The United States Navy is getting ready to commission their newest littoral class fighting ship, and it just so happens to be named after a town in Otsego County!

USS COOPERSTOWN

During a special commissioning ceremony in New York City on Saturday, May 6th, the Navy will officially introduce their newest combat ship to their fleet: the USS Cooperstown. The fact that the ship is named after Cooperstown is somewhat unusual and noteworthy. Navy ships are more often named after states, cities, presidents, and prominent military figures. So how did it come to be that a small town of less than 2,000 year-round residents gets a combat ship named after it?

FROM IDEA TO REALITY

The planning for the USS Cooperstown goes all the way back to 2015, when then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus had a discussion with Baseball Hall of Fame chairwoman Jane Forbes Clark. The Cooperstown name was pitched to honor all the Baseball Hall of Famers who were combat veterans and/or served in the U.S. military. There are over 60 military veterans enshrined in Cooperstown, including the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Stan Musial.

Construction of the USS Cooperstown began at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette Wisconsin in the summer of 2018, and was finally launched in January of 2020, with a christening from Jane Forbes Clark the following month.

Since then the ship has been getting her sea legs on test voyages and its hull outfitted with military combat accoutrements. The making of a United States military combat ship is a long, arduous process. When the official commission ceremony takes place on May 6th, it will be nearly 8 years since the initial idea for the USS Cooperstown was put in motion.

Here's hoping the USS Cooperstown never has to see conflict, but if she does, we know she'll knock it out of the park!