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NavSource Online: Littoral Warship Photo Archive

Kingsville (LCS 36)


Specifications - LCS Littoral Combat Ship, Independence Class (Variant 2, Flight 0, first generation):
Hull Type: Stabilized Trimaran Monohull
Displacement: 2176 tons (light), 2784 tons (full)
Dead Weight: 608 tons
Length: 418' (oa)
Beam: 93.2' (extreme)
Draft: 13' (Maximum Navigational Draft)
Propulsion: Two gas turbine engines, two propulsion diesels, two waterjets
Speed: 47 kts (sprint), 50+ kts (top speed)
Armament: Bofors 57mm naval gun; Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launcher; 4 - .50 caliber machine gun mounts
Combat Management System: Northrup Grumman ICMS
Electronics: Ericsson Sea Giraffe (air / surface surveillance, weapon assignment);
Decoy System: 3 - Super RBOC; 2 - Nulka Decoy launchers
Complement: 26
Kingsville (LCS 36) Building and Operational Data:
  • 14 December 2018: Contract Awarded to General Dynamics Corp.
  • 04 February 2019: Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced that LCS 36 will be named USS Kingsville
  • 05 January 2021: Construction commenced at Austal USA, Mobile, Ala. with a "First Cut" Ceremony, when the first sheet for hull fabrication was machined
  • 23 February 2022: Keel laid and authenticated by sponsor Kate Kline at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala.

    Note:
    1.) The contract option awarded to Lockheed Martin Corporation is managed by Lockheed Martin's Maritime Systems and Sensors division in Moorestown NJ. The Lockheed Martin team includes: Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard, Bollinger Shipyards, Gibbs and Cox naval architects, Izar of Spain and Blohm & Voss naval shipbuilders.

    2.) The contract option awarded to General Dynamics is managed by Bath Iron Works at Bath, Me. The major members of General Dynamics team are: Austal USA, based in Mobile, Ala.; BAE Systems, Rockville, Md; Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, Baltimore, Md; CAE Marine Systems, Leesburg, Va.; Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, Baltimore, Md; General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, Burlington, Vt.; General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Conn.; General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Washington, D.C.; and General Dynamics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

    "Kingsville, The Ship"     -    "Kingsville, The People"

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    Independence 102k 27 May 2004: Washington DC - The U.S. Navy announced today that General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, will be one of two defense contracting teams awarded contract options for final system design with options for detail design and construction of up to two Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). The LCS is an entirely new breed of U.S. Navy warship. A fast, agile, and networked surface combatant, LCS's modular, focused-mission design will provide Combatant Commanders the required warfighting capabilities and operational flexibility to ensure maritime dominance and access for the joint force. LCS will operate with focused-mission packages that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles to execute missions including, Special Operations Forces (SOF) support, high-speed transit, Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection (AT/FP). (Artist concept provided to the U.S. Navy courtesy of General Dynamics, Photo #040527-O-0000G-004, from the Navy Newstand) Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Independence 492k undated: Mobile, Ala. - An aerial view of the Austal USA shipyard, the American branch of operations for Australian shipbuilder Austal. Founded in 1999 along the west bank of Blakely Island on the Mobile River in Mobile, Alabama. The shipyard was initially engaged in building high-speed aluminum ferries, such as the Lake Express for service across Lake Michigan, and the Alakai for Hawaii Superferry. Construction on the first Littoral Combat Ship of the USS Independence variant was begun in 2006. In conjunction with the General Dynamics Corp., all of the planned Independence Class LCS's will be built here.

    (Photo courtesy of AUSTAL, USA)
    Kingsville  270k       Kingsville  216k       Kingsville  146k

    05 January 2021: Mobile, Ala. - Prior to the cutting of the first sheet of medal for the construction of the future USS Kingsville (LCS 36), AUSTAL USA shipyard workers
    prepare for the "First Cut" ceremony. Afterward, the button is pushed for the cutting machine to start and construction begins. Kingsville will be the first ship named after the
    Texas city, home of Naval Air Station Kingsville, to serve the U.S. Navy.

    (Photos courtesy of  Austal USA)
    Kingsville  105k       Kingsville  192k       Kingsville  331k

    23 February 2022: Mobile, Ala. - Austal USA celebrated the keel laying of the future littoral combat ship USS Kingsville (LCS 36) at its ship manufacturing facility. Kingsville will be an Independence-variant LCS, one of 18 the Navy has contracted Austal to build. The ship is the first U. S. Navy ship named for the city of Kingsville in Texas. A keel laying ceremony is the formal recognition of the start of a ship’s construction. At Austal USA, the keel laying symbolically recognizes module erection in final assembly and the ceremonial beginning of a ship. The ship’s sponsor is Katherine Kline, a member of the sixth generation of the King Ranch family, descendents of Capt. Richard King who founded the King Ranch located in Kingsville, Texas, in 1853. Naval Air Station Kingsville, located three miles from Kingsville, was founded in 1942 and continues a special relationship with the King Ranch. As the keel authenticator, Kline welded her initials onto an aluminum keel plate with the assistance of Austal USA A-class welder, Joseph Bennett Jr.

    (Photos courtesy of  Austal USA)

    "Kingsville, The Ship"     -    "Kingsville, The People"


    There is no DANFS History currently available for Kingsville (LCS 34) at Navsource
    Additional Resources

    Tin Can Sailors
    The U.S. Navy Memorial
    The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
    The Destroyer History Foundation
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    This page created on 21 December 2018,
    and is maintained by Mike Smolinski

    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 08 April 2022