LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (July 16, 2015) – The U.S.S. Little Rock (LCS9) will be christened and officially launched on Saturday, July 18 in a ceremony in Marinette, Wisconsin.  The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. CDT. 

Among those in attendance at the ceremony will be Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola.  “I’m looking forward to the christening of a new, sleek and agile ship that is the latest and greatest addition to our Navy Fleet, the finest maritime force in the world,” said Mayor Stodola.

For the first time, a livestream of an LCS launch will be available online.  It can be viewed on the Lockheed Martin website at:

http://lockheedmartin.com/us/products/littoral-combat-ship/lcs9launch.html

The U.S.S. Little Rock will be the nation’s ninth littoral combat ship.  It has been built for the U.S. Navy by Lockheed Martin and Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) at the MMC shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Saturday’s christening ceremony in Marinette celebrates the ship’s physical transition from land to sea.  The ceremony will be a symbolic transition from a hull number to a ship with a name and spirit of its own. 

Following the shattering of the champagne bottle on the hull, the U.S.S. Little Rock will be side launched into the Menominee River.  A side launch is unique, because the ship enters the water broadside. It is mostly used on inland waters, rivers and lakes.

In June, representatives from the U.S. Navy came to Little Rock for the unveiling of the crest for the new U.S.S. Little Rock.

There will be a commissioning ceremony in November 2016. At that time, the ship will formally join the Fleet and become sovereign U.S. territory wherever she sails. 

On August 27, 1944, the first U.S.S. Little Rock was launched in Philadelphia.  Mrs. Ruth May Wassell, wife of a Little Rock alderman, broke the bottle of champagne on the hull.  Among those guests in attendance were Alderman Sam Wassell (who would later serve as the city’s mayor), Congressman Brooks Hays, Senator John L. McClellan and Senator-elect J. William Fulbright.