| Career | |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland |
| Ordered: | 11 December 1985 |
| Builder: | Lockheed Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 10 June 1983 |
| Launched: | 1 February 1986 |
| Sponsored by: | Helen D. Bentley |
| Commissioned: | 8 August 1987 |
| Homeport: | NAB Little Creek, Virginia |
| Motto: | Domus Fortium |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2012 |
| Badge: | |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 16,261 long tons (16,522 t) (full) 11,325 long tons (11,507 t) (light) |
| Length: | 610 ft (190 m) |
| Beam: | 84 ft (26 m) |
| Draft: | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 Colt Industries, 16-cylinder diesel engines, 2 shafts, 33,000 shp (25 MW) |
| Speed: | 20+ knots (37+ km/h) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
4 LCACs or 21 LCM-6s |
| Troops: | Marine detachment: 402 + 102 surge |
| Complement: | 22 officers, 391 enlisted |
| Armament: | 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 cannons 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts 2 × Rolling Airframe Missile 6 × .50 caliber M2HB machine guns |
USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, the 1814 defense of which inspired The Star-Spangled Banner.
USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) was laid down on 10 June 1983 by Lockheed Shipbuilding in Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 1 February 1986 (sponsored by The Honorable Helen D. Bentley), and commissioned on 8 August 1987 in Seattle, Commander George S. "Dusty" Rhodes in command.