Article Posted on : - May 12, 2015

Huntington Ingalls photo.

PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI (BNS): Huntington Ingalls Industries' has christened the 29th Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) Aegis guided missile destroyer, John Finn (DDG 113).

DDG 113 is named John Finn after the first Medal of Honour recipient of World War II, Huntington Ingalls Industries' - Ingalls Shipbuilding division, said in a release.

Finn received the honour for machine-gunning Japanese warplanes for over two hours during the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour despite being shot in the foot and shoulder and suffering numerous shrapnel wounds. He retired as a lieutenant after 30 years of service and died at age 100 in 2010, it said.

Ingalls has delivered 28 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the U.S. Navy.

Destroyers currently under construction at Ingalls are John Finn (DDG 113), Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) and Delbert D. Black (DDG 119).

Earlier this year, Ingalls received a contract modification funding the construction of the company's 33nd destroyer, DDG 121.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships that can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States' military strategy.

They are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface threats. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defence needs well into the 21st century, it added.