USS Cleveland Commissioned in Namesake City

CLEVELAND, OH – The U.S. Navy officially commissioned the USS Cleveland (LCS 31) into active service on Saturday, May 16, during a historic ceremony on the downtown Cleveland, Ohio lakefront. The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship is the fourth vessel to carry the city’s name and the first U.S. Navy warship ever commissioned in the state of Ohio.

The ship was previously christened and side-launched at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, WI, on April 15, 2023. In keeping with naval tradition, Robyn Modly—wife of former acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly—served as the ship’s sponsor and gave the order to bring the ship to life.

Following the celebrations, the USS Cleveland is slated to be homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, where she will carry out maritime security, deterrence, and near-shore operations.

LCS 31 is the fourth ship to be named in honor of the city of Cleveland. The first was a cruiser (C-19) commissioned in 1903 that served during World War I. The second was the lead ship of her class of light cruisers, USS Cleveland (CL-55), which earned 13 battle stars for its service during World War II. The third was the Austin-class amphibious transport dock, USS Cleveland (LPD 7), which served from 1967 to 2011, providing critical support during the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, and various humanitarian missions.

Wath a video of the christening on Facebook here.