USS Beloit

USS Beloit (LCS-29) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[5] She will be the first commissioned ship in naval service named after Beloit, Wisconsin. This honors the contributions Beloit has made to the US Navy, especially the engines built in its Fairbanks Morse plant, including USS Beloit's own powerplant.[6][7][8]

USS Beloit launched in Marinette, WI.
History
United States
NameBeloit
NamesakeBeloit
Awarded18 September 2018
BuilderMarinette Marine
Laid down22 July 2020[1]
Launched7 May 2022[2]
Sponsored byMG Marcia Anderson (USAR, Ret.)
Christened7 May 2022[2]
IdentificationHull number: LCS-29
MottoForward for Freedom[3]
StatusUnder construction
BadgeUSS Beloit Coat of Arms
General characteristics
Class and typeFreedom-class littoral combat ship
Displacement3,410 metric tons (3,760 short tons) full load[4]
Length388 ft (118 m)[4]
Beam58 ft (18 m)[4]
Draft14 ft (4.3 m)[4]
Speed>40 knots (46 mph; 74 km/h)
Complement9 officers, 41 enlisted[4]

Design

In 2002, the US Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[9] The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from Lockheed Martin, which became known as the Freedom-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, USS Freedom.[9][10] Odd-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Freedom-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the trimaran hull Independence-class littoral combat ship from General Dynamics.[9] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.[9] Beloit will be the fifteenth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

Construction and career

Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build Beloit on 18 September 2018.[4][5] She was christened and launched on 7 May 2022 at the shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin.[2] The ship's sponsor is Beloit-born Major General Marcia Anderson, (USAR, Ret.). Now retired, she was the first African-American woman to reach the rank of Major General in the US Army, US Army Reserve and the US Army National Guard.[11]

References
  1. "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Begins Construction On Navy's Littoral Combat Ship, The Future USS Beloit" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  2. Schroeder, Lexi (8 May 2022). "Future USS Beloit christened in Marinette". WLUK. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  3. "USS Beloit (LCS 29)". The Institute of Heraldry. U.S. Army. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  4. "Beloit (LCS-29)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  5. "Navy Awards Three Littoral Combat Ships" (Press release). United States Navy. 18 September 2018. NNS180918-12. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  6. "Secretary of the Navy Names Newest Freedom Variant Littoral Combat Ship" (Press release). United States Navy. 9 October 2018.
  7. "Navy names future Wisconsin ship USS Beloit, will be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine". Green Bay Press Gazette. 9 October 2018.
  8. "U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Announces the USS Beloit, Newest Littoral Combat Ship Honors Made In Wisconsin Manufacturing" (Press release). Urban Milwaukee. 9 October 2018.
  9. "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  10. O'Rourke, Ronald (4 May 2010). "Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  11. "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Begins Construction On Navy's Littoral Combat Ship, The Future USS Beloit". sdquebec.ca. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
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