Littoral Combat Ship
LCS 1 - USS Freedom
		USS Freedom (LCS 1)
Type, Class:		Littoral Combat Ship; Freedom-class;
Builder:		Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wisconsin, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: December 15, 2004 Laid down: June 2, 2005 Launched: September 23, 2006 Commissioned: November 8, 2008 ACTIVE / in service (Pacific Fleet)
Homeport:		Naval Base San Diego, California
Namesake:		-
Ship’s Motto:		FAST, FEARLESS, FOCUSED
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO >> Littoral Combat Ship / Freedom-class
LINKS:		Official US Navy site
ship images
USS Freedom (LCS 1):
USS Freedom (LCS-1), the lead ship of the Freedom class of Littoral combat ships (LCS), is the third vessel of the United States Navy to be so named. She is the design competitor produced by the Lockheed Martin consortium, in competition with the General Dynamics-designed USS Independence. The construction contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin's LCS team (Lockheed Martin, Gibbs & Cox, Marinette Marine, Bollinger Shipyards) in May 2004. Her keel was laid down on 2 June 2005, by Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. The ship was sponsored by Birgit Smith, the widow of United States Army Sergeant 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mrs. Smith's initials are welded on the ship's keel. The couple's Saint Christopher medal and wedding bands are embedded in the ship's mast. She was christened on 23 September 2006, officially accepted by the Supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast on behalf of the US Navy from the Lockheed Martin/Marinette Marine/Gibbs and Cox team in Marinette, WI on 18 September 2008 and commissioned in Milwaukee on 8 November.
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