Name Somerset Laid down 11 December 2009 Christened 28 July 2012 Launched 14 April 2012 | Awarded 21 December 2007 Sponsored by Mrs. Mary Jo Myers Construction started 11 December 2009 Builder Avondale Shipyard | |
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Namesake Somerset County, Pennsylvania | ||
Flight operations uss somerset lpd 25
USS Somerset (LPD-25) is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock of the United States Navy. Somerset is the fifth Navy vessel to bear the name; in this case in honor of Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
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Etymology
The ship is named after the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11 attacks of 2001, whose actions prevented the plane, hijacked by terrorists, from reaching their intended target, forcing the airplane to crash in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. In the words of Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, "The courage and heroism of the people aboard the flight will never be forgotten and USS Somerset will leave a legacy that will never be forgotten by those wishing to do harm to this country." Some 22 tons of steel from a crane that stood near Flight 93's crash site have been used to construct Somerset's stemhold.
History
The contract to build Somerset was awarded on 21 December 2007, to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mrs. Mary Jo Myers, the wife of General Richard Myers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the Ship sponsor. Somerset's keel was laid down on 11 December 2009, at Northrop Grumman's Avondale shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was launched on 14 April 2012, and was christened three months later, on 28 July. She completed acceptance trials in September 2013. On 3 February 2014, USS Somerset was recorded as the last Navy ship to depart from the Avondale Ship Yard. The ship was commissioned on 1 March 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
