By Jessica Hall
Bath Iron Works this week celebrated the keel laying of the future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. destroyer and hosted the Acting Secretary of the Navy and Maine’s congressional delegation for an update on production schedules and tour of manufacturing and training facilities.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker, U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree were updated on efforts by BIW to increase production after a year marked by the pandemic and a prolonged labor strike.
BIW has committed to the Navy it will be at a pace to deliver 1.8 ships per year by the end of 2021, and two ships per year by next year. That would put BIW, which has 12 ships to deliver in six years, back on schedule.
Keel laid for US Navy’s 74th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer April 7, 2021, by Naida Hakirevic
On April 6, 2021, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works celebrated the keel laying of the future USS Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. (DDG 124), the US Navy’s 74th Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA guided-missile destroyer.
Photo: GD Bath Iron Works
The US Navy named the ship in honor of Marine Corps Col. Harvey C. Barnum, Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient who attended Tuesday’s ceremony.
Col. Barnum served in the Vietnam War and continued to serve his country afterward, eventually being named Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs). The ship’s sponsor is Martha Hill, Col. Barnum’s wife.