laststandonzombieisland

The fifth (completed) U.S. Navy vessel named for the Bay State, the future USS Massachusetts (SSN 798), was delivered to the service from Newport News on 21 November. She is the 25th Virginia/774-class submarine, the 12th delivered by the yard, and the seventh of 10 planned Block IV configured boats. Her commissioning is set for 2026.

Future USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) on builder’s acceptance trials. 251008-N-MQ094-002

Future USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) on builder’s acceptance trials. 251008-N-MQ094-001

Future USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) on builder’s acceptance trials. 251008-N-MQ094-003

The first USS Massachusetts was a 4-gun screw steamer built in 1845 and fought during the Mexican-American War.

The second, a 6-gunned screw steamer, fought in the Civil War– the bane of the Confederates on the Mississippi Coast and still has a fort named after her on Ship Island– while the third, an Indiana-class battleship (BB-2), fought in the Spanish-American War.

The last and most famous USS Massachusetts (BB-59) was commissioned in 1942 as a South Dakota-class fast battleship, earning 11 battle stars for exceptional service in WWII from Casablanca to Okinawa before being decommissioned in 1947. She remained in the Reserve Fleet until stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in June 1962 and continues to serve as a floating museum.

USS Massachusetts underway somewhere in the Pacific (1943)

Nice to see the name back on the Naval List.