USS Minnesota (SSN-783)

USS Minnesota (SSN-783) departs Norfolk in January 2014
History
Name: USS Minnesota
Namesake: The state of Minnesota
Awarded: 14 August 2003
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding
Laid down: 20 May 2011[1]
Sponsored by: Ellen Roughead
Christened: 27 October 2012
Acquired: 6 June 2013
Commissioned: 7 September 2013
Homeport: Groton, Connecticut
Motto: Ex Septentrio Virtus ("From the North, power")
Status: in active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Virginia-class submarine
Displacement: app. 7800 long tons (7925 metric tons) submerged
Length: 114.9 meters (377 feet)
Beam: 10.3 meters (34 feet)
Propulsion: S9G reactor
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h)[2]
Range: Essentially unlimited distance; 33 years
Test depth: greater than 800 feet (250 meters)
Complement: 134 officers and men[2]

USS Minnesota (SSN-783) is a nuclear powered fast attack submarine, the 10th of the planned 48-boat Virginia-class. She is the third United States Navy vessel to bear the name and the second of two named for the state, while the other was named for the Minnesota River.

History

Minnesota under construction at Newport News, VA.
The crew of USS Minnesota mans the ship during her commissioning at Norfolk Naval Base on 7 September 2013.
A Sonar Technician stands lookout in the sail aboard Minnesota as the boat transits Port Canaveral, FL.
Minnesota pulls pierside in Norfolk, VA.

Minnesota was laid down on 20 May 2011, and christened on 27 October 2012 in a ceremony attended by many top ranking officials in the U.S. Navy and Congress.[1][3][4] On 6 June 2013, Huntington Ingalls Industries announced that Minnesota had been delivered to the Navy, nearly 11 months ahead of schedule.[5][6] Minnesota was commissioned on 7 September 2013.

After commissioning, Minnesota remained at the General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyards in Groton, CT for over two years. A broken pipe joint was discovered in the vessel's nuclear reactor. The pipe had been tampered with in order to make the part appear within specifications.[7][8] Although a failure of the pipe would not result in a reactor incident, it would affect the reactor's ability to produce steam used for propulsion.[8] The same issue has been discovered on two other boats in the class. A Navy investigation determined that two other ships had the same issue, and the U.S. Justice Department commenced an investigation of the contractor responsible for the defective parts.[7][8]

On 27 May 2016, Minnesota left the Electric Boat shipyards for her home port, Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, CT, to prepare for fleet operations.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs (20 May 2011). "Navy Lays Keel for PCU Minnesota". Navy News Service. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  2. 1 2 "The US Navy — Fact File". Retrieved 5 July 2007.
  3. ↑ Frost, Peter, "Newport News Shipyard Will Lay Keel Of Submarine Minnesota On Friday", Newport News Daily Press, 20 May 2011.
  4. ↑ Brunswick, Mark (26 October 2012). "USS Minnesota will be christened Saturday". Star Tribune. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  5. ↑ Walsh, Paul (6 June 2013). "Navy receives $2 billion attack sub USS Minnesota". Star Tribune. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "Submarine Minnesota Delivered On Budget and Ahead of Schedule" (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. GlobeNewswire. 6 June 2013.
  7. 1 2 Larter, David B. (27 March 2016). "Secret weld: How shoddy parts disabled a $2.7 billion submarine". Navy Times. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 Mizokami, Kyle (29 March 2016). "Billion-Dollar Attack Sub Sidelined for Two Years Over Shoddy Work". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "After more than two years at EB, USS Minnesota transferred to sub base to prepare for fleet operations". 27 May 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
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