USS San Antonio (LPD-17)

USS "San Antonio" (LPD-17), the lead ship of her class of amphibious transport dock, is the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of San Antonio, Texas. The ship is designed to be able to deliver as many as 800 fully-equipped Marines ashore by landing craft, helicopters or a combination of both.

The contract to build her was awarded on 17 December 1996 to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of New Orleans, Louisiana and her keel was laid down on 9 December 2000. She was launched on 12 July 2003 and christened on 19 July. She was originally scheduled to be commissioned 17 July 2002, but was delayed by generally poor performance at the Avondale shipyard, which resulted in her being towed from New Orleans to the Northrop Grumman shipyard Pascagoula, MS in December 2004 for completion there (she was unable to move under her own power at that time, despite have been christened over a year earlier). Hurricane Katrina, which caused damage to the coastal Mississippi area then impacted her schedule, although her crew took delivery and moved aboard only three days prior to the hurricane, she became a regional focus of disaster relief efforts including accommodations for some shipyard workers, the National Guard, Navy diving and salvage personnel and government officials. She arrived in her new homeport of Norfolk, VA on 14 December 2005.

The ship was finally commissioned 14 January 2006, at NS Ingleside Texas under the command of Captain Jonathan M. Padfield. Guest speakers included former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and the ship's sponsor, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Senator Hutchison gave the crew the famous command, "Man our ship, and bring her to life!".

Metric system

Wherever possible the LPD 17 class was designed using the metric system, specifying millimeters for linear dimensions and other parameters. It is the first major U.S. Navy ship class to be so constructed. Most machinery parameters remain in U.S. customary units.

Improvements

San Antonio is the first U.S. Navy vessel to incorporate new crew comfort features, including bunks with increased headroom, in-rack fans, and pull-out laptop computer shelves. She is also the largest U.S. Navy vessel to incorporate stealth features, with close attention paid to exterior shaping.
*Major antennas are mounted on platforms inside two Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor systems rather than on traditional mast yardarms.
*Deck edges are bounded by shaped bulwarks rather than lifeline stanchions. These bulwarks are hollow and double as storage lockers, eliminating locker clutter on decks.
*Exterior equipment is recessed or flush-mounted where possible, giving the ship a clean exterior appearance. Any equipment that cannot be flush-mounted (such as ladders) incorporate shaping features of their own.
*The boat-handling crane at the center of the ship folds into a clean shape when not in use. [ [http://www.alliedsystems.com/News/lpd17test.htm Pictures of LPD-17 "stealth crane" undergoing tests] ]
*The anchor and anchor pocket are shaped to minimize radar backscatter.

Problems

Nearly 3 years after commissioning, problems persist with this first in class vessel. On 27 January 2006, a contract worth over $6,000,000 was awarded to Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., for the Post-Shakedown Availability of USS "San Antonio". Work was expected to be completed by April 2007. On 22 June 2007, Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter sent a letter to Northrop Grumman outlining problems with the ship, from leaks to steerage issues, stating, "Twenty-three months after commissioning of LPD 17, the Navy still does not have a mission-capable ship. [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003770672_btbriefs02.html Navy criticizes "mismanagement"] ]

On 27 August 2008, "San Antonio" was unable to deploy as scheduled with the USS|Iwo Jima|LHD-7|2 Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), due to a mechanical failure in the stern gate of her well deck, which would prevent proper loading and deployment of landing craft. The problem was fixed and San Antonio deployed two days late, on 29 August 2008. [ [http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/08/navy_sanantonio_082608w/ Mechanical Failure Keeps Troubled LPD at Pier] ]

References

This article contains information from the Naval Vessel Registry and various other U.S. Navy Web sites.

External links

* [http://www.san-antonio.navy.mil/ USS "San Antonio" official website]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/0917.htm navsource.org: USS "San Antonio"]
* [http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/article.cfm?Id=1222 National Defense Magazine article]
* [http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=21943 USN Commissioning Press Release]
* [http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/04/navy_sanantonio_070420/ Navy Times Article on Post-commissioning Defects]
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/LPD-17 LPD-17 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
*YouTube|4wTm6ilVLok|Future Weapons: USS San Antonio (LPD-17)