Lockheed Launches U.S. Navy
Dock Landing Ship 'Germantown'
Ahead Of Schedule
Lockheed Shipbuilding Com-
pany, Seattle, Wash, recently
launched the U.S. Navy dock land-
ing ship Germantown (LSD-42)
five weeks ahead of schedule.
The 609-foot amphibious assault
ship was christened by Mrs. Bar-
bara Kelley, wife of Gen. P.X.
Kelley, Commandant of the U.S.
Marine Corps. The Germantown
has an 84-foot beam, a draft of
± 20 feet and a displacement of ap-
proximately 11,100 light tons and
15,900 full load.
The ship, the second of three
identical ships now under con-
struction for the Navy at Lock-
heed's Seattle shipyard, was named
for the historic area of Philadel-
phia, Pa. where General George
Washington's troops engaged the
British under the command of Sir
William Howe in October 1777.
Dock landing ships (LSD's) are
traditionally named for historic
sites.
The Germantown and all other
ships of this class (the Whidbey Is-
land class) are designed to trans-
port combat-ready U.S. Marines
and their equipment and supplies
to designated trouble spots around
the world. The ship is operated by
the U.S. Navy, and will carry four
air-cushion landing craft (LCAC's)
which transport the Marines from
the ship to the tactical assault
points ashore. Lockheed Ship-
building is building the dock land-
ing ships only—not the LCAC's.
The Germantown, whose keel
was laid August 5, 1982, is being
built for the U.S. Navy under a
$304-million contract awarded to
Lockheed in early 1982.
The Germantown will spend the
next 15 months in Lockheed's out-
fitting facility in West Seattle
undergoing outlitting, testing, fit-
ting out, dock trials, builder's sea
trials, Navy sea trials and deliv-
ery. Delivery to the Navy is sched-
uled for October 5, 1985. After
commissioning, the USS German-
town is destined to become a part
of the Amphibious Group-Eastern
Pacific, homeported in San Diego,
Calif.
The first ship of the class, the
Whidbey Island (LSD-41), was
launched by Lockheed on June 10,
1983. That ship is nearing the end
of its outfitting and testing phase
and is scheduled to be delivered to
the Navy on November 30, 1984.
It is expected that the Whidbey Is-
land will be commissioned in
Lockheed's West Seattle yard
sometime in December 1984.
Lockheed also has a third LSD
under construction—an identical
ship to the Whidbey Island and
Germantown. That ship, the LSD-
43 is still unnamed. It is scheduled
to be launched December 15, 1985.
The Germantown is the second
U.S. Navy vessel to bear that
name. The first was a wooden
"sloop-of-war" built in 1846. She
was scuttled in Norfolk, Va. at the
U.S. Navy Dock Landing Ship Germantown (LSD-42) splashes into Seattle's Duwamish River
after being launched by Lockheed Shipbuilding Company's inclined shipway.
outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
The Confederate Navy salvaged
her and she served until 1864 un-
der the Confederate flag when the
Germantown was scuttled again—
this time by the Southerners, to
prevent the Union forces from cap-
turing her.
Mrs. Kelley was named the
ship's sponsor by Secretary of
the Navy John F. Lehman Jr.
The Secretary named her hus-
band, General Kelly, Commandant
of the U.S. Marine Corps, princi-
pal speaker at the launching
ceremony.
The Germantown is the 147th
ship built in the shipyard during
its 95-year history.
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