USS Freedom is the newest class of USN vessel, the Littoral Combat Ship. This vessel is optimised for fighting inshore- with a shallower draught so that she can move into coastal waters bigger vessels cannot enter, and with great maneuverability and less weight.
In a departure from normal USN construction, only her hull is made of steel; the superstructure is of aluminium.
They have a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/USSFreedom
Well, here's the photo tour.
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| USS Freedom |
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| USS Freedom |
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| USS Freedom |
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| USS Freedom |
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| The helideck is made of a rubberised spongy material! |
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| Turning round to face front... |
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| Hangar deck |
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| Hanger deck with Seahawk |
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| Saying Hello |
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| Climbing into the ship from the hangar |
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| Looking back |
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| A short walk along the central corridor to the bow of the ship |
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| You ascend this to get to the bridge |
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| And then you are there. |
This is a small vessel; the distance from the hangar to the bridge is not huge.
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| This is one of the corners of the small, triangular-shaped bridge | | |
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Just 3 men are needed to man the bridge.
In the front sit the copilot (left)- (JOOD) and the pilot (OOD) - on the right
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| Engineers position is right behind the drivers |
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| Captain's chair |
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| Another view of the engineering station |
You can exit the bridge by doors at the corners of the triangle
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| Then, you can reach the outside, and enjoy the view. |
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| Great view. |
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| View to the rear |
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| Anterior view |
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| Reenter the bridge, climb down a levels, and you can exit to the foc'sle |
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| Door to foc'sle |
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| First thing you encounter on the foc'sle is the autoloading gun |
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| Detail of rapid-firing Mk 110 57mm main gun |
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| The triangular shape of the bridge area is well seen here. |
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| Ship's motto? Or just advertising? |
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| In twilight |
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| RHIB launch bay |
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| Last look |
This is a small, but very expensive ship! It costs at least USD 637 million, and has little defence against antiship cruise missiles commonly deployed in the littorals, and would also be vulnerable to tactical aircraft. In fact one report says that it can deal with fast surface craft lacking antiship missiles.
The controvesy about this ship class is detailed here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littoral_combat_ship
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