The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, USS Cooperstown (LCS 23) May 8, 2023, in New York City, New York. USS Cooperstown will be the first naval ship named after Cooperstown, New York and honors the 70 Hall of Famers who served the United States during wartime in a range of conflicts spanning the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Major League Baseball Hall of Fame player and manager, Joe Torre, was the ceremony’s principle speaker and highlighted the ship’s ties with the namesake service members.
Guest speakers for the event also included Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors, Mr. Chauncey McIntosh; Chairman of the Board of Directors, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and Honorary Sponsor, Ms. Jane Forbes Clark; and Chief of Navy Reserve, Vice Adm. John Mustin. The Ship’s Sponsor Ms. Alba Tull, gave the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life.”
Built by the Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. Cooperstown was launched Jan. 19, 2019, christened on Feb 29, 2020, completed acceptance trials Dec. 14, 2020, and was delivered to the U.S. Navy Sep. 20, 2022. Cincinnati Reds Catcher, Johnny Bench, who was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, presented the long glass during the ceremony. The crew was host for a weeklong series of events celebrating the ship, its namesake city, and the community it honors.
USS Cooperstown (LCS-23) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the first naval ship named after Cooperstown, New York. The Freedom class is one of two classes of the littoral combat ship program, built for the United States Navy. The Freedom class was proposed by a consortium formed by Lockheed Martin as “prime contractor” and by Fincantieri (project) through the subsidiary Marinette Marine (manufacturer) as a contender for a fleet of small, multipurpose warships to operate in the littoral zone.
