LPD 25 USS Somerset
On September 9, 2004, the Department of Defense announced that Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England had named the Navy's next amphibious transport dock ship Arlington to honor the county in Pennsylvania where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after courageous passengers stormed the cockpit in an attempt to regain control from the terrorists onboard. Their actions prevented the airplane from reaching its destination and inflicting further casualties and damage, and the heroic sacrifice of these 40 passengers and crew rallied and inspired the nation.
The 684-foot-long amphibious transport dock ship will be built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in New Orleans and will carry a Navy crew of 363 and 699 Marines. The ship will be used to transport and land Marines, their equipment and supplies by embarked air cushions or conventional landing craft or amphibious vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical take off and landing aircraft in amphibious assault, special operations, or expeditionary warfare missions.
The ship will also incorporate the latest quality of life standards for the embarked sailors and Marines, including the sit-up berth, ship services mall, a fitness center and learning resource center and electronic classroom with the flexibility to accommodate mixed gender sailors and Marines as part of the crew and embarked troops. The design team also incorporated hundreds of suggestions and recommendations from more than 1,000 sailors and Marines in the design for ownership process to ensure that this ship will meet their needs throughout the first half of the 21st century.
Previous Ships
Two previous Navy ships have carried the Somerset name. The first Somerset, a wooden-hulled, side-wheel ferryboat, performed blockade duty and made reconnaissance expeditions for the Union, until she was sold at public auction on July 12, 1865.
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