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can't do in the assembly building."

Bollinger will use similar technologies for jig designs and cutting on the same panel lines. "Bollinger has representatives work- ing along side us here, and we have peo- ple down in Louisiana," Shaver said. "Bollinger is building one of the hull sections for LCS 1 at their yard in

Louisiana which will be brought here for final assembly."

The steel for the LCS hull is made in the U.S. The superstructure will be made from aluminum. That requires a different assembly area and tools because steel and aluminum contami- nate each other.

According to Bernard, steel has the combined advantages of being relatively inexpensive — as opposed to compos- ites and other alloys — and immensely strong. Aluminum is best used in the deckhouse where its lighter weight will increase stability, vice below in the hull where slamming and stresses are higher.

The problem of attaching one to the other was solved by a 'detacouple,' a bimetallic strip whose upper portion is aluminum and the lower is steel, with the halves bonded together explosively.

This permits welding of aluminum-to- aluminum, steel-to-steel, thereby elimi- nating the obvious problems of a bolted and gasketed connection.

Joining the sections together requires precision. When in place, the drive train from the engine to the reduction gear, shaft, and water jets will be more than 100-feet long, and all must be in perfect alignment.

LCS will have more horsepower than a cruiser. "It will be just like a warship," says prospective commanding officer

Cmdr. Don Gabrielson, " only faster." 34 #-%"!%NGINEERING3CHOOLAD;#ONVERTED=PDF!-

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Navy

USS San Antonio (LPD 17)

The USS San Antonio (LPD 17) is the first

Amphibious Transport Dock Ship of the 12- ship San Antonio Class. Special innovations in the ship's design enable the San Antonio

Class to perform multiple missions. This class of ships is the functional replacement for four earlier classes of less capable amphibious ships. The San Antonio LPD17

Class Ship is the first amphibious ship designed to accommodate the Marine Corps'

Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), Landing

Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), Landing Craft Utility (LCU) and the new tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey for high speed, long range tactical-lift operations.

Deployments of this ship class will provide naval expeditionary forces with enhanced operational flexibility; operating as part of an

Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) or as a sin- gle ship operating independently. The LPD 17 class may directly support SEALS, joint U.S. forces and other forces because of her design mission flexibility. LPD 17 is the first U.S.

Navy ship named for the city of San Antonio,

Texas. The city of San Antonio was founded in 1718 by Father Antonio Olivares when he established the Mission San Antonio de

Valero. The legend of this mission became permanently etched in the history of Texas as

The Alamo. In 1836, 189 Texans commander by Colonel William Travis defended the Alamo and held the old mission against 4,000

Mexican troops under the command of

General Santa Anna for 13 days. USS San

Antonio (LPD 17) was commissioned at

Ingelside, Texas on January 14, 2006. The ship's motto is "Never retreated, Never sur- render." (Text & Image: Peter Hsu, Anteon)

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