Navy announces latest ship to be christened USS Pittsburgh

A new warship will be named after Pittsburgh.

The vessel, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock warship used to transport landing forces, is one of five the Navy announced it names for on Friday.

“As a resident of the Keystone State, I know that Pittsburgh is a proud city with a strong legacy of service. I am confident that the crew of the future Pittsburgh will demonstrate the same excellence in support of amphibious and littoral operations around the world,” Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite said in a statement.

The latest USS Pittsburgh will be the fifth to be named after the Steel City.

A new USS #Pittsburgh will soon serve in the @USNavy.

Four vessels have served in our name - the first serving in 1861. The most recent served for 35 years before being decommissioned in 2019.

Full details from the @SECNAV announcement: https://t.co/QGfffMLXBg pic.twitter.com/bkUeWML5lN

— City of Pittsburgh (@Pittsburgh) January 17, 2021

The first vessel named after Pittsburgh was an ironclad gunboat used during the American Civil War. The second USS Pittsburgh, armored cruiser, was used during World War II and another ship, a Baltimore class cruiser, supported the landing at Iwo Jima during World War II.

The fourth USS Pittsburgh was a Los Angeles class submarine used from December 1984 to August 2019.

The most recent USS #Pittsburgh was launched in 1984 & was decommissioned in 2019.

For the decommissioning ceremony, we provided special Proclamation’s for the crew. pic.twitter.com/2hb0w19q3M

— City of Pittsburgh (@Pittsburgh) January 17, 2021

Another ship, a Navajo class towing, salvage and rescue ship will be named USNS Lenni Lenape to honor the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. This will be the first naval vessel to carry the name of the Lenni Lenape tribe who are indigenous people of Pennsylvania’s northeastern woodlands, and the first tribe to sign a treaty with the United States in 1778, according to the Navy.