In 2002, the United States Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships.^[9] The Navy initially ordered two trimaran hulled ships from General Dynamics, which became known as the Independence-class littoral combat ship after the first ship of the class, USS Independence.^[9] Even-numbered U.S. Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Independence-class trimaran design, while odd-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the conventional monohull Freedom-class littoral combat ship.^[9] The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Independence-class design.^[9] On 29 December 2010, the Navy announced that it was awarding Austal USA a contract to build ten additional Independence-class littoral combat ships.^[10][11]

The ship's keel was laid on 29 June 2015, at Mobile, Alabama.^[5] The initials of New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ship's sponsor, were welded into the hull of Manchester during the traditional keel laying ceremony. Manchester was christened on 7 May 2016 and she was launched on 12 May 2016.^[1][6] Manchester was commissioned on 26 May 2018.^[3]

She is assigned to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One.^[12]

• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

• Ship's website