Fastest warship in U.S. fleet makes Windsor first port call
Fresh from an official commissioning Saturday in its namesake city of Detroit, the newest and fastest warship in the U.S. Navy cruised across the border to make Windsor its first port of call.
The sailors who operate it compare the sleek USS Detroit to a giant jet ski, with four Rolls-Royce propulsion water jets capable of skipping the 3,500-ton combat ship across the waves at up to 47 knots (87 km/h).
“It’s highly manoeuvrable, highly capable — and it’s awfully fun to drive,” Cmdr. Michael Desmond said at the time of commissioning.
A new breed of naval vessel classified as a littoral combat ship, USS Detroit is designed to work in shallow (a draft of only 3.9 metres) and narrow waters, and it can be quickly modified for different missions, whether chasing submarines, pirates or drug smugglers, to pursuing terrorists at sea or fighting off coastal threats. It will be based in Florida.
Aside from the 57-mm deck gun prominently mounted at the front, there are few outward signs of the military ship’s lethal capabilities, but Windsor visitors on a tour Monday were assured USS Detroit has “significant offensive capability,” including a missile system.
The latest fleet addition made U.S. naval history on Monday when it became the first American warship to make its first port of call in a foreign country.
“We pray for this ship, oh God, bless this ship,” HMCS Hunter Padre Bruce Jackson said in his blessing during the welcoming ceremony at Windsor’s Dieppe Gardens. Soprano Erin Armstrong, recipient of the 2016 City of Windsor Mayor’s Arts Award, sang the two national anthems and Walpole Island’s White Eye Singers gave a First Nations drum performance.
“I hear them sing sea shanties on long summer days, topsail schooners and brigantines and brigs,” Windsor poet laureate Marty Gervais recited in a poem, They Sing to the Sky, written especially for the occasion.
City Coun. Fred Francis, who was representing Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, presented the ship’s commander with a key to the city, and a framed print was presented to the ship of the first of six USS Detroits, the renamed pride of the Royal Navy’s Great Lakes fleet that surrendered to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie on Sept. 10, 1813.
But HMS Detroit “did make good account of herself before capture,” badly damaging Perry’s vessel in the fierce engagement, said HMCS Hunter commanding officer Lt.-Cmdr. Robert Head.
Canada’s consul general in Detroit, Douglas George, told the American guests at Monday’s ceremony that the two countries still disagree over who won the War of 1812 but that both have lived peacefully side-by-side for two centuries since.
“Our U.S./Canadian relationship runs broad and deep ... we are each other’s closest allies,” said George.
“This is a historic day ... a continuance of a fantastic international relationship,” said USS Detroit’s Desmond.
There will be no public tours during the four-day visit by the ship and its complement of 75. After a busy commissioning week in Detroit, the crew will be largely resting and relaxing in Windsor ahead of its first months-long deployment once it departs Friday between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. for the Atlantic Ocean.
The American guests will be interacting with local military officers and veterans. Head said that includes a social gathering Tuesday night aboard HMCS Hunter.
Desmond said there will be more so-called Freedom-class ships passing by as they’re built in Marinette, Wis. USS Detroit has a $585-million sticker price.
Propulsion of the USS Detroit, at 115 metres slightly longer than a football field, comes from two Rolls-Royce MT30 36MW gas turbines and two Colt-Pielstick diesel engines (four separate diesel engines power the electrical systems). The ship, whose bridge resembles something out of Star Trek, can conduct electronic warfare and accommodate helicopters, high-speed boats and vehicles.
To learn more about USS Detroit and its military and security tasks, visit USSDetroitLCS7.com.
Our U.S./Canadian relationship runs broad and deep ... we are each other’s closest allies.