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USS Billings

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USS Billings (46505553924) (cropped)
USS Billings conducting trials on Lake Michigan on 6 December 2018
Career (United States)
Name: Billings
Namesake: Billings
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: Mayport
Identification:
Motto:
  • Big Sky Over Troubled Waters
  • Star Of The Big Ocean
    • Status: Active
    Badge: USS Billings Coat of Arms
    General characteristics
    Class & type: Freedom-class littoral combat ship
    Displacement: 3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) full load[5]
    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:
    Aircraft carried:
  • 2 MH-60R/S Seahawks
  • MQ-8 Fire Scout
    • 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.

    USS Billings (LCS-15) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[1] She is the first ship in naval service named after Billings, Montana.[7]

    Design[]

    In 2002, the U.S. Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[8] 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.[8][9] 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.[8] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.[8]  Billings is the eighth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

    Billings includes additional stability improvements over the original Freedom design; the stern transom was lengthened and buoyancy tanks were added to the stern to increase weight service and enhance stability.[10] The ship will also feature automated sensors to allow "conditions-based maintenance" and reduce crew overwork and fatigue issues that Freedom had on her first deployment.[11]

    Construction and career[]

    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.[12] 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.[13] Billings was officially commissioned in Key West, Florida on 3 August 2019.[4]

    On the 4 July 2021, a contingent of her crew visited their shipā€™s namesake city to celebrate Independence Day.[14] Later on the 10th of the same month, the ship together with the Dominican Republic Navy conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX).[15] 24 August, Billings and Burlington were dispatched to support and provide relief to Haiti after a 7.2-magnitute earthquake that struck Haiti on 14 August.[16]

    Gallery[]

    References[]

    1. ā†‘ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Billings (LCS-15)". Naval Vessel Register. http://www.nvr.navy.mil/NVRSHIPS/DETAILS/LCS15.HTM. 
    2. ā†‘ 2.0 2.1 "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Launches Future USS Billings". Lockheed Martin. 1 July 2017. http://news.lockheedmartin.com/2017-07-01-Lockheed-Martin-Led-Team-Launches-Future-USS-Billings. 
    3. ā†‘ "Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Billings (LCS 15)". United States Navy. 5 February 2019. NNS190205-01. https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=108525. 
    4. ā†‘ 4.0 4.1 "The U.S. Navy Commissions USS Billings, Eighth Freedom-Variant Littoral Combat Ship". United States Navy. 5 August 2019. NNS190805-11. https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=110458. 
    5. ā†‘ "Littoral Combat Ship Class - LCS". US Navy. http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/pages/LittoralCombatShips.aspx#.VTOL2vzF97E. 
    6. ā†‘ "Freedom Class LCS Littoral Combat Ship". http://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=USS-Freedom-LCS1. 
    7. ā†‘ "Navy to name combat ship USS Billings". Billings Gazette. 6 June 2013. http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/navy-to-name-combat-ship-uss-billings/article_eb14eedb-d60e-5fae-9518-3eb076c7c839.html. 
    8. ā†‘ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class ā€“ LCS". US Navy. http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1650&ct=4. 
    9. ā†‘ O'Rourke, Ronald (4 May 2010). "Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress". Congressional Research Service. http://www.dodbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/CRS-LCS-May-2010.pdf. 
    10. ā†‘ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". Monster. http://www.dodbuzz.com/2014/06/27/navy-engineers-lcs-changes/. 
    11. ā†‘ Freedberg Jr., Sydney J. (4 April 2014). "Sleepless In Singapore: LCS Is Undermanned & Overworked, Says GAO". Breaking Media, Inc.. http://breakingdefense.com/2014/04/sleepless-in-singapore-lcs-is-undermanned-overworked-says-gao/. 
    12. ā†‘ "Navy combat ship USS Billings stops in Cleveland". Fox 8 News. 10 June 2019. https://fox8.com/2019/06/10/navy-combat-ship-uss-billings-stops-in-cleveland/. 
    13. ā†‘ Joseph Trevithick (June 25, 2019). "Navy's Newest Littoral Combat Ship Damaged After Smacking Into A Moored Ship In Canada". The War Zone. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28702/navys-newest-littoral-combat-ship-damaged-after-smacking-into-a-moored-ship-in-canada. 
    14. ā†‘ "Crew of USS Billings to visit Billings over Independence Day holiday" (in en). 2021-07-01. https://www.ktvq.com/news/local-news/crew-of-uss-billings-to-visit-billings-over-independence-day-holiday. 
    15. ā†‘ "U.S. and Dominican Republic Strengthen Bonds" (in en). https://www.dvidshub.net/news/400691/us-and-dominican-republic-strengthen-bonds. 
    16. ā†‘ Staff, Seapower (2021-08-24). "USS Billings and USNS Burlington Support Haiti Relief" (in en-US). https://seapowermagazine.org/uss-billings-and-usns-burlington-support-haiti-relief/. 
    • 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.
    Constellation-class frigates
    Freedom-class littoral combat ships
    Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships
    Powhatan-class tugboats
    Natick-class tugboats
    Juniper-class seagoing buoy tenders
    Other vessels
  • USCGC Mackinaw
  • ARRV Sikuliaq
  • NOAAS Reuben Lasker
  • Staten Island Ferries
    • Related
  • Fincantieri
  • The Manitowoc Company
    • Freedom class
    Independence class


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