USS Virginia (SSN-774)
Encyclopedia : U : US : USS : USS Virginia (SSN-774)
| |
| Career |
|
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 30 September 1998 |
| Laid down: | 2 September 1999 |
| Christened: | 16 August 2003 |
| Launched: | 16 August 2003 |
| Commissioned: | 23 October 2004 |
| Fate: | Active in service as of 2006. |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 7,800 tons |
| Length: | 114.9 meters (377 feet) |
| Beam: | 10.3 meters (34 feet) |
| Draft: | 9.3 meters (30.5 feet) |
| Propulsion: | S9G reactor |
| Speed: | 25 knots (46 km/h) surfaced, 32 knots (59 km/h) submerged (designed) |
| Armament: | 12 VLS tubes, four 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes |
| Crew: | 113 officers and men |
| Motto: | Sic Semper Tyrannis (Thus Always To Tyrants) |
The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 30 September 1998 and her keel was laid down on 2 September 1999. She was launched on 16 August 2003 sponsored by Lynda Johnson Robb, the wife of former Virginia governor and senator Charles Robb, and daughter of President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson. On 10 March and 11 March, the prospective submarine shot 12 dummy torpedoes into the Thames River from each of the boat's four tubes.
Virginia was delivered to the Navy on 12 October 2004, the 104th anniversary of the commissioning of Holland, the Navy's second submarine. She was commissioned on 23 October 2004 under the command of David J. Kern. This class of submarine is unique in that it features a [Photonics Mast] Program (PMP) that freed ship designers to place the ship's control room in a lower, less geometry-constrained space than would be required by a standard, optical tube periscope. It is additionally unique in the U.S. Navy for featuring all-digital ship and ballast control systems that are manned by relatively senior watchstanders.
On 23 November, 2005, Virginia completed her first deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism. On 12 January 2006, Virginia entered Electric Boat's shipyard for post-shakedown availability, which is expected to last for most of 2006.
See USS Virginia for other ships of the same name.
References
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register and various press releases. Other information obtained from US Navy's [official Web site].
| Virginia-class submarine |
| Virginia | Texas | Hawaii | North Carolina | New Hampshire | New Mexico |
| List of submarines of the United States Navy List of submarine classes of the United States Navy |
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