Submarines Military
USS North Carolina (SSN-777), a Virginia-class attack submarine, is the fourth ship of the United States Navy named for the 12th U.S. state. 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.
This class of submarine is unique in that it features a 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 manned by relatively senior watchstanders and a pressure chamber to deploy SEAL divers while being submerged. It is capable of diverse missions, including conventional submarine warfare, strike warfare, mining operations, and delivery of special operations personnel and equipment.
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, the former director of Naval Reactors. Captain Mark E. Davis, a native of upstate New York, was the ship's first commanding officer and leads a crew of approximately 134 officers and enlisted personnel.
The boat has physical connections to previous North Carolinas. Sections of the teak decking from previous North Carolina are reused within the submarine, and several pieces from a silver serving set made for the armored cruiser ACR-12, then transferred through the state governor to the battleship will be used aboard SSN-777. More details
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, the former director of Naval Reactors. Captain Mark E. Davis, a native of upstate New York, was the ship's first commanding officer and leads a crew of approximately 134 officers and enlisted personnel.
The boat has physical connections to previous North Carolinas. Sections of the teak decking from previous North Carolina are reused within the submarine, and several pieces from a silver serving set made for the armored cruiser ACR-12, then transferred through the state governor to the battleship will be used aboard SSN-777. More details
