The amphibious platform dock USS Richard M. McCool Jr (LPD 29) en route to Pensacola, Florida, where she will be commissioned into active service with the US Navy. Credit: HII.

The US Navy’s 13th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, USS Richard M. McCool Jr (LPD 29), departed HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Mississippi bound for her commissioning site in Pensacola, Florida.

The San Antonio-class landing platform dock is the latest amphibious force ship to join the Navy.

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HII designed the auxiliary force to transport the Marine Corps ‘mobility triad’: advanced amphibious assault vehicles, landing craft air cushion, and the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.

The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21st century.

“When any of our ships sail away, it is a poignant reminder of the importance of shipbuilding to the freedom and security of our country,” said Kari Wilkinson, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. “We are committed to the mission and stand behind those who serve the nation.”

See Also:

LPD 29 timeline

Initially, Ingalls shipyard was awarded a $1.43bn detail design and construction contract for Richard M McCool Jr in February 2018 and the keel was laid in April 2019.

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The first of the class, San Antonio (LPD 17), first entered service in June 2000, and Richard M. McCool Jr is the last of this kind of the original San Antonio-class.

In 2018, the US Navy decided to introduce a new configuration known as the Flight II, or ‘LPD 17’ variant. Specifically, these new vessels will incorporate minor modifications to feature a ship-to-shore connector, CH-53K helicopter, and improved troop armament stowage.

While the first fully fledged Flight II LPD unit will be USS Harrisburg (LPD 30) – for which HII began construction in April 2020 – LPDs 28 and 29 incorporate a few design changes as part of the transition from Flight I to Flight II class.

More recently, the LPD 29 completed sea trials in February this year, testing all its systems in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of delivery to the Navy in the spring of 2024.

The Navy is scheduled to commission the ship on 7 September at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

The naming of LPD 29 honors US Navy Captain Richard M. McCool, Jr., who was awarded the Medal of Honour in 1945 for the heroism he displayed after his ship was attacked by kamikaze aircraft in the Battle of Okinawa. Despite suffering from shrapnel wounds and painful burns, he led efforts to battle a blazing fire on his ship and rescue injured sailors.