PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) – The Navy’s newest amphibious transport dock has been named after Oregon’s largest city.
The Portland is the 11th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock built by Huntington Ingalls Industries.
At the christening Saturday in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the head of the Navy’s expeditionary warfare division said the ships may be the fleet’s most versatile. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Christopher Owens said Marines love the 684-foot-long ships, from which smaller craft take Marines. their equipment and supplies to shore.
LPD 27 is the third ship named Portland. The first, named after Portland, Maine, was launched in 1932 as the lead ship of a new class of heavy cruisers. The second USS Portland was an amphibious landing ship commissioned in 1970. It was named after the cities in both Maine and Oregon.