USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She is named after Sir Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This ship is the 31st destroyer of her class and the 18th ship of be built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Construction began on 7 May 1998, and the vessel launched and christened on 17 April 1999. On 10 March 2001, she was commissioned during a ceremony at Town Point Park in Norfolk, Virginia.
Sir Winston Churchill
Crew of German destroyer Lütjens pay homage as they bid farewell to the crew Winston S. Churchill
A Royal Navy officer assists on the bridge
Sailors manning the rails as Winston S. Churchill pulls into port
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
The Arleigh Burke class of guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) is a United States Navy class of destroyer centered around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multi-function passive electronically scanned array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, an American destroyer officer in World War II and later Chief of Naval Operations. With an overall length of 505 to 509.5 feet, displacement ranging from 8,300 to 9,700 tons, and weaponry including over 90 missiles, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are larger and more heavily armed than many previous classes of guided-missile cruisers.
USS Jack H. Lucas during acceptance trials
Flight I ship USS Fitzgerald with Tactical Towed Array Sonar (TACTAS) in the center of the fantail, Harpoon missile launchers, distinctive stacks, and no helicopter hangars
Flight IIA ship USS Mustin without TACTAS and no Harpoon launchers, but with helicopter hangars and new exhaust stacks design
Flight III ship USS Jack H. Lucas showing the larger AN/SPY-6 arrays, stacked rigid-hull inflatable boats, and slight exhaust stack modifications
