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.[8] Her name honors American military veterans[a] from multiple conflicts (starting with Morgan Bulkeley, first president of the National League, in the Civil War)[9] who are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.[7][10]
Design
In 2002, the US Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.[11] 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, USS Freedom.[11][12] 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 Independence-class littoral combat ship from General Dynamics.[11] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design.[11]Cooperstown is the 12th Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built.
^The number of American military veterans who have been inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame was originally reported as 68.[7] Subsequent reports place the number at 70,[9] as both Gil Hodges and Buck O'Neil, who served in World War II, were elected in 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting.
References
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.