.Submarine delivered to U.S. Navy
GROTON, Conn. — It is one in a class of the most technologically advanced submarines of the United States — or any other — Navy, it was built ahead of schedule and under budget, and as was evidenced in full measure Thursday, it is the pride of both General Dynamics Electric Boat and its crew.
The submarine SSN-778, to officially be dubbed the USS New Hampshire, was officially handed over to the Navy during a ceremony at the dock of Electric Boat on Thursday morning after several weeks of sea trials in which it performed impeccably. Until the ceremony, the sub was still officially owned by Electric Boat.
After the ceremony, officers and crew proudly conducted a tour of the sub's state-of-the-art control room, as well as its mess and torpedo rooms.
"This is a great day for the United States Navy and for the men and women of Electric Boat," said John Casey, company president. "We had high hopes for the New Hampshire, and I'm happy to say it's exceeded all expectations."
The submarine, the fifth in the Virginia Class, was completed eight months early and $60 million under budget, he said. The estimated total cost was $2.4 billion.
And there's reason for that, said Navy Capt. Chris Pietras, who oversees construction of all subs at the Electric Boat yard. It took 1½ million fewer man hours to build the SSN-778 than it did the fourth in the Virginia Class, the USS Hawaii, and 3½ million man hours less than it took to build the first in the class, the USS Virginia.
"That's a pretty remarkable accomplishment. This is the most complete Virginia Class ship at delivery of any in the class," he said.
Both the crew and officials from Electric Boat were happy to show off the vessel and explain why it is so remarkable. It is roomy by submarine standards, officials said, but while crewmembers can pass, probably sideways, in the corridors, the stairs are strictly one-way.
"You'll hear people say, 'Upstairs,' 'Downstairs,'" said Glen Kline, chief of the sub, with a chuckle.
On the way to the control room are the bunk rooms of the more senior crew, six bunks to a room with a four-inch space below the mattresses for stowing belongings.
"Not a lot of room," said a crewmember.
The control room is dimly lighted, perhaps 25 by 18 feet, full of computer screens. Here, in a fairly confined space, 16 crewmembers are on duty at any one time, up to 25 during combat mode.
"It's the heart and soul of the ship," said Will Lennon, vice president of Electric Boat.
The pilot and copilot sit at a console that Lennon said almost mirrors that of an airplane, "but without the windshield."
Unlike older subs, there are no chart tables. Like the rest of this technologically advanced submarine, charts are digitalized. A series of antennas throughout the ship allows the crew to speak to each other via two-way radio, a new innovation with the Viriginia Class.
And there is no periscope, either. Instead, a photonics mast transmits a live image of the surface onto a computer screen. Crewmembers are able to see 360 degrees around the sub.
"It's very user friendly," said Lt. Cmdr. John Thompson, the ship's executive officer. "This stuff is intuitive for the younger guys."
It was nearing noon as the tour proceeded to the mess. On the menu was American chop suey, roast beef and white cake with chocolate frosting.
"I can tell you personally they eat well here," said Lennon, who went on the sea trials. "The cooking is fantastic."
The crew eats in long booths, four to a side. On the wall is a pencil sketch of the Old Man of the Mountain, a gift from a friend of the master chief cook.
Lennon was arguably most proud of the torpedo room, which can be retrofitted to include a rack of bunkbeds for visiting personnel, such as special operations forces.
Lennon explained that because Virginia Class submarines are so quiet, they can move into an enemy's sea space where a surface vessel would be denied access.
"Say the mission is to gather information about weapons of mass destruction," he said. "The special ops can go ashore, gather information and come back totally undetected."
The torpedo room can also be retrofitted to fill with torpedos. A track system allows them to be moved into position to one of four torpedo tubes.
The New Hampshire will take part in additional sea trials, now that it's fully owned by the Navy, before it heads to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in October for commissioning as part of the Virginia Class fleet.
"This is a fantastic ship," said Kline, "the best."
Seacoast Online
The submarine SSN-778, to officially be dubbed the USS New Hampshire, was officially handed over to the Navy during a ceremony at the dock of Electric Boat on Thursday morning after several weeks of sea trials in which it performed impeccably. Until the ceremony, the sub was still officially owned by Electric Boat.
After the ceremony, officers and crew proudly conducted a tour of the sub's state-of-the-art control room, as well as its mess and torpedo rooms.
"This is a great day for the United States Navy and for the men and women of Electric Boat," said John Casey, company president. "We had high hopes for the New Hampshire, and I'm happy to say it's exceeded all expectations."
The submarine, the fifth in the Virginia Class, was completed eight months early and $60 million under budget, he said. The estimated total cost was $2.4 billion.
And there's reason for that, said Navy Capt. Chris Pietras, who oversees construction of all subs at the Electric Boat yard. It took 1½ million fewer man hours to build the SSN-778 than it did the fourth in the Virginia Class, the USS Hawaii, and 3½ million man hours less than it took to build the first in the class, the USS Virginia.
"That's a pretty remarkable accomplishment. This is the most complete Virginia Class ship at delivery of any in the class," he said.
Both the crew and officials from Electric Boat were happy to show off the vessel and explain why it is so remarkable. It is roomy by submarine standards, officials said, but while crewmembers can pass, probably sideways, in the corridors, the stairs are strictly one-way.
"You'll hear people say, 'Upstairs,' 'Downstairs,'" said Glen Kline, chief of the sub, with a chuckle.
On the way to the control room are the bunk rooms of the more senior crew, six bunks to a room with a four-inch space below the mattresses for stowing belongings.
"Not a lot of room," said a crewmember.
The control room is dimly lighted, perhaps 25 by 18 feet, full of computer screens. Here, in a fairly confined space, 16 crewmembers are on duty at any one time, up to 25 during combat mode.
"It's the heart and soul of the ship," said Will Lennon, vice president of Electric Boat.
The pilot and copilot sit at a console that Lennon said almost mirrors that of an airplane, "but without the windshield."
Unlike older subs, there are no chart tables. Like the rest of this technologically advanced submarine, charts are digitalized. A series of antennas throughout the ship allows the crew to speak to each other via two-way radio, a new innovation with the Viriginia Class.
And there is no periscope, either. Instead, a photonics mast transmits a live image of the surface onto a computer screen. Crewmembers are able to see 360 degrees around the sub.
"It's very user friendly," said Lt. Cmdr. John Thompson, the ship's executive officer. "This stuff is intuitive for the younger guys."
It was nearing noon as the tour proceeded to the mess. On the menu was American chop suey, roast beef and white cake with chocolate frosting.
"I can tell you personally they eat well here," said Lennon, who went on the sea trials. "The cooking is fantastic."
The crew eats in long booths, four to a side. On the wall is a pencil sketch of the Old Man of the Mountain, a gift from a friend of the master chief cook.
Lennon was arguably most proud of the torpedo room, which can be retrofitted to include a rack of bunkbeds for visiting personnel, such as special operations forces.
Lennon explained that because Virginia Class submarines are so quiet, they can move into an enemy's sea space where a surface vessel would be denied access.
"Say the mission is to gather information about weapons of mass destruction," he said. "The special ops can go ashore, gather information and come back totally undetected."
The torpedo room can also be retrofitted to fill with torpedos. A track system allows them to be moved into position to one of four torpedo tubes.
The New Hampshire will take part in additional sea trials, now that it's fully owned by the Navy, before it heads to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in October for commissioning as part of the Virginia Class fleet.
"This is a fantastic ship," said Kline, "the best."
Seacoast Online
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