USS Billings

USS Billings (LCS-15) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy.[1] It is the first ship in naval service named after Billings, Montana.[7]

USS Billings conducting trials on Lake Michigan in December 2018
History
United States
Name: Billings
Namesake: Billings, Montana
Awarded: 29 December 2010[1]
Builder: Marinette Marine[1]
Laid down: 2 November 2015[1]
Launched: 1 July 2017[2]
Sponsored by: Sharla Tester
Christened: 1 July 2017
Acquired: 1 February 2019[3]
Commissioned: 3 August 2019[4]
Homeport: Naval Station Mayport
Identification: MMSI number: 368926295
Motto: Big Sky Over Troubled Waters
Status: In service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Freedom-class littoral combat ship
Displacement: 3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) full load[5]
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)[6]
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:
Aircraft carried:
  • 2 MH-60R/S Seahawks
  • MQ-8 Fire Scout
Aviation facilities: Flight deck, hangar
Notes: Electrical power is provided by 4 Isotta Fraschini V1708 diesel engines with Hitzinger generator units rated at 800 kW each.

Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build the ship on 4 March 2013.[1] Construction began on 20 October 2014 and she was launched on 1 July 2017.[2] she is homeported to Naval Station Mayport, Florida and assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two.

In June 2019, Billings visited Cleveland, Ohio.[8]

Billings sustained damage after hitting Rosaire Desgagnes, a bulk cargo ship in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The incident occurred on 24 June 2019. The vessel's starboard bridge wing was damaged as a result of the collision. [9]

Billings was officially commissioned in Key West, Florida on 3 August 2019.[4]

References
  1. "Billings (LCS-15)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. "Lockheed Martin-Led Team Launches Future USS Billings" (Press release). Lockheed Martin. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  3. "Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Billings (LCS 15)" (Press release). United States Navy. 5 February 2019. NNS190205-01. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  4. "The U.S. Navy Commissions USS Billings, Eighth Freedom-Variant Littoral Combat Ship" (Press release). United States Navy. 5 August 2019. NNS190805-11. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  5. "Littoral Combat Ship Class - LCS". America's Navy. US Navy. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  6. "Freedom Class LCS Littoral Combat Ship". Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  7. "Navy to name combat ship USS Billings". Billings Gazette. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  8. "Navy combat ship USS Billings stops in Cleveland". Fox 8 News. 10 June 2019.
  9. Joseph Trevithick (June 25, 2019). "Navy's Newest Littoral Combat Ship Damaged After Smacking Into A Moored Ship In Canada". The War Zone. Retrieved June 29, 2019.


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