USS Massachusetts (SSN-798)

USS Massachusetts (SSN-798), is a Virginia-class nuclear powered attack submarine currently being built for the United States Navy. She is the twenty-fifth boat of the class and the eighth vessel to be named for the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Then Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, announced the name on 8 November 2015 in an opinion piece for The Boston Globe.[4] She is the first vessel to be named after the Commonwealth since the now-preserved battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59) was decommissioned in 1947.[5]

For other ships with the same name, see USS Massachusetts.
USS Massachusetts (SSN-798)
Lead boat of Virginia class USS Virginia (SSN 774) returns to the General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard following the successful completion of its "alpha" sea trials in 2004.
USS Virginia (SSN-774)
lead boat of the Virginia-class
History
United States
NameMassachusetts
NamesakeCommonwealth of Massachusetts
Ordered28 April 2014[1]
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
Laid down11 December 2020[2]
Sponsored bySheryl Sandberg[2]
Christened6 May 2023[3]
IdentificationHull symbol: SSN-798
Motto
  • Pro Patria
  • ("For Country")
StatusUnder construction
General characteristics
Class and typeVirginia-class submarine
Displacement7,800 tons
Length377 ft (115 m)
Beam34 ft (10.4 m)
Draft32 ft (9.8 m)
PropulsionS9G reactor auxiliary diesel engine
Speed25 knots (46 km/h)
Endurancecan remain submerged for up to 3 months
Test depthgreater than 800 ft (244 m)
Complement
  • 15 officers
  • 120 enlisted
Armament12 VLS tubes, four 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes BGM-109 Tomahawk

Massachusetts was part of a $17.6 billion contract awarded by the U.S. Navy to prime contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat to construct ten Virginia-class submarines.[6] Her keel was laid 11 December 2020 at Newport News in a virtual ceremony because of the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] and christened by the ship sponsor Sheryl Sandberg on 6 May 2023.[3]

References
  1. "Naval Vessel Register".
  2. "Huntington Ingalls Industries Authenticates Keel of Virginia-Class Attack Submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798)" (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  3. "HII Christens-Virginia-Class Attack Submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798)" (Press release). HII. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  4. Mabus, Ray (8 November 2015). "New sub USS Massachusetts critical to growing fleet". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  5. Levenson, Eric (6 November 2015). "A nuclear attack sub will become the newest USS Massachusetts". Boston.com. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  6. "U.S. Navy Awards 'Largest Shipbuilding Contract' in Service History". USNI News. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
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