The Freeper Canteen Presents
The USS New York (LPD-21)
Commissioning Unit New York (LPD-21), the fifth ship in the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the state of New York. The ship was designed to deliver a fully-equipped battalion of 700 Marines.
The ship is the first to be fully designed from the CAD-screen up to support all three of the Marines' primary mobility capabilities—Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), Landing Craft, Landing Craft Air Cushioned vehicle and the MV-22 Osprey.
This photo was taken shortly after the Christening Ceremony on March 1st of 2008.
Shortly after September 11, 2001, Governor of New York George E. Pataki wrote a letter to Secretary of the Navy Gordon England requesting that the Navy bestow the name USS New York on a surface warship involved in the War on Terror in honor of September 11's victims. In his letter, the Governor said he understood state names are currently reserved for submarines, but asked for special consideration so the name could be given to a surface ship. The request was approved August 28, 2002.
Coincidentally, a previous holder of the name, USS New York (BB-34), had its keel laid on September 11, 1911, exactly 90 years to the day before the World Trade Center was attacked.
Twenty-four tons of the steel used in its construction came from the small amount of rubble from the World Trade Center actually preserved for posterity. Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down at Amite Foundry and Machine in Amite, Louisiana to cast the ship's bow section. It was poured into the molds on September 9, 2003. With seven tons melted down and cast to form the ship's "stem bar"—part of the ship's bow. The shipyard workers reportedly treated it with "reverence usually accorded to religious relics", gently touching it as they walked by. One worker actually delayed his retirement after 40 years work in order to be a part of the project.
Amite, La. (Sept. 9, 2003) -- Workers pour molten steel into a mold to form the bow stem of the Amphibious Transport Dock ship USS New York (LPD 21). In the foreground a previously cast bow stem can be seen as an example of what the New York bow stem will resemble. About 24 tons of steel was salvaged from the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Approximately 10-percent of the steel was lost when the foundry superheated the 48,780 pounds of steel to 2,850 degrees Fahrenheit. U.S. Navy photo Photographer's Mate 2nd Class George Trian.
On September 9, 2004, the Secretary of the Navy announced that two of her sister ships will be named Arlington and Somerset, in commemoration of the places two of the other planes used in the attack came down: Somerset County, Pennsylvania and Arlington, Virginia.
The contract to build New York was awarded to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of New Orleans, Louisiana in 2003. New York was under construction in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina.
Areal view of the keel laying ceremony at Northrop Grummans Shipbuilding Facility in Avondale LA. on September 10, 2004
The prospective commanding officer is Commander F. Curtis Jones, a native of Binghamton, New York.
New York was christened on March 1, 2008, in a ceremony at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dotty England, the ship’s sponsor, smashed the traditional champagne bottle on the ship’s bow and christened the ship New York. Several dignitaries were in attendance, including Louisiana Congressman William J. Jefferson, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, members of the New York Police Department and New York Fire Department, and family members of 9/11 victims. The champagne bottle did not break the first time it was struck against the hull of the ship, but the second attempt was successful.
Dotty England smiles after breaking a bottle of champagne against the hull of the New York in christening ceremonies at Northrop Grumman shipyard in Avondale, La., Saturday, March 1, 2008.
The ship commissioning of USS New York, is planned to take place in the fall of 2009
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"God bless this great ship, God bless all our veterans … and those who every day defend our freedoms and liberties, and may God continue to bless America."
Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England
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