As an element of future expeditionary strike groups, the ship will support the Marine Corps “mobility triad,” which consists of the landing craft air cushion vehicle (LCAC), the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft (MV-22).  New York will support amphibious, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions.
 
Cmdr. F. Curtis Jones, of Binghamton, N.Y., is the ship’s first commanding officer and will lead a crew of 360 officers and enlisted Navy personnel and three Marines. The ship is capable of embarking a landing force of up to 800 Marines. 
 
Built by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, New York is 684 feet in length, has an overall beam of 105 feet, a navigational draft of 23 feet and displaces approximately 24,900 tons. Four turbo-charged diesels power the ship to sustained speeds of 24 knots.   Upon commissioning in 2009, New York will be homeported in Norfolk, Va., as a part of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
 
For additional information about this class of ship, please visit the Navy Fact File: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=600&ct=4 .

Mar 21, 2012

New York sails to war

Ship honors 9/11 sacrifice

Last Updated: 12:59 AM, March 21, 2012

Posted: 10:25 PM, March 20, 2012

 
 

At the end of this month, USS New York will sail east from her home port in Norfolk, headed for waters in extremely unstable and threatening areas of the world. She’ll operate in and around the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

With tons of steel from the Twin Towers forged into her bow, the ship is a unique symbol of America’s resistance to the twin evils of tyranny and terrorism. Her motto is “Strength Forged Through Sacrifice. Never Forget.”

Commissioned in New York City on Nov. 7, 2009, USS New York’s special connection with her namesake town has been particularly meaningful for the city’s 9/11 families; many see the ship and the men and women who serve in her as a tangible expression of their deep personal reactions to the unspeakable brutality delivered upon their loved ones on that day.

USS New York at dock in Staten Island during last year’s Fleet week.
Chad Rachman/NY Post
USS New York at dock in Staten Island during last year’s Fleet week.
 

New York is one of a new class of amphibious ships. Her crew has spent the months since commissioning training in complex operations, as she’ll operate as an airport for sophisticated aircraft as well as a seagoing base for a variety of state-of-the-art amphibious landing craft. She has also been training with US Marines to project the kind of power that protects our nation and brings credibility to America’s voice in peace and war.

For all or most of her coming deployment, New York will be part of a Navy Amphibious Ready Group — a force that is the modern expression of the ancient military concept of expeditionary warfare. In blunt terms, New York’s job is to deliver heavily armed Marines at times and places that are inconvenient to those who would do harm to America.

In this role, she is an extremely powerful and useful piece in the Navy/Marine Corps strategy of forward deployment in unstable areas. The fundamental idea is to deter, if possible, those intent on doing harm to the United States and its citizens — and to answer violence and aggression with appropriate strength when and where necessary.

That New York will inevitably also support others who are willing to stand against tyranny and terrorism is particularly relevant to the connections between the ship and the city. She will join other elements of US power that speak firmly of our determination to not only defend ourselves, but to advance human liberty and self-respect.

On the occasion of the ship’s commissioning at Pier 86, her first commanding officer, then-Commander Curt Jones, wrote to the friends and family of his crew:

“Sept. 11, 2001 will forever be a day that stands in the minds of those who experienced it. On that day, all the citizens of the United States became New Yorkers. An act that was meant to tear us apart and show our weakness brought us together as a nation and made us stronger.

“With 7.5 tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center site and forged into the bow of this ship, the crew of USS New York will ensure that the world will never forget that day.

“The spirit of those who have gone before us inspires us each day. We draw strength from their sacrifice and have placed the mantle of their memory upon our shoulders.”

With those words in mind, we can face the sea on which New York’s crew and embarked Marines will sail, salute and repeat the words of Dotty England as she broke the bottle against the ship’s bow: “May God bless this ship and all who sail in her.”


Aug 20, 2010

Nov 07, 2009



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