LPD-18 New Orleans
USS New Orleans was commissioned at a ceremony in New Orleans on March 10, 2007, at 11 a.m. CST. Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana delivered the ceremony’s principal address. The ship’s sponsor was Carolyn Shelton, wife of Gen. Henry H. Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The keel laying for New Orleans (LPD 18) took place on 14 October 2002. The LPD 18 USS New Orleans is being built at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Avondale Division, New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans, the second of 12 planned San Antonio class ships, will initially be homeported in San Diego. USS New Orleans, when it arrives in the Fleet in 2005, will be the first of five LPD 17's that will eventually call Naval Station San Diego home.
Keel-laying has traditionally been the first step in ship construction, when shipbuilders laid down the lengthwise timber that would become the ship's backbone. In modern steel ship construction, fabrication of modularized units often starts before the keel is 'laid.' In fact, New Orleans started pre-fabrication earlier this year so this event will be largely a ceremonial milestone when a shipyard welder attaches a New Orleans plaque to the keel.
The ship's large flight deck will fully support the simultaneous launch and recovery of up to four helicopters or operations of the Marine Corps' Osprey vertical take off and landing aircraft. More than 720 troops, who will project the ship's offensive power, will live comfortably on the ship. At 684-feet long, a beam of 105 feet, and with 50-percent greater displacement, New Orleans will be considerably larger than the LPD 4 class of amphibious transport dock ships it will replace. The ship will be powered by improved Colt-Pielstick diesel engines; it also will have all electric auxiliary systems (no steam), a reverse osmosis water generating plant, and a self-deploying sideport ramp.
New Orleans (LPD 18) honors the largest city of Louisiana. New Orleans was the site of a key naval action in the Civil War, in which Adm. David Farragut opened the southern Mississippi to Union forces. Three previous ships have borne the name New Orleans. On October 6, 1998 Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton announced his decision to assign names to 13 new Navy ships; four guided missile destroyers (DDG), an amphibious transport dock (LPD), a patrol coastal (PC) ship, and seven large, medium speed, roll-on/roll-off (T-AKR) ships.
New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, and named for the regent of France, Philipp II, duc d'Orleans. The site he chose occupied the highest ground nearest the mouth of the Mississippi River on a great crescent-shaped turn in the river. It remained a French colony until 1763, when France transferred the city and Louisiana Territory to the Spanish. In 1800, Spain ceded the city back to France, thus setting the stage for the sale of it and the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803.
New Orleans is the scene of Andrew Jackson's great victory at the close of the War of 1812 [after the Treaty of Paris was signed, but before the news reached America], in which small naval forces under Commodore David Patterson played a large role. New Orleans also was the scene of a key naval action in the Civil War, in which Admiral David Farragut opened the southern Mississippi to Union forces. New Orleans is today the most European of American cities. Centered on the original city known as the French Quarter or Vieux Carre (old square), it retains an Old World atmosphere with its Creole culture and architecture, both of which reflect the city's French, Spanish, and African heritage. One of the world's busiest ports, it ranks first in the U.S. in tonnage handled.
CL-22. The First U. S. Navy ship commissioned the USS New Orleans, CL-22, was a 3769 ton protected cruiser. The ship supported naval operations off the coast of Cuba in the Spanish-American War and convoy escort duty in World War I. It was at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, as the Brazilian Navy's Amazonas. Purchased by the U.S. Navy in March 1898 when freshly completed, she finished outfitting at New York and joined the fleet off Santiago, Cuba, in May. She was active off Cuba during the rest of the Spanish-American War, and then spent over a year operating in U.S. waters before transferring to the Asiatic Station in 1899.
New Orleans served two tours of Asiatic service and one in the eastern Pacific up to 1917, when World War I requirements called her to the Atlantic. She escorted convoys until January 1918, and then sailed for further duty in Asiatic waters, where she spent the rest of her active career. Designated PG-34 in 1920 and CL-22 in 1921, New Orleans was decommissioned in November 1922 and sold for scrapping in February 1930.
CA-32. The second USS New Orleans, CA-32, a heavy cruiser, commissioned in 1934 and decommissioned in 1946. The ship served valiantly during WW II and earned 17 Battle Stars (see list at USS New Orleans Reunion Association Web sitewww.ussneworleans.com).
Moored in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and taking power and light from the dock, her engines were under repair. With yard power out during the attack, the cruiser's engineers fought to raise steam, working by flashlight, while on deck men fired on the Japanese attackers with rifles and pistols. Though guns had to be worked by hand, within 10 minutes all her AA batteries were in action. A number of her crew were injured when a fragmentation bomb exploded close aboard.
The heavy cruiser survived the Japanese attack and served throughout World War II. With four other cruisers and six destroyers she fought in the Battle of Tassafaronga, engaging a Japanese destroyer transport force. When flagship Minneapolis was struck by two torpedoes, New Orleans, next astern, was forced to sheer away to avoid collision, and ran into the track of a torpedo, which ripped off her bow. Bumping down the ship's port side, the severed bow punched several holes in New Orleans' hull. A fifth of her length gone, slowed to 2 knots, and blazing forward, the ship fought for survival. Individual acts of heroism and self-sacrifice along with skillful seamanship kept her afloat, and under her own power she entered Tulagi Harbor. Camouflaging their ship from air attack, the crew jury-rigged a bow of coconut logs, and 11 days later New Orleans sailed to replace a damaged propeller.
LPH-11. The third New Orleans, a 600-foot amphibious assault vessel, served as a highly effective and versatile platform during the Vietnam War and Cold War. Laid down, 1 March 1966 at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia PA; Launched, 3 February 1968; Commissioned USS New Orleans (LPH-11), 16 November 1968; Decommissioned, 1 October 1997; Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Benica, CA; Struck from the Naval Register, 23 October 1998; Final Disposition, to be disposed of by transfer to government agencies.
The vessel was also the command ship for minesweeping in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. The ship plucked command modules out of the sea for NASA's Apollo space program. Most recently it was used for location work during filming of the movie Apollo 13. In 1997, the ship was decommissioned after conducting 90,000 helicopter landings and steaming 750,000 miles.
The very first New Orleans never finished construction. Her keel was laid down in January 1815 and the ship-of-the-line was nearly completed when the War of 1812 ended. The ship remained in the stocks, housed over, until sold in 1883. It would have carried 87 guns - 63 long 32 pounders and 24 32 pounders. In 1861, the Confederate Navy fitted out a floating battery with 17 8-inch guns, 1 nine-inch gun and 2 32 pounder rifles. Named New Orleans, it supported Army-Navy operations in the Mississippi River in 1862. The Confederate Navy sank it to avoid capture on 7 April 1862 during the evacuation from Island No. 10.
On 21 August 2025, U.S. 7th Fleet announced that a fire aboard USS New Orleans (LPD 18) had been extinguished at 4 a.m. that day. The fire began at approximately 4 p.m., Aug. 20, 2025, while the ship was anchored near White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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