In mid-June 2007, while traveling through upper Michigan, we decided to drive through Menominee, Michigan and cross over into Marinette, Wisconsin in the state's northeast to stay overnight.
While crossing into Marinette on US 41, the road going toward the red star that marks Marinette, Wisconsin's town center, we passed over the Menominee River. While on the bridge, we looked off to the right, downstream the river a bit. We spotted a big grey ship berthed about where the yellow arrow on the left is pointing that sure looked like a Navy ship.
The yellow arrow to the lower right points to the location of the Menominee-Marinette Red Lighthouse, a famous landmark.
We drove around a bit on the Marinette side to get a better look at the ship we saw. We did not get a better look at the ship, but we found out what she was all about.
This was the construction site for the USN Littoral Combat Ship. You can see the companies involved: Lockheed Martin, Gibbs & Cox, Marinette Marine, and Bollinger Shipyards. And this was the site of the Marinette Marine Corp., MMC.
Let's zoom in on the Mapquest aerial of the area highlighted by the yellow arrow.
This is an aerial shot from Mapquest of the MMC complex. You can see that there is a line up of ships berthed here. We tried to get on to the grounds of the plant to get a better look at the new ship, but as one should expect, security is strict. So no luck. We went back over to Menominee, Michigan to try for a view from there.
Here's what we saw.
There she is. Meet US Navy (USN) Littoral Combat Ship, LCS-1, the USS Freedom, berthed at MMC on the Marinette River.
Your editor is an Air Force guy, but the lines on this ship most certainly sent a message that this is a new kind of ship, one that is working to employ stealth lines.
This is the F-117 Stealth Fighter. You can see a similarity in the stealth lines of the F-117 and the Freedom. The angled surfaces tell you both the 117 and the Freedom have a stealthy character.
We later learned that the Freedom is a US Navy (USN) LCS under construction at MMC as part of a contract with Lockheed Martin. Lockheed is the prime contractor. Gibbs & Cox and Bollinger Shipyards are the other principal team members sharing roles with MMC. Gibbs & Cox is a design firm with enormous experience designing ships for nearly 20 navies. Gibbs & Cox brags that it has helped design 60 percent of the USN surface combatant fleet. Bollinger, like MMC, builds ships and is located principally in Texas and Louisiana.
Marinette Marine Corp. was founded in 1942 to meet our WWII and beyond naval construction demands. Its first contract was to build five wooden barges. Its record of achievement includes building US Coast Guard (USCG) icebreakers and buoy tenders, USN mine countermeasures vessels and ocean tugs, as well as ferries, dredges and tugs.
It is presently part of the Manitowoc Marine Group, which is also located in Wisconsin. The company has produced over 1,300 vessels, commercial and military. Recently it joined with the Lockheed Martin team to produce one of two LCSs. Ultimately, it is our understanding the Navy wants about 55.
Artist's rendering of Lockheed Martin Littoral Combat Ship design concept. Presented by the USN.
The LCS indeed is a new kind of USN warship. She is high speed (40 knots-plus; we have seen numbers up to 60 knots) and very maneuverable. She is said to be able to turn 360 degrees in less than eight boat lengths at sprint speed.
Arguably, her most important feature is that she is a modular ship. That means she can be reconfigured to carry a variety of combat packages targeted for specific missions. She will be able to interdict ships on the high seas, conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and provide anti-terrorism force protection, including employment of special operations forces. She will support launching and recovering small boats for use by such special forces. She can carry two SH-60 Seahawk helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The LCS carries the nomenclature "littoral" for a reason. Littoral means the ship will operate close to shorelines, which means she can operate where larger warships cannot. She can more easily support insertion and extraction of small numbers of specialized combat forces.
BAE Mk 110 57 mm gun. Presented by Defense Industry Daily.
Rolling Airframe Missile Weapon System. Presented by Raytheon Missile System Co., Tucson, Arizona
An Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) MK-50 Training Torpedo is launched from guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) while participating in exercises aimed at fighting the global war on terrorism. Photo credit: Photographer's Mate 1st Class Brien Aho, USN. Presented by wikipedia.
Her mission modules will feature the BAE Mk 110 57mm gun, RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles, and Honeywell MK 50 Torpedo.
She will also carry an entirely new class of missiles, called the non-line-of-sight attack missiles, which are still in development and testing. The system will be platform independent. The graphic you see above is operated by ground forces, but the package can just as easily be put on a ship. It is basically a box with 16 sections, 15 for missiles, one for command and control electronics.
The system envisions having two kinds of missiles, both precision attack. The Loitering Attack Missile LAM is an expendable, hunter-killer that can loiter, search out a target over a large area, and attack a target using its automatic target recognition system. The Precision Attack Missile PAM is a direct attack missile. LAM will be used for fleeting targets, while PAM for fixed and stationary targets. Global Security has a good description of these.
Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick 16PA6B STC diesel powerplant. Presented by Fairbanks Morse Engine.
Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbine. Presented by Rolls-Royce.
Kamewa waterjets employed by Rolls-Royce. Presented by Naval Technology.
LCS-1 is powered by two Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick 16PA6B STC diesel powerplants and two Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines driving four Rolls Royce waterjets. She will be interconnected to many other naval elements, satellites, airborne vehicles and command centers.
The USS Freedom's keel was laid down on June 2, 2005 by MMC.
She was christened on September 23, 2006.
Mrs. Birgit Smith is the ship's sponsor. She christened Freedom on September 23, 2006 at Marinette with the traditional smashing of a champagne bottle across the ship's bow. Mrs. Smith's initials have been etched on a plaque that will be permanently attached to the ship.
Mrs. Smith is the wife of Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith who received the Medal of Honor (posthumous) on April 4, 2005 for gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Iraq. On April 4, 2003, his task force of about 100 men came under enemy attack by a company-sized force. He quickly organized a defense using two platoons, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. He personally engaged the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers, and moved under fire to take position on a .50 caliber machine gun, firing at enemy and holding his exposed position until mortally wounded. As the result of his actions, his force defeated the enemy, together they killed 50 enemy, and safely evacuated wounded US soldiers. He was assigned to Bravo Co., 11th Engineer Battalion, the 3rd Infantry Division, US Army, "Rock of Marne."
It is now the duty of LCS-1 Freedom, her builders and crews, to carry on.
Launching of USS Freedom (LCS-1) on 23 September 2006 on the Marinette River, Wisconsin. Presented by the USN.
