USS St. Louis (LCS-19)

For other ships with the same name, see USS St. Louis.

USS St. Louis (LCS-19) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the seventh ship in naval service named after St. Louis, Missouri.^[8]

USS St. Louis during her commissioning ceremony on 8 August 2020
History
United States
Name	St. Louis
Namesake	St. Louis
Awarded	29 December 2010[1]
Builder	Marinette Marine[1]
Laid down	17 May 2017[2]
Launched	15 December 2018[3]
Sponsored by	Barbara Broadhurst Taylor
Christened	15 December 2018[3]
Acquired	6 February 2020[4]
Commissioned	8 August 2020[5]
Identification	MMSI number: 368926297 Hull number: LCS-19
Motto	Gateway to Freedom
Status	Active
Badge
General characteristics
Class & type	Freedom-class littoral combat ship
Displacement	3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) full load[6]
Length	378.3 ft (115.3 m)
Beam	57.4 ft (17.5 m)
Draft	13.0 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion	2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW gas turbines, 2 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, 4 Rolls-Royce waterjets
Speed	45 knots (52 mph; 83 km/h) (sea state 3)
Range	3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)[7]
Endurance	21 days (336 hours)
Boats & landing craft carried	11 m RHIB, 40 ft (12 m) high-speed boats
Complement	15 to 50 core crew, 75 mission crew (Blue and Gold crews)
Armament	BAE Systems Mk 110 57 mm gun RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles Honeywell Mk 50 Torpedo NETFIRES PAM missile in the ASuW module 2 .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns can be fitted with up to 4 Bushmaster 30mm guns
Aircraft carried	2 MH-60R/S Seahawks MQ-8 Fire Scout
Aviation facilities	Flight Deck, Hangar Bay
Notes	Electrical power is provided by 4 Isotta Fraschini V1708 diesel engines with Hitzinger generator units rated at 800 kW each.

Design

Aerial view

In 2002, the US Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.^[9] 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.^[9][10] 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 Independence-class littoral combat ship from General Dynamics.^[9] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.^[9]  St. Louis is the tenth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.

Construction and career

St. Louis was built in Marinette, Wisconsin by Marinette Marine.^[11] The ship was christened and launched on 15 December 2018.^[3] She was commissioned on 8 August 2020 and is assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two.