USS North Carolina (SSN-777)

USS North Carolina (SSN-777), a Virginia-class attack submarine, is the fourth vessel of the United States Navy named for U.S. state of North Carolina. The contract to build her was awarded to Northrop Grumman Newport News on 30 September 1998 and her keel was laid down on 24 May 2004. She was launched on 5 May 2007. North Carolina was commissioned on 3 May 2008 in Wilmington, North Carolina.

For other ships with the same name, see USS North Carolina.

USS North Carolina (SSN-777) during her commissioning ceremony in 2008.
History
United States
NameNorth Carolina
NamesakeState of North Carolina
Ordered30 September 1998
BuilderNorthrop Grumman Newport News
Laid down22 May 2004
Christened21 April 2007
Launched5 May 2007
Acquired21 February 2008
Commissioned3 May 2008
HomeportPearl Harbor, Hawaii
MottoPrimus in Proelio ("First in Fight")
Nickname(s)The Lucky Girl
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeVirginia-class submarine
Displacement7,800 tons
Length114.9 m (377 ft)
Beam10.3 m (34 ft)
Depth800 ft (244 m)
Propulsion
  • 1 × S9G PWR nuclear reactor[1] 280,000 shp (210 MW), HEU 93%[2][3]
  • 2 × steam turbines 40,000 shp (30 MW)
  • 1 × single shaft pump-jet propulsor[1]
  • 1 × secondary propulsion motor[1]
Speed25 knots (46 km/h)+
RangeEssentially unlimited distance; 33 years
Complement134 officers and men
Armament12 × VLS (BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile) & 4 × 533 mm torpedo tubes (Mark 48 torpedo)

This class of submarine is unique in that it features the Photonics Mast Program (PMP) that freed ship designers to place the boat's control room in a lower, less geometrically 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 operated by relatively senior watchstanders and a pressure chamber to deploy SEAL divers while being submerged. She is capable of diverse missions, including conventional submarine warfare, strike warfare, mining operations, and delivery of special operations personnel and equipment.[4]

History

The contract to build her was awarded to Northrop Grumman Newport News (then called Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company) in Newport News, Virginia on 30 September 1998 and her keel was laid down on 22 May 2004. She was christened on 21 April 2007 sponsored by Linda Bowman, wife of Admiral Frank L. "Skip" Bowman, former director of Naval Reactors.

The boat has physical connections to previous ships named North Carolina. Sections of the teak decking from USS North Carolina (BB-55), a fast battleship that served in World War II, are reused within the submarine, and several pieces from a silver serving set made for USS North Carolina (ACR-12), a World War I-era armored cruiser, transferred through the state governor to the battleship will be used aboard the submarine.[5]

North Carolina joined the fleet on 21 February 2008, after problems with the boat's steam valve and internal piping system had forced two delays in the acceptance of the vessel.[6] Welding issues in the internal piping system scuttled a first-planned December 2007 delivery, and the discovery of an inadequate steam valve forced a further delay from January to February 2008.

The ship's official commissioning ceremony was held on 3 May 2008, in Wilmington, North Carolina.[7] The submarine joined the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet based in New London, Connecticut.[8]

In 2010, North Carolina changed homeports from Naval Submarine Base New London to Naval Station Pearl Harbor.[9] She left Groton for Pearl Harbor on 22 July 2010 and arrived at her new homeport, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, on Monday, 15 November 2010 after her four-month transfer activities. During the transfer, the officers and crew of North Carolina conducted a series of exercises designed to test the boat's new combat systems and stealth capabilities. North Carolina is the third Virginia-class attack submarine to be homeported at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam and is assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron 1.[10]

  • Keel laying ceremony 22 May 2004
    Keel laying ceremony 22 May 2004
  • Miss USA 2005, Chelsea Cooley, during a tour of North Carolina, July 2005
    Miss USA 2005, Chelsea Cooley, during a tour of North Carolina, July 2005
  • Christening of North Carolina 21 April 2007
    Christening of North Carolina 21 April 2007
  • Commissioning ceremony, 3 May 2008
    Commissioning ceremony, 3 May 2008

References
  1. Ragheb, Magdi (9 September 2011), Tsvetkov, Pavel (ed.), "Nuclear Naval Propulsion", Nuclear Power - Deployment, Operation and Sustainability, ISBN 978-953-307-474-0
  2. "Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors" (PDF). dspace.mit.edu. June 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  3. "US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel". fissilematerials.org. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  4. "A History of Ships Named for the State of North Carolina". Battleship North Carolina. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  5. Worthington, Don (3 June 2007). "The USS North Carolina: Ceremony set for America's latest attack sub". The Fayetteville Observer. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007. We call this physical legacy transfer. You don't often get the opportunity to transfer history.
  6. Fish, Tim (5 March 2008). "US Navy finally takes delivery of North Carolina". Jane's Defence Weekly. p. 31.
  7. Beckwith, Ryan Teague (6 September 2007). "USS North Carolina to visit namesake". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  8. Zeldis, Jennifer, Lt. (4 May 2008). "USS North Carolina Joins the Fleet". Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic, U.S. Navy. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Gutridg, Ronald (7 January 2010). "USS North Carolina to Homeport in Pearl Harbor". United States Navy. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  10. "Submarine Squadrons". COMSUBPAC. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
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