|
|
|
Dock Landing Ship Named for the national monument in Baltimore, Maryland, USS FORT MCHENRY (LSD 43) is the third Whidbey Island Class Dock Landing Ship. The keel was laid on 10 June 1983, and the ship was launched on 1 February 1986. FORT MCHENRY's commissioning ceremony took place in Seattle on 8 August 1987. |
USS FORT McHENRY is the third WHIDBEY ISLAND class dock landing ship. In April 2006, the USS TORTUGA (LSD 46) replaced the USS FORT McHENRY as a forward deployed naval unit in Sasebo, Japan. The hull swap was part of the Navy's long-range plan to routinely replace older ships assigned to the Navy's Forward Deployed Naval Force with newer or more capable ships. TORTUGA's crew brought the McHENRY back to Little Creek, Va., where she is now home ported.