USS Cooperstown (LCS-23) is a of the United States Navy. She is the first naval ship named after Cooperstown, New York.[1] [2]
Ray Mabus, while Secretary of the Navy, announced the naming of Cooperstown on 25 July 2015 during a ceremony at the Baseball Hall of Fame, which is located in Cooperstown. The announcement was part of the ceremony which was honoring baseball players who served in World War II.[3] Her name honors American military veterans from multiple conflicts (starting with Morgan Bulkeley, first president of the National League, in the Civil War)[4] who are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.[2] [5]
In 2002, the US Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[6] The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from Lockheed Martin, which became known as the Freedom-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, .[7] Odd-numbered US Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Freedom-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the trimaran hull from General Dynamics. The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design. Cooperstown is the 12th Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.
Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build the ship on 29 December 2010, at their shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin.[8] On 20 November 2019, United States Vice President Mike Pence toured the ship prior to giving a speech at Marinette Marine.[9] Cooperstown was launched on 19 January 2020 and christened on 29 February 2020. She was delivered to the Navy in September 2022.[10] Her home port is Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida.[10] During routine operations on 11 March 2023, Cooperstown provided emergency assistance to a sailing vessel that was in distress.[11]
On 6 May 2023, the ship was commissioned in New York City.