USS Anchorage to be Commissioned in May 2013

The 680-foot Naval vessel will house a crew of more than 400

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By Matthew F. Smith

Story Created: Dec 12, 2012 at 9:08 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Dec 13, 2012 at 10:53 AM AKDT

Scroll down for photos of the USS Anchorage, courtesy U.S. Navy

ANCHORAGE - The navy's newest warship, the USS Anchorage, will be commissioned in its namesake city this May. The commander of the vessel, US Navy Captain Brian Quin, was in Anchorage Wednesday, touring his ship’s namesake city.

The 680-foot vessel will house a crew of more than 400, and can deliver a force of up to 800 Marines. It will be home to several aircraft and landing vehicles, including helicopters and V-22 Ospreys capable of vertical take-offs and landings. Captain Quin said the ship is able to land any helicopter in the Navy fleet, and hold vehicles like humvees, amphibious landing craft, and tanks.

The new warship will also be armed with missile launchers, a pair of high-velocity cannons, and high-caliber machine guns. But Captain Quin said he hopes the new ship will be able to undertake more peaceful missions.

“We're excited to also carry out some of the humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions that the U.S. Navy has been involved in as part of being America's global force for good. And the best part about it is we're going to take that name Anchorage with us everywhere we go”

Construction on the vessel began back in 2007, and the ship first launched last year. “And for the next 40 to 50 years of this ship's life,” Quinn added, “we intend to sail Anchorage around the world and tell everybody that we encounter about the people of Anchorage, Alaska.”

This will be the second USS Anchorage in the Navy’s history. The first entered service in 1967, and was decomissioned back in 2003.

When the new ship is officially launched in Anchorage next May, it will mark the first time in the Navy's history that a ship will be commissioned in the state of Alaska.

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