USS Bougainville (LHA-8) explained

USS Bougainville (LHA-8) is an currently under construction for the United States Navy.[1] She will be the second Navy ship to be named Bougainville.[2] [3]

Design

The design of Bougainville is based on, which is an improved version of the . While Makin Island has a well deck, the earlier two Flight 0 America-class ships and were designed and built without a well deck to make space for aircraft and aviation fuel. Bougainville will be the first Flight I America-class ship, and as such will include a well deck.[4] The design of the Flight I America-class ships, including that of Bougainville, adopts a compromise, incorporating a slightly smaller aircraft hangar as well as smaller medical and other spaces to fit a small well deck for surface connector operations.[5] The island structure will also be modified to free up more room on the flight deck to accommodate maintenance of V-22s, compensating for some of the lost aircraft hangar space.

Bougainville will be the first of her class built with a redesigned and stronger main deck; the earlier America-class vessels America and Tripoli each required retrofitting in order to handle the strain of daily F-35B Lightning II flight operations.[6] In addition, Bougainville will incorporate the AN/SPY-6 Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) volume air search radar in lieu of the AN/SPS-48G air search radar in America and Tripoli.[7] The s starting with and the planned s will also have this radar.[8]

Construction and career

Bougainville is being built by Huntington Ingalls Industries at their shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi and is expected to be delivered to the U.S. Navy in 2025.[3]

Bougainville officially started fabrication on 16 October 2018.[9] The ship was first laid down on 14 March 2019.[10]

On 30 June 2023 a fire in the ship's superstructure was reported, there were six minor injuries, and reportedly minimal damage to the ship. The fire is being investigated by the Navy and Ingalls Shipbuilding.[11]

The Bougainville was christened on Saturday, December 2, 2023, by the ship's sponsor Ellyn Dunford, wife of United States Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford.[12] [13]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: [{{Naval Vessel Register URL|LHA8}} Bougainville (LHA 8) ]. . United States Navy . 10 November 2016 . 30 December 2016.
  2. SECNAV names next Amphibious Assault Destroyer . . NR-400-16 . 9 November 2016 . 9 November 2016.
  3. Web site: Mabus Names LHA-8 After Bougainville Island Campaign in World War II . Eckstein. Megan. 9 November 2016. USNI News. U.S. Naval Institute. 9 November 2016.
  4. Web site: Ingalls Wins LHA-8 Contract, NASSCO To Build 6 Fleet Oilers . Eckstein . Megan . USNI News . U.S. Naval Institute . 30 June 2016 . 25 July 2016.
  5. Web site: Navy's Newest, LHA-6, A Dead End For Amphibious Ships? . Freedberg . Sydney J. Jr. . 3 October 2012 . 9 November 2016.
  6. Web site: USS America Back to Sea After Completing 10-Months of Deck Strengthening for F-35s. LaGrone. Sam. 22 March 2016. USNI News. U.S. Naval Institute. 25 July 2016.
  7. Web site: Raytheon Awarded $92M Navy Contract for Future Carrier, Big Deck AESA Radars. LaGrone. Sam. 22 August 2016. USNI News. U.S. Naval Institute. 9 November 2016.
  8. Web site: Navy C4ISR and Unmanned Systems. https://web.archive.org/web/20160112032359/http://www.seapower-digital.com/seapower/january_2016?pg=93#pg93. 12 January 2016. January 2016. Sea Power 2016 Almanac. Navy League of the U.S.. usurped. 91.
  9. Web site: 16 October 2018. Huntington Ingalls Industries Starts Fabrication of Amphibious Assault Ship Bougainville (LHA 8). 12 June 2021. newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com.
  10. Web site: Industries. Huntington Ingalls. Ingalls Shipbuilding Authenticates Keel of Bougainville (LHA 8). 2021-08-27. Huntington Ingalls Newsroom. en. 15 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200315071359/https://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/bougainville-lha8-keel-authentication. dead.
  11. Web site: 2023-06-30 . Ingalls, Navy Investigating Fire in Superstructure of Future Big Deck USS Bougainville . 2023-08-10 . USNI News . en-US.
  12. Web site: 2023-12-04 . Bougainville Ship christened at Ingalls Shipbuilding . 2024-03-24 . WXXV News 25 . en-US.
  13. Web site: Mrs. Ellyn S. Dunford . Bougainville (LHA 8) Christening Bios . Huntington Ingalls Industries . 30 October 2024.

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