USS John Warner
 John Warner during the commissioning ceremony. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name: | USS John Warner |
| Namesake: | John Warner |
| Awarded: | 22 December 2008 |
| Builder: | GD Electric Boat and HII Newport News |
| Laid down: | 16 March 2013 |
| Sponsored by: | Jeanne Warner |
| Christened: | 6 September 2014 |
| Launched: | 10 September 2014 |
| Commissioned: | 1 August 2015 |
| Homeport: | Naval Station Norfolk |
| Identification: | SSN-785 |
| Motto: | Legati ad Defendam Libertatem ("On a Mission to Protect Freedom") |
| Status: | in active service[1] |
| Badge: |
 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Virginia-class submarine |
| Displacement: | 7,800 tonnes (7,700 long tons) |
| Length: | 114.9 m (377 ft) |
| Beam: | 10.3 m (34 ft) |
| Installed power: | S9G reactor; 33 year service life[2] |
| Propulsion: | Pump-jet propulsor 40,000 shp (30,000 kW)[3] |
| Speed: | 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)[4] |
| Range: | Essentially unlimited distance |
| Complement: | 132 Sailors |
| Crew: | 15 Officers and 117 Enlisted [1] |
| Armament: |
12 × VLS (BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile) & 4 × 533mm torpedo tubes (Mk-48 torpedo) |
USS John Warner (SSN-785) is a Virginia-class submarine of the United States Navy. It is the first in the class to be named after a person; the first 11 Virginia-class subs were named after states.[5] John Warner was originally to be built by the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics in Groton, Connecticut but the contract was later transferred to Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding. This ship is the second of the Block III subs, which will have a revised bow and some technology from Ohio-class cruise missile submarines.[6] The vessel supports 40 weapons, special operations forces, unmanned undersea vehicles, Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS).
The name was announced on 8 January 2009, five days after John Warner, a Republican from Virginia, retired after serving 30 years as a United States Senator.[7] John Warner is one of a few U.S. Navy vessels to be named for a living person, and only the third American nuclear-powered submarine with this distinction, after the USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709), a Los Angeles-class submarine, and USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), a Seawolf-class submarine.
Construction began on 29 April 2009 with the keel laying ceremony being held on 16 March 2013. Because of the modular construction sequence, the submarine was reportedly already about 59% complete before the official keel laying.[8] The submarine was christened on 6 September 2014.[9]
John Warner was commissioned on 1 August 2015 with Commander Dan Caldwell as the Commanding Officer.[10][11]
References
- 1 2 "John Warner (SSN 785)". Naval Vessel Register. 25 June 2015.
- ↑ "U.S. Naval Reactors". Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ↑ Ragheb, M (11 November 2010). "Nuclear Marine Propulsion" (pdf). Rensselaer Hartford.
- ↑ "US Navy Fact File". US Navy Fact File.
- ↑ "About the Submarine". Huntington Ingalls Industries. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
- ↑ "Virginia Block III: The Revised Bow". Retrieved 20 May 2008.
- ↑ "Navy Names Virginia Class Submarine USS John Warner". DefenseLink.mil. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
- ↑ "Huntington Ingalls Industries". Globenewswire.com. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
- ↑ "Warner Christening". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ↑ Copeland, Kevin. ""On a Mission to Defend Freedom" – USS John Warner is Commissioned". America's Navy. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "Virginia-Class Block III Submarine USS John Warner (SSN 785) Commissioned". 4 August 2015.