Name of New U.S. Navy Vessel Honors the City of Beloit, Wisconsin

by Ayelen Flores, age 14

A recently completed ship will be the third U.S. naval vessel named after a Wisconsin city. The USS Beloit, a new freedom-class littoral combat ship, honors that city’s history of diesel engines built for the military.

Beloit is a city in southern Wisconsin with roughly 36,000 people, who are very hardworking and proud of their accomplishments. All of the engines built there have been made by the manufacturer Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD). FMD has around 250 workers on the east bank of the Rock River.

The engines built there are made by the manufacturer Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD).

Since World War Ⅱ, FMD has been providing and creating engines for military ships. Most of the engines are made for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, or Allied Nations. The company takes orders from around the globe and has expanded to shipbuilding. The engines are a crucial part of ships made to handle any type of combat near the United States. Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are small combat ships that are very efficient in battle. There are two other LCS ships named after a Wisconsin city: USS Milwaukee and USS Marinette.

The Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in northeast Wisconsin delivered the USS Beloit two years ago. Since then, crew members from previous LCS ships have prepared USS Beloit for its commissioning. Cmdr. Leandra Kissinger will be the USS Beloit’s commanding officer. Retired Maj. Gen. Marcia Anderson, who is from Beloit herself, announced the ship for active duty at a ceremony on Nov. 23 at Veterans Park in downtown Milwaukee.

The cities of Wisconsin have made important contributions to the U.S. military over the years. Now for the third time, Wisconsin has been honored for those contributions with a vessel named for a community in our state.

[Sources: Beloit Daily News; Wisconsin Public Radio]