The US Navy has unveiled names of its two newest Virginia-class (SSN 774) fast-attack nuclear submarines.
As informed, the submarines will be named after the American heroes of the Greatest Generation who perished in the former USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and USS Arizona (BB-39), bringing those names back into active-duty service after more than three quarters of a century.
Acting Secretary of the US Navy Thomas B. Modly proclaimed his decision to name the next two submarines, SSN-802 and SSN-803, respectively, on December 23.
“I am honored and humbled to name the next two Virginia-class nuclear fast-attack submarines to be built as the USS Oklahoma (SSN-802) and the USS Arizona (SSN-803),” Modly said.
“It is my fondest wish that the citizens of the great states of Arizona and Oklahoma will understand and celebrate our Navy’s desire to memorialize the 1,177 heroes who perished in USS Arizona (BB-39) and the 429 more in USS Oklahoma (BB-37) in Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941.”
The USS Oklahoma would be the first of the nine so-called Block V submarines to be constructed for the navy by General Dynamics Electric Boat.
Virginia-class fast-attack submarines displace 7,800 tons, with a hull length of 377 feet and a diameter of 34 feet. They are capable of speeds in excess of 25 knots and can dive to a depth greater than 800 feet, while carrying Mark 48 advanced capability torpedoes, Tomahawk land-attack missiles and unmanned underwater vehicles.