USS Beloit
{{short description|Littoral combat ship of the United States Navy}}
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{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = USS Beloit LCS-29.png | Ship caption = USS Beloit launched in Marinette, Wisconsin }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = {{nowrap|United States}} | Ship flag = {{USN flag}} | Ship name = Beloit | Ship namesake = Beloit | Ship awarded = 18 September 2018 | Ship builder = Marinette Marine | Ship sponsor = MG Marcia Anderson (USAR, Ret.) | Ship christened = 7 May 2022 | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = 23 November 2024 {{cite web | url=https://www.surflant.usff.navy.mil/Press-Room/News-Stories/Article/3941819/navy-announces-commissioning-ceremony-for-the-future-uss-beloit/ | title=Navy Announces Commissioning Ceremony for the Future USS Beloit | access-date=18 November 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://armyrecognition.com/news/navy-news/2024/commissioning-of-uss-beloit-marks-a-new-era-in-littoral-combat|title=Commissioning of USS Beloit Marks a New Era in Littoral Combat|website=armyrecognition.com}} | Ship homeport = Mayport, Florida{{cite web | url=https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/Article-View/Article/3921841/us-navy-accepts-delivery-of-future-uss-beloit-lcs-29/ | title=U.S. Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Beloit (LCS 29) | access-date=18 November 2024}} | Ship decommissioned = | Ship identification = Hull number: LCS-29 | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship honors = | Ship fate = | Ship status = In service | Ship motto = Forward for Freedom{{cite web |url=https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=19328&CategoryId=11030&grp=5&menu=Uniformed%20Services |title=USS Beloit (LCS 29) |date=11 August 2022 |website=The Institute of Heraldry |publisher=U.S. Army |access-date=18 August 2022}} | Ship badge = File:USS Beloit-LCS 29-Coat of Arms.png | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = {{sclass|Freedom|littoral combat ship}} | Ship displacement = {{convert|3410|MT|ST}} full load{{cite web | url={{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=LCS29}} | title=Beloit (LCS-29) | publisher=Naval Vessel Register | access-date=17 October 2018}} | Ship length = {{convert|388|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|58|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship draft = {{convert|14|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship propulsion = | Ship speed = >{{convert|40|kn|mph km/h}} | Ship range = | Ship endurance = | Ship complement = 9 officers, 41 enlisted | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = |Ship aircraft facilities | Ship notes = }} |
USS Beloit (LCS-29) is a {{sclass|Freedom|littoral combat ship|0}} littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.{{cite press release|url=https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=107121|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919034157/https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=107121|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 19, 2018|title=Navy Awards Three Littoral Combat Ships|id=NNS180918-12|publisher=United States Navy|date=18 September 2018|access-date=9 October 2018}} She is the first commissioned ship in naval service named after Beloit, Wisconsin. This honors the contributions Beloit has made to the US Navy, especially the engines built in its Fairbanks Morse plant, including USS Beloit{{'}}s own powerplant.{{cite press release|url=https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=107354|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009224933/https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=107354|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 9, 2018|title=Secretary of the Navy Names Newest Freedom Variant Littoral Combat Ship|publisher=United States Navy|date=9 October 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://eu.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/money/2018/10/09/navy-names-littoral-combat-ship-uss-beloit/1577412002/|title=Navy names future Wisconsin ship USS Beloit, will be built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine|publisher=Green Bay Press Gazette|date=9 October 2018}}{{cite press release|url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/u-s-senator-tammy-baldwin-announces-the-uss-beloit-newest-littoral-combat-ship-honors-made-in-wisconsin-manufacturing/|title=U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Announces the USS Beloit, Newest Littoral Combat Ship Honors Made In Wisconsin Manufacturing|publisher=Urban Milwaukee|date=9 October 2018}}
Design
In 2002, the US Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.{{cite web|title=US Navy Fact File: Littoral Combat Ship Class – LCS|url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1650&ct=4|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302070526/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1650&ct=4|archive-date=2 March 2015|access-date=30 October 2015|publisher=US Navy}} 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|LCS-1|6}}.{{cite web|last=O'Rourke|first=Ronald|date=4 May 2010|title=Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress|url=http://www.dodbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/CRS-LCS-May-2010.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923231642/http://www.dodbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/CRS-LCS-May-2010.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2015|access-date=30 December 2014|publisher=Congressional Research Service}} 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 {{sclass|Independence|littoral combat ship|2}} from General Dynamics. The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design. Beloit is the fifteenth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.
Construction and career
Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build Beloit on 18 September 2018. She was christened and launched on 7 May 2022 at the shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin.{{cite news|last=Schroeder|first=Lexi|url=https://fox11online.com/news/local/northwoods/future-uss-beloit-christened-in-marinette-navy-war-ship-boat-warship-wisconsin|title=Future USS Beloit christened in Marinette|publisher=WLUK|date=8 May 2022|access-date=8 May 2022}} The ship's sponsor is Beloit-born Major General Marcia Anderson, (USAR, Ret.). Now retired, she was the first African-American woman to reach the rank of Major General in the US Army, US Army Reserve and the US Army National Guard.{{cite web|url=https://sdquebec.ca/en/news/lockheed-martin-led-team-begins-construction-on-navys-littoral-combat-ship-the-future-uss-beloit|title=Lockheed Martin-Led Team Begins Construction On Navy's Littoral Combat Ship, The Future USS Beloit|publisher=sdquebec.ca|date=24 July 2020|access-date=30 May 2022}}
Beloit successfully completed her acceptance trials in August 2024 and was commissioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 23 November 2024.
References
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{{Marinette Marine|state=autocollapse}}
{{Littoral combat ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beloit(LCS-29), USS}}
Category:Freedom-class littoral combat ships
Category:Ships built by Marinette Marine
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