Catching the USS Nantucket

 As I looked at Facebook yesterday, I noticed that someone posted a picture of a littoral combat ship passing Port Huron yesterday.  So I looked at Marine Traffic and saw that I would have a chance to catch her in Detroit.  It was a nice day, so I headed down to Detroit.

The USS Nantucket is LCS-27 and is one of the Freedom class Littoral Combat Ships.  She is the 14th one that was built in Marinette, Wisconsin and the third to last one that will leave there.

She is heading on her way to Boston where she will be turned over to the Navy in a commissioning ceremony.  She is the third ship in the Navy to be named after Nantucket.  The first was a monitor that saw action in the Civil War.  The second was a survey ship.

After commissioning, I believe she will be joining her sister ships in Pensacola, Florida.

I'm not sure how long she will be in service as a number of her sisters have been decommissioned.

Anyone who has followed this blog knows that I do not particularly care for these ships.

They were supposed to be a low cost ship that could go into the littorals and fight closer to the shore.

However, because of cost overruns and other issues, that has not been the case.

As a result, when this ship is finished, a new class of frigates will be built.  Some of those will be built in Marinette.

They will be named the Constellation class and as of this writing, they are already behind schedule.

This is not a good thing for a ship that desperately needs new ships.

Even though I do not particularly like this class of ships, I still think it is cool to see Naval vessels pass by.

Anyway, I think she still needs some other things.

She passes under the Ambassador Bridge.

She continues on her way.

The Gordie Howe Bridge in the background.

I didn't use my drone because there is a rule that you are not supposed to fly them near military vessels.  I'm not sure if she counts as one as she hasn't been turned over to the US Navy, but I didn't want to take my chances.

She passes under the Gordie Howe Bridge and continues on her way out of the Great Lakes.