| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Awarded: | 31 October 1973 |
| Laid down: | 20 January 1981 |
| Launched: | 19 March 1983 |
| Commissioned: | 10 March 1984 |
| Fate: | Active, in commission |
| Homeport: | NS Norfolk, Virginia |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 5695 tons light, 6068 tons full, 373 tons dead |
| Length: | 110.3 meters (362 feet) |
| Beam: | 10 meters (33 feet) |
| Draft: | 9.7 meters (32 feet) |
| Propulsion: | one S6G reactor |
| Complement: | 12 officers, 98 men |
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 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 31 October 1973 and her keel was laid down on 20 January 1981. 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 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.
While Minneapolis-St. 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 St. Paul. The previous USS St. Paul, CA-73, was the last big-gun heavy cruiser in the United States Navy, and held the distinction of having fired the final shot of the Vietnam War.
Minneapolis–Saint Paul took part in Operation Desert Shield and the Gulf War and was the first submarine to carry Tomahawk missiles specifically designated for use in strikes against Iraq during the Gulf War.
See USS Minneapolis–Saint Paul for other ships of the same name.