USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32)

USS SANTA BARBARA is the 16th INDEPENDENCE - class Littoral Combat Ship and the second ship in the Navy named after the city of Santa Barbara, California.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: September 18, 2018
	Keel laid: October 27, 2020
	Launched: November 13, 2021
	Commissioned: April 1, 2023
	Builder: Austal USA, Mobile, Ala.
	Propulsion system: two LM2500 gas turbine engines, two diesel engines, four waterjets
	Length: 418 feet (127.5 meters)
	Beam: 104 feet (31.5 meters)
	Draft: 13 feet (4 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 3,104 tons full load
	Speed: 47 knots
	Armament: one Mk-110 57mm gun, one SeaRAM CIWS
	Aircraft: two MH-60 helicopters
	Homeport: San Diego, Calif.
	Crew: 8 officers, 32 enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS SANTA BARBARA. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

Click here to view the list.

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

The tri-parted left side of the shield portrays the official flag of Santa Barbara, California, which was adopted in 1923. The tower recalls the city's Spanish origins in which Saint Barbara (patron namesake) was held prior to her execution. The right side of the shield alludes to the California coast and depicts the open sea. The ship illustrates the relation between sailors, ships and their operational responsibilities. The red star denotes the State of California and is adapted from the state flag. The yellow lightning flash conveys the agility and responsiveness of the command and crew.

The Crest:

The wreath adopts the first-named metal and color from the shield and blazon. The American bald eagle upon a granite mound is a symbol of liberty, steadfastness, agility and the ability to strike at a moment's notice, characterizing the highly maneuverable capabilities of the littoral combat ship USS SANTA BARBARA. The two stars signify the two previous ships of the same namesake. The first USS SANTA BARBARA (ID 4522) was a steel freighter built during 1916, serving from 1918 until 1919. After World War I, she was returned to her owner and later renamed as the AMERICAN. She was ultimately sunk off the coast of British Honduras by German submarine torpedoes on 11 June 1942. The second USS SANTA BARBARA (AE 28) was a KILAUEA - class ammunition ship, commissioned on 11 July 1970, and was redesignated T-AE 28 upon her transfer to the Military Sealift Command, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force on 30 September 1998. She was struck from the Naval Register on 3 August 2005. The red sunburst emanating eight lightning bolts symbolizes seismic activity, floods, droughts, fires and foreign attacks to characterize overcoming these monumental setbacks.

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USS SANTA BARBARA History:

USS SANTA BARBARA is an INDEPENDENCE-variant littoral combat ship built by Austal USA at Mobile, Alabama, for operations in the littorals with an emphasis on modular mission packages. The Navy announced the name on October 9, 2018; first steel was cut on October 9, 2019; keel authentication followed at Austal on October 27, 2020, with ship sponsor Lolita Zinke presiding; and the ship was christened at Mobile on October 16, 2021. She was launched in mid-November 2021. Following builder's and acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico - culminating in the completion of at-sea acceptance trials on June 3, 2022 - the Navy accepted delivery at Mobile on July 21, 2022. The program office noted at delivery that the ship would sail to her future homeport of San Diego ahead of commissioning planned for fiscal year 2023.

The pre-commissioning unit transited to the Pacific, including a southbound passage of the Panama Canal on January 2, 2023, and then arrived at Naval Base San Diego on January 18, 2023, to begin final preparations. Ahead of joining the Fleet, the ship made a namesake salute off the California coast: on March 27, 2023, SANTA BARBARA conducted a close sail-by of Santa Barbara's Stearns Wharf en route to the commissioning site. She was commissioned on April 1, 2023, during a ceremony at Port Hueneme (Naval Base Ventura County), entering active service as the sixteenth INDEPENDENCE-variant LCS.

Post-commissioning, LCS-class practice saw the ship crewed in the "Blue/Gold" model. On November 22, 2023, BLUE Crew held a change-of-command on the flight deck in San Diego, as CDR Adam Ochs relieved CDR Brian Sparks. In 2024, the ship executed local operations off Southern California - including search-and-rescue testing evolutions documented on August 23, 2024 - and marked her first commissioning anniversary with a publicized namesake visit off Santa Barbara on April 3, 2024. Through 2024, the crew also worked up with the Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Mission Package, as the Navy brought the LCS MCM suite to initial operational capability in March 2023 and finished the first full mission-package embarkations and crew qualifications through 2024. GOLD Crew's leadership turnover followed on November 1, 2024, when CDR Linzy Lewis III relieved CDR Steven Gonzalez.

With MCM workups complete, SANTA BARBARA got underway from San Diego for deployment on March 10, 2025, paired with USS CANBERRA (LCS 30), both carrying embarked MCM mission packages. The departure marked the first operational LCS deployments featuring the full MCM package - an integrated family of systems designed to hunt, sweep, and neutralize mines from standoff range using MCM USVs with towed sensors and influence sweeps, MH-60S-borne sensors, and associated systems.

On the trans-Pacific leg the ship conducted a logistics stop at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on March 19-20, 2025, before departing Hawaii late that month. She made a port visit to Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, April 4-5, 2025, during the westward transit. By early July 2025, SANTA BARBARA was operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area, participating in the 31st iteration of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand. Photographs from mid-July document the ship alongside at Chuk Samet, Sattahip, following a sea phase that included a gunnery exercise (GUNNEX) with Royal Thai Navy frigate HTMS NARESUAN (FFG 421). These events reinforced partner-navy interoperability in maritime security missions and provided an opportunity to exercise flight-deck, small-boat, and weapons handling in tropical littorals.

Continuing west across the Indian Ocean, SANTA BARBARA conducted her first-ever Sri Lanka port visit at Colombo from August 16 to August 21, 2025. The stop included engagements with U.S. diplomatic representatives and senior Sri Lankan defense officials and was framed by U.S. 7th Fleet as part of South Asia partnership-building during a rotational deployment. The Sri Lanka Navy recorded her departure on August 21.

By September 11, 2025, SANTA BARBARA had crossed into the U.S. 5th Fleet area and was operating from Manama, Bahrain, under Commander, Task Force 55. On that date, the Navy announced in Manama the relief of the BLUE Crew commanding officer; GOLD Crew commanding officer CMDR Linzy Lewis assumed command September 12 while the ship continued tasking. The service characterized the ship as deployed in 5th Fleet and stated that the change would not affect mission execution. Her arrival in Bahrain came as the Navy accelerated the handover of regional mine warfare duties from aging AVENGER-class mine countermeasures ships to INDEPENDENCE-variant LCS equipped with the MCM Mission Package. In late September 2025, regional coverage described the retirement of the last Bahrain-based wooden-hulled minesweeper and highlighted CANBERRA's presence in Mina Salman, with SANTA BARBARA among the MCM-configured LCS slated to assume the Gulf's mine-countermeasures mission set alongside allies and partners.

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USS SANTA BARBARA Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS SANTA BARBARA at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 3, 2023.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS SANTA BARBARA at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on November 12, 2023.

The photo below was taken by me and shows USS SANTA BARBARA at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on July 26, 2024.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS SANTA BARBARA departing Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 15, 2024.

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