USS Cleveland (LCS-31)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Cleveland.

Sister-ship USS Freedom underway on sea trials in February 2013
History
United States
Name	Cleveland
Namesake	City of Cleveland
Awarded	15 January 2019[1]
Builder	Marinette Marine
Laid down	16 June 2021[2]
Launched	15 April 2023[3]
Sponsored by	Robyn Modly[3]
Christened	15 April 2023[3]
Identification	Hull number: LCS-31
Motto	Forge a Legacy[4]
Status	Under construction
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Freedom-class littoral combat ship
Displacement	3,410 metric tons (3,760 short tons) full load[1]
Length	388 ft (118 m)[1]
Beam	58 ft (18 m)[1]
Draft	14 ft (4.3 m)[1]
Speed	>40 knots (46 mph; 74 km/h)
Complement	9 officers, 41 enlisted[1]

USS Cleveland (LCS-31) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[5] She is the fourth commissioned ship in naval service named after Cleveland, the second-largest city in Ohio.[6]

Design and build

In 2002, the US Navy began a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[7] 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.[7][8] Odd-numbered US 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.[7] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.[7] Cleveland is the sixteenth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build the ship on 15 January 2019.[1] Cleveland was launched on 14 April 2023.[9][10] In a sideways launch, Cleveland was involved in a minor collision with a tugboat. No injuries were reported, and damage to Cleveland was "limited" and above the waterline. The shipyard intends to use a shiplift to transfer future ships to the water in a more controlled manner.[11]

References

1. "Cleveland (LCS-31)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
2. "Team Freedom Lays Keel For Future USS Cleveland (LCS 31)" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
3. "Littoral Combat Ship 31 (USS Cleveland) Christened And Launched" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
4. "USS Cleveland (LCS 31)". The Institute of Heraldry. U.S. Army. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
5. "Navy Statement on Littoral Combat Ship" (Press release). NAVSEA. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
6. Tim Ryan (19 February 2019). "Congressman Tim Ryan Announces Details on Forthcoming USS Cleveland" (Press release). United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
7. "US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS". US Navy. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
8. O'Rourke, Ronald (4 May 2010). "Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
9. Eaton, Sabrina (14 April 2023). "Navy to christen new 'USS Cleveland' on Saturday". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
10. Kitkowski, Daniel (17 April 2023). "Future USS Cleveland christened, launched at Fincantieri Marinette Marine". Eagle Herald. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
11. Eaton, Sabrina (19 April 2023). "New USS Cleveland damaged in tugboat collision during Navy christening". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.

•  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.

See also

• Sideways launch of LCS-15 at Marinette Marine (video)