| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Awarded: | 14 December 1988 |
| Laid down: | 21 April 1993 |
| Launched: | 24 September 1994 |
| Commissioned: | 9 October 1995 |
| Fate: | Active, in commission |
| Homeport: | Pearl Harbor |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 6000 tons light, 6927 tons full, 927 tons dead |
| Length: | 110.3 meters (362 feet) |
| Beam: | 10 meters (33 feet) |
| Draft: | 9.4 meters (31 feet) |
| Propulsion: | one S6G reactor |
| Complement: | 12 officers, 98 men |
| Motto: | Preserving Freedom On The Seas |
USS Columbia (SSN-771), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the eighth ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. The earlier Columbias were given their names for differing reasons; SSN-771 was specifically named in honor of Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri, and Columbia, Illinois. There are other ColumbiaNote: The similar sounding country uses a different spelling--see Colombia. Columbia is a name used in the English language for many things and places. The name is derived from that of Christopher Columbus. The term " Pre-Columbian" is used for American cs in the United States; see that disambiguation page for a complete list.
The contract to build Columbia was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General DynamicsGeneral Dynamics is a defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures. It has changed markedly in the post- Cold War era of defense consolidation. Nicholas D. Chabraja is the CEO. Product lines as of 2002 Aerospace business aircraft Combat Systems Corporation in Groton, ConnecticutGroton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,907. Groton is the home of the Electric Boat Corporation, the major contractor for submarine work for the US Navy, on 14 December 1988 and her keel was laid down on 21 April 1993. She was launchedThe ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old. A Babylonian narrative dating from the 3rd millennium BC describes the completion of a ship: :Openings to the water I stopped; :I searched for crac on 24 September 1994 with the traditional slide down a 1300-foot wooden ramp, the last American submarine expected to be launched in this dramatic fashion. Future submarines built in the United States will be launched by flooding the dry dock where they are built. Columbia was sponsored by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and commissioned on 9 October 1995, with Commander Dale Govan in command.
See USS Columbia for other ships of the same name.