USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) is an Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy, the 71st overall for the class. The ship was named for United States Marine Corps Lieutenant General Frank E. Petersen Jr.[6] the first African-American Marine Corps aviator[7] and the first African-American Marine Corps general.[8] The contract for the ship, along with the name, was first announced in a press release from Huntington Ingalls Industries on 30 March 2016.[9]

USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. in August 2021
History
United States
Name	Frank E. Petersen Jr.
Namesake	Frank E. Petersen
Awarded	3 June 2013
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down	21 February 2017[1]
Launched	13 July 2018[2]
Sponsored by	Alicia J. Petersen, D’Arcy Neller
Christened	6 October 2018[3]
Acquired	30 November 2021[4]
Commissioned	14 May 2022
Homeport	Pearl Harbor
Identification	Hull number: DDG-121
Motto	Into the Tiger's Jaw
Status	In active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement	9,217 tons (full load)[5]
Length	513 ft (156 m)[5]
Beam	66 ft (20 m)[5]
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)[5]
Speed	31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)[5]
Complement	380 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/54 caliber Mk 45 naval gun 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 Autocannons 4 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns 1 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk 46 torpedo 96-cell Mk 41 VLS for use of: RIM-66M Standard Missile BGM-109 Tomahawk RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC
Aircraft carried	2 × SH-60 Seahawk helicopters
Aviation facilities	Double hangar and helipad

Construction and Career

The first "cutting of steel" took place in April 2016[10] and her keel was laid on 21 February 2017.[11] She was launched on 13 July 2018.[12] and christened on 6 October 2018.[3] The ship was commissioned on 14 May 2022 at Charleston, South Carolina.[13]

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.

External links

• Media related to USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• USMC History Division, Frank E. Petersen Jr.
• Marines.mil, Lt. Gen. Frank Petersen remembered, honored
• Military Times, Frank E. Petersen – Awards and Citations

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