USS Tulsa on 8 March 2018
History
United States
NameTulsa
NamesakeTulsa, Oklahoma
Awarded29 December 2010[4]
BuilderAustal USA[4]
Laid down11 January 2016[4]
Launched16 March 2017[1]
Sponsored byKathy Taylor[5]
Christened11 February 2017[6]
Acquired30 April 2018[2]
Commissioned16 February 2019[3]
HomeportSan Diego
Identification
MottoTough, Able, Ready
StatusActive
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeIndependence-class littoral combat ship
Displacement2,307 metric tons light, 3,104 metric tons full, 797 metric tons deadweight
Length127.4 m (418 ft)
Beam31.6 m (104 ft)
Draft14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion2× gas turbines, 2× diesel, 4× waterjets, retractable Azimuth thruster, 4× diesel generators
Speed40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+, 47 knots (54 mph; 87 km/h) sprint
Range4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+
Capacity210 tonnes
Complement40 core crew (8 officers, 32 enlisted) plus up to 35 mission crew
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Sea Giraffe 3D Surface/Air RADAR
  • Bridgemaster-E Navigational RADAR
  • AN/KAX-2 EO/IR sensor for GFC
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • EDO ES-3601 ESM
  • 4× SRBOC rapid bloom chaff launchers
Armament
Aircraft carried2× MH-60R/S Seahawks

USS Tulsa (LCS-16) is an Independence-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the third ship to be named for Tulsa, second-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.[7][8]

Design

In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[9] The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence.[9] Even-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Independence-class trimaran design, while odd-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the conventional monohull Freedom-class littoral combat ship.[9] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.[9] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.[10][11]

Construction and career

Tulsa was constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama.[12] A keel laying ceremony, which usually signifies the startìng of ship construction, was held at the Austal shipyards in Mobile on 11 January 2016, but because the ship was assembled from prefabricated modules, Tulsa was already 60 percent complete at the time. Kathy Taylor, former mayor of Tulsa, served as ship's sponsor.[5]

Tulsa was christened on 11 February 2017,[6] launched on 16 March 2017,[1] and commissioned on 16 February 2019.[3] She has been assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One[13]

Tulsa returned to San Diego on 30 July 2022 following deployment.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "USS Tulsa begins launch process in Mobile, Alabama". Tulsa World. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Tulsa (LCS 16)" (Press release). United States Navy. 30 April 2018. NNS180430-20. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b "USS Tulsa Commissioned as Navy's Newest Surface Combatant" (Press release). United States Navy. 17 February 2019. NNS190217-01. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Tulsa (LCS-16)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b Krehbiel, Randy (11 January 2016). "'Enthusiastic' local delegation takes part in keel laying ceremony for USS Tulsa". Tulsa World. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Navy Christens Future Tulsa" (Press release). United States Navy. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Navy Names Multiple Ships" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 6 June 2013. 415-13. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Navy: New Combat Ship To Be Named USS Tulsa". News on 6. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  10. ^ Special from Navy Office of Information (29 December 2010). "Littoral Combat Ship Contract Award Announced" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS101229-09. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  11. ^ Osborn, Kris (27 June 2014). "Navy Engineers LCS Changes". www.dodbuzz.com. Monster. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Austal hosts keel laying for new Littoral Combat Ship Manchester (LCS 14)" (Press release). Austal USA. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015. Modules for the future USS Tulsa (LCS 16) and the future USS Charleston (LCS 18) are in the early phases of construction.
  13. ^ "LCS Squadron 1". public.navy.mil. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  14. ^ @USNavy (3 August 2022). "Welcome home! 🎉 🎉 📍 SAN DIEGO – The Independence-variant littoral combat ship #USSTulsa (LCS 16) Blue crew return…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Tulsa (LCS-16).


Flight 0 littoral combat ships
Categories