MEDIA ADVISORY--Ingalls-Built Amphibious Assault Ship America (LHA 6) To Sail Away


ADVISORY, July 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

What: America (LHA 6) sail-away

When: 8:30 a.m. Thursday

Where: Ingalls Shipbuilding Visitor Control Center

Attire: Please wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes

Social Media: Please use #AmericaLHA6 for photos and stories

RSVP: Bill Glenn (228) 935-1323
William.glenn@hii-co.com

Please RSVP by 3 p.m. Wednesday

The amphibious assault ship America (LHA 6) will sail away from Ingalls Shipbuilding on Thursday destined for the West Coast and her Oct. 11 commissioning ceremony in San Francisco. Ingalls personnel and America crewmembers will be available for interviews. Sailors will "man the rails" in their Navy whites when the ship departs.

LHA 6 is the first ship in the U.S. Navy's new America class of amphibious assault ships. She is 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and displaces 44,971 long tons. Her fuel-efficient gas turbine propulsion system can drive the ship in excess of 20 knots. She can accommodate 1,204 crew (102 officers) and 1,871 troops. America is capable of carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit, including Marine helicopters, MV-22 Osprey VTOL tiltrotor aircraft and F-35B Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) STOVL aircraft.

Huntington Ingalls Industries designs, builds and manages the life-cycle of the most complex nuclear and conventionally-powered ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. For more than a century, HII's Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII also provides engineering and project management services expertise to the commercial energy industry, the Department of Energy and other government customers. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 39,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit: