Whatzit 51

A friend and occasional contributor recently sent this photo, a tighter cropped version of just this photo and asked what is was.  I won’t volunteer what I thought, but I was wrong.  Can you guess?

Here’s a bit more detail, quite a bit more, in fact.   It was intended as number 3 of 32, but now it’s much more limited, the third of three. 

Behold USS Lyndon B. Johnson aka DDG-1002.  Her ceremonial keel laying was exactly six years ago, January 30, 2017, although she was partially built by then.  Her launch was late fall 2018, and christening  . . .  spring 2019.  She’s currently in Pascagoula MS and at last report, being prepped to enter service in 2024.

Many thanks to eastriver for passing these photos along.

As I’ve stated previously, these 600′ x 81′ military vessels are reminiscent of the ironclads, especially the CSS ones, of the US Civil War. 

I saw DDG-1000 in process of being built in the Kennebec way back almost a decade ago here.