USS Billings
USS Billings (LCS-15) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[1] It is the first ship in naval service named after Billings, Montana.[7]
 USS Billings conducting trials on Lake Michigan in December 2018 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name: | Billings |
| Namesake: | Billings, Montana |
| Awarded: | 29 December 2010[1] |
| Builder: | Marinette Marine[1] |
| Laid down: | 2 November 2015[1] |
| Launched: | 1 July 2017[2] |
| Sponsored by: | Sharla Tester |
| Christened: | 1 July 2017 |
| Acquired: | 1 February 2019[3] |
| Commissioned: | 3 August 2019[4] |
| Homeport: | Naval Station Mayport |
| Identification: | MMSI number: 368926295 |
| Motto: | Big Sky Over Troubled Waters |
| Status: | In service |
| Badge: |
 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Freedom-class littoral combat ship |
| Displacement: | 3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) full load |
| Length: | 378.3 ft (115.3 m) |
| Beam: | 57.4 ft (17.5 m) |
| Draft: | 13.0 ft (4.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW gas turbines, 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, 4 Rolls-Royce waterjets |
| Speed: | 45 knots (52 mph; 83 km/h) (sea state 3) |
| Range: | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)[6] |
| Endurance: | 21 days (336 hours) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: | 11 m RHIB, 40 ft (12 m) high-speed boats |
| Complement: | 15 to 50 core crew, 75 mission crew (Blue and Gold crews) |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: |
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| Aviation facilities: | Flight deck, hangar |
| Notes: | Electrical power is provided by 4 Isotta Fraschini V1708 diesel engines with Hitzinger generator units rated at 800 kW each. |
Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build the ship on 4 March 2013.[1] Construction began on 20 October 2014 and she was launched on 1 July 2017.[2] she is homeported to Naval Station Mayport, Florida and assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two.
In June 2019, Billings visited Cleveland, Ohio.[8]
Billings sustained damage after hitting Rosaire Desgagnes, a bulk cargo ship in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The incident occurred on 24 June 2019. The vessel's starboard bridge wing was damaged as a result of the collision. [9]
Billings was officially commissioned in Key West, Florida on 3 August 2019.[4]
References
- "Billings (LCS-15)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Launches Future USS Billings" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- "Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Billings (LCS 15)" (Press release). United States Navy. 5 February 2019. NNS190205-01. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- "The U.S. Navy Commissions USS Billings, Eighth Freedom-Variant Littoral Combat Ship" (Press release). United States Navy. 5 August 2019. NNS190805-11. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- "Freedom Class LCS Littoral Combat Ship". Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- "Navy to name combat ship USS Billings". Billings Gazette. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- "Navy combat ship USS Billings stops in Cleveland". Fox 8 News. 10 June 2019.
- Joseph Trevithick (June 25, 2019). "Navy's Newest Littoral Combat Ship Damaged After Smacking Into A Moored Ship In Canada". The War Zone. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
- 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.