USS Nathan James
USS Nathan James is a fictional ship of the United States Navy, used as the setting for the 1988 post-apocalyptic novel The Last Ship and the television series of the same name.
Book
| First appearance | The Last Ship |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | United States Navy |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | Nathan James-class guided missile destroyer |
| Armaments | 2 × 61-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching Systems, 56 nuclear-tipped Tomahawk cruise missiles |
| Power | Nuclear reactor |
| Length | 466 feet (142 m) |
| Width | 59 feet (18 m) |
USS Nathan James (hull code: DDG-80) is the lead ship of her class and has a beam of 59 feet (18 m), a draft of 27 feet (8.2 m), and a length of 466 feet (142 m), with a rated speed of 38 knots (43.73 mph; 70.38 km/h). The number at the end of the hull code stands for the ship's position in the series, while the letters "DD" stand for "Destroyer" and the "G" for "Guided Missile". The ship was named after a U.S. Navy ensign who was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II.
Weaponry
Armed with two 61-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching Systems, the Nathan James carries a payload of 28 nuclear-tipped Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles for each Vertical Launching System, for a total of 56 nuclear-tipped Tomahawk cruise missiles rated at 200 kilotons each.[1][2]
Television series
| First appearance | The Last Ship |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | United States Navy |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer |
| Maximum speed | 30+ knots (55+ km/h) |
| Auxiliary craft | 2 × SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters |
| Armaments |
1 × 32 cell, 1 × 64 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems, 96 × RIM-66 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-ASROC, missiles 1 × 5/62 in (127/62 mm), 2 × 25 mm, 4 × 12.7 mm guns 2 × Mk 46 triple torpedo tubes 1 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS |
| Propulsion | 4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts |
| Power | 100,000 shp (75 MW) |
| Length | 509 feet (155 m) |
| Width | 66 feet (20 m) |
In the television series, USS Nathan James is homeported at Virginia's Naval Station Norfolk, rather than in Norway, as in the book. Its hull code is DDG-151, where in the book it is DDG-80. This change was made because USS Roosevelt, launched in 1999, was assigned the hull code DDG-80. In the pilot, "Phase Six", it is mentioned that the Nathan James has a crew complement of 217.[3] By the season 2 finale, "A More Perfect Union", CDR Chandler mentions that there are 204 crewmen on the Nathan James.[4]
In the season 2 finale, "A More Perfect Union", the Nathan James arrives in St. Louis, Missouri after defeating the Immunes and is scheduled to spend the next few months in drydock.
In "The Scott Effect", CAPT Slattery, CDR Garnett, CMC Jeter, LTJG Mason, Dr. Rios, GM2 Miller, and SA Diaz are taken prisoner from a Vietnamese nightclub by Asian pirates.[5] In "Shanzhai", CAPT Chandler, as ranking officer, retakes command of the Nathan James and names LT Granderson acting Executive Officer over LT Cameron Burk, a senior lieutenant who held the conn while CAPT Slattery was off-ship.[6] Upon the rescue of the prisoners of war in "Dog Day", CAPT Chandler returns command of the ship to CAPT Slattery.
USS Halsey (DDG-97) stands in for the television show's version of USS Nathan James. USS Halsey is a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and is armed with a 5"/62 caliber Mark 45 gun.[7]
Crew
Under CDR Chandler (2014-2015)
- Commander Thomas W. "Tom" Chandler, USN (Eric Dane) - Commanding Officer
- Commander Michael "Mike" Slattery, USN (Adam Baldwin) – Executive Officer
- Command Master Chief Petty Officer Russell "Russ" Jeter, USN (Charles Parnell) – Senior Enlisted Advisor
- Lieutenant Commander Andrea Garnett, USN (Fay Masterson) – Chief Engineer
- Lieutenant Commander Barker, USN (KIA, 2015) (Jamison Haase) – Tactical Actions Officer; killed during the siege of the Nathan James
- Lieutenant Daniel Joshua "Danny" Green, USN (Travis Van Winkle) - Leader of the Naval Mountain Warfare Unit
- Lieutenant Kara Foster, USN (Marissa Neitling) – Tactical Actions Officer (2015-2015); former Combat Information Center officer (2014-2015)
- Lieutenant Carlton Burk, USN (Jocko Sims) – Head of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
- Lieutenant John "Gator" Mejia, USN (Michael Curran-Dorsano) – Navigator
- Lieutenant Alisha Granderson, USN (Christina Elmore) – Officer of the Deck
- Lieutenant Ravit Bivas, IDF (KIA, 2015) (Inbar Lavi) – Member of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command Joint Operations Training Program; joined crew in Norfolk; killed in action during the oil rig attack
- Lieutenant, junior grade Andrew "Andy" Chung, USN (KIA, 2015) (Andy T. Tran) – Engineer; killed in action during the oil rig attack
- Ensign William "Will" Mason, USN (KIA, 2016) (Chris Sheffield) – Sonar Officer (2015-2015); former Communications Officer (2014-2015)
- Senior Chief Petty Officer Lynn, USN (KIA, 2015) (Chris Marrs) – Engineer; killed in action during the oil rig attack
- Warrant Officer (E9) Wolf Taylor, RAN (Bren Foster) – Member of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command Joint Operations Training Program; joined crew in Norfolk
- Chief Hospital Corpsman Rios, USN (Maximiliano Hernández) – Independent duty corpsman
- Fire Controlman First Class Carl Nishioka, USN (Ben Cho) – Member of the Combat Information Center
- Culinary Specialist Second Class Bernie "Bacon" Cowley, USN (Amen Igbinosun) – Ship's cook
- Petty Officer Second Class Javier Cruz, USN (KIA, 2016) (Ness Bautista) – Member of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
- Petty Officer Third Class Cossetti, USN (KIA, 2014) (Tommy Savas) – Member of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
- Gas Turbine System Technician Third Class O'Connor, USN (Paul James)
- Petty Officer Third Class Maya Gibson, USN (d. 2014) (Felisha Cooper) – Only casualty during human trials of the cure; CDR Chandler nominates her for the Navy Cross
- Seaman Miller, USN (Kevin Michael Martin) – Member of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
- Seaman[note 1] Walker, USN (KIA, 2015) – Crewmember who was killed in action during the oil rig attack
Civilians
- Dr. Rachel Scott, Ph.D. (KIA, 2015) (Rhona Mitra) – Paleomicrobiologist
- Dr. Quincy Tophet, Ph.D. (KIA, 2015) (Sam Spruell) – Paleomicrobiologist; killed during the siege of the Nathan James by Amy Granderson's Maryland State Police troopers
- Tex Nolan (KIA, 2016) (John Pyper-Ferguson) – Private security contractor; member of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
- Bertrise (Hope Olaide Wilson) – A young Jamaican woman rescued by the Nathan James who has a genetic immunity to the virus
- Kelly Tophet (Alice Coulthard) – Dr. Tophet's wife; rescued from captivity on Admiral Ruskov's ship; disembarked at Norfolk
- Ava Tophet (Jade Pettyjohn) – Dr. Tophet's daughter; rescued from captivity on Admiral Ruskov's ship; disembarked at Norfolk
- Jed Chandler (KIA, 2016) (Bill Smitrovich) – CDR Chandler's father; disembarked at Norfolk
- Ashley Chandler (Grace Kaufman) – CDR Chandler's daughter; disembarked at Norfolk
- Sam Chandler (Aidan Sussman) – CDR Chandler's son; disembarked at Norfolk
- President Jeffrey "Jeff" Michener (KIA, 2016) (Mark Moses) – The President of the United States who has a genetic immunity to the virus; rescued by the Nathan James from Sean Ramsey and the Immunes, and joined the crew in "Safe Zone".
Under CAPT Slattery (2016-Present)
- Captain Michael "Mike" Slattery, USN (Adam Baldwin) – Commanding Officer
- Commander Andrea Garnett, USN (Fay Masterson) – Executive Officer
- Command Master Chief Petty Officer Russell "Russ" Jeter, USN (Charles Parnell) – Senior Enlisted Advisor
- Lieutenant Cameron Burk, USN (LaMonica Garrett) – Tactical Actions Officer
- Lieutenant Daniel Joshua "Danny" Green, USN (Travis Van Winkle) - Leader of the Naval Mountain Warfare Unit
- Lieutenant Carlton Burk, USN (Jocko Sims) – Head of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
- Lieutenant John "Gator" Mejia, USN (Michael Curran-Dorsano) – Navigator
- Lieutenant Alisha Granderson, USN (Christina Elmore) – Officer of the Deck
- Lieutenant, junior grade William "Will" Mason, USN (KIA, 2016) (Chris Sheffield) – Sonar Officer
- Ensign Rios, USN (Maximiliano Hernández) – Chief Medical Officer
- Chief Fire Controlman Carl Nishioka, USN (Ben Cho) – Member of the Combat Information Center
- Petty Officer First Class Javier Cruz, USN (KIA, 2016) (Ness Bautista) – Member of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
- Gunner's Mate Second Class Eric Miller, USN (Kevin Michael Martin) – Member of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
- Seaman Apprentice Ray Diaz, USN (Adam Irigoyen) – Member of the visit, board, search, and seizure teams
Awards and decorations
The following are the medals and service awards depicted on the USS Nathan James.
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These are:
- Meritorious Unit Commendation Military Ribbon
- Navy E Ribbon
- Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Military Ribbon
- Global War on Terrorism Service Military Ribbon
- Navy Sea Service Deployment Military Ribbon
See also
Notes
- ↑ Unknown rank
References
- ↑ Brinkley, William (February 1989). The Last Ship (Paperback ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 3. ISBN 0345359828.
- ↑ Brinkley, William (February 1989). The Last Ship (Paperback ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 21. ISBN 0345359828.
USS Nathan James, DDG 80, guided missile destroyer, first of her class,
- ↑ "Phase Six". The Last Ship. Season 1. Episode 1. June 22, 2014.
- ↑ "A More Perfect Union". The Last Ship. Season 2. Episode 13. September 6, 2015.
- ↑ "The Scott Effect". The Last Ship. Season 3. Episode 1. June 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Shanzhai". The Last Ship. Season 3. Episode 3. June 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Naval Base San Diego; USS Halsey featured in "The Last Ship"". Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Justin L. Webb, Naval Base San Diego Public Affairs. United States Navy. November 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2015.