USS Minneapolis–Saint Paul (SSN-708)
Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the US Navy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
USS Minneapolis–Saint Paul (SSN-708), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the first vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the metropolitan area of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, although each city had been honored twice before. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 31 October 1973 and her keel was laid down on 20 January 1981. She was launched on 19 March 1983 sponsored by Mrs. Penny Durenberger (wife of Senator David Durenberger), and commissioned on 10 March 1984, with Commander Ralph Schlichter in command.
USS Minneapolis–Saint Paul (SSN-708) | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | Minneapolis-Saint Paul |
Namesake | Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota |
Ordered | 31 October 1973 |
Laid down | 20 January 1981 |
Launched | 19 March 1983 |
Commissioned | 10 March 1984 |
Decommissioned | 28 August 2008 |
Out of service | 22 June 2007 |
Stricken | 28 August 2008 |
Homeport | Pearl Harbor, HI |
Status | Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling. |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Los Angeles-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 110.3 m (361 ft 11 in) |
Beam | 10.0 m (32 ft 10 in) |
Draft | 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in) |
Propulsion | 1 × S6G reactor |
Range | Unlimited distance; 20–25 years |
Complement | 12 officers, 98 enlisted |
While Minneapolis–Saint Paul was the first vessel named for the Twin Cities as a whole, she is the third ship to be named for Minneapolis as well as the third to be named for Saint Paul. The previous Saint Paul, was the last big-gun heavy cruiser in the United States Navy, and held the distinction of having fired World War II's final (naval) shots.