The country’s newest fast-attack submarine and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name, USS Idaho (SSN 799), was commissioned at SUBASE New London on Saturday, 25 April.
Sailors assigned to the Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Idaho (SSN 799) man the rails during a commissioning ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn., on April 25, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo 260425-N-UM744-1007 by John Narewski/Submarine Readiness Squadron (SRS) 32)
One of 10 Block IV Virginias, Idaho, carries two multipurpose Virginia Payload Tubes (VPT) forward, seen open in the above image, allowing her to carry and launch a dozen Tomahawks or similar missiles vertically. This is in addition to her 25 slots for Mk-48 ADCAPS or Harpoons fired from her four forward tubes.
The future USS Idaho (SSN 799) seen on builders trials 251215-N-N2201-002
Named for “The Gem State,” SSN 799 will operate as part of SUBRON4 and is expected to have a 33+ year life cycle, surpassing that of the fourth USS Idaho (Battleship No.42), which commissioned in 1919 and, after earning seven battle stars during WWII, was scrapped in 1947.
Nice to see the name return to the Navy List after a nearly 80-year break.
USS Idaho (BB-42) passing through the Panama Canal, c. 1945 National Archives 80-G-K-6572
The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the Submarine Force’s newest hunter-killer, the future USS Idaho (SSN 799), from Electric Boat on 15 December.
And with that, the Navy List is looking very 1944ish.
The future USS Idaho (SSN 799) on builders trials 251215-N-N2201-002
Idaho is the 26th Virginia-class submarine co-produced by EB and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding through a long-standing teaming arrangement. It is the 14th delivered by EB and is the eighth of 10 Block IV-configured attack submarines.
The future USS Idaho is the fifth Navy ship to be named for the state of Idaho. The first was a wooden-hulled storeship commissioned in 1866. The last was Battleship No. 42, which was commissioned in 1919 and received seven battle stars for service in World War II, then ignobly sold for scrap in 1947.
USS Idaho (BB-42) ship’s company posed on the after deck and after 14 gun turrets, circa 1938. Note Curtiss SOC-3 Seagull floatplanes, of Observation Squadron Three, atop the Turret # 3 catapult and on deck to port of the turrets. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Vice Admiral Alexander Sharp, USN. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.Catalog #: NH 83900
She joins the fifth (completed) U.S. Navy vessel named for the Bay State, the future USS Massachusetts (SSN 798), which was delivered to the service from Newport News on 21 November.
Future USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) on builder’s acceptance trials. 251008-N-MQ094-002
The last and most famous to carry the name thus far (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)
While Idaho and Massachusetts are set to be commissioned in 2026, the current USS Iowa (SSN 797) was commissioned in April.
Sailors attached to the fast-attack submarine USS Iowa man the newly commissioned sub during a ceremony in Groton, Conn., April 5, 2025. The Iowa operates under Submarine Squadron 4, which provides fast-attack submarines that are ready, prepared, and committed to meet the unique challenges of undersea combat and deployed operations in unforgiving environments across the globe. Navy Chief Petty Officer Joshua Karsten
The last Iowa, the famed class-leading fast battleship BB-61, which was christened on 27 August 1942, was only stricken from the NVR on 17 March 2006 and endures as a floating museum at Los Angeles, the only West Coast battlewagon.
USS Iowa (BB-61) off Pearl Harbor, en route to the U.S. at the end of her Korean War combat tour. The photograph is dated 28 October 1952. Note the ship’s hull number (61) and U.S. Flag painted atop her forward turrets. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command. Catalog #: NH 44536
Lots of stuff for those interested in periscopes lately.
New Dutch Boats
The Dutch, eschewing a domestic(ish) submarine-making initiative between Sweden’s Saab Kockums and Damen, and opting not to go German, have instead turned south and tapped France’s Naval Group to build four new SSKs to replace their aging Walrus-class boats which have been in service since the late 1980s.
The $6 billion project will see the Dutch go with conventional Shortfin Barracuda models similar to the ones proposed to Australia a couple of years ago, capping a 10-year initiative to replace the RDM-built Walruses.
A Naval Group mockup showing a Shortfin Barracuda with the current Walrus class sailing off into the sunset
The class will be known as the Orka class and will carry traditional Dutch submarine names (Orka, Zwaardvis, Barracuda, and Tijgerhaai). The first two will be delivered within a decade after the contract has been signed.
The Dutch have been in the sub business for the past 118 years, commissioning the Damen-built Onderzeeboot Hr. Ms. O-1, a Holland 7P type boat, in 1906. (NIMH 2158_012475)
Over the weekend, the Navy christened its newest Virginia-class hunter killer, the future USS Idaho (SSN 799), during a ceremony at EB in Groton.
The submarine, which began construction in 2017, will be the 26th Virginia and the fifth U.S. Navy ship to be christened with the name Idaho. She will be one of ten advanced Block IV boats of her class.
The last Navy warship named Idaho was the historic battleship BB 42, commissioned in 1919. That Idaho received seven battle stars for her World War II service and witnessed the signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay before she was sold for scrap in 1947.
USS Idaho (BB-42). Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Vice Admiral Alexander Sharp, USN. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 83900
More SSNs Appearing Down Under
And finally, the “improved” Los Angeles-class boat, USS Annapolis (SSN 760), recently arrived in HMAS Stirling in Perth.
ROCKINGHAM, Western Australia (March 10, 2024) – U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Annapolis (SSN 760) and HMAS Stirling Port Services crewmembers prepare the submarine to moor alongside Diamantina Pier at Fleet Base West in Rockingham, Western Australia, March 10, 2024.
This marks the second visit by a U.S. fast-attack submarine to HMAS Stirling since the announcement of the AUKUS [Australia, United Kingdom, United States] Optimal Pathway in March 2023. The Optimal Pathway is designed to deliver a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine capability to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
“Historically, we’ve had allied SSNs visit Australian ports for many decades totaling more than 1,800 days,” said Rear Adm. Matt Buckley, Head of Nuclear Submarine Capability at the Australian Submarine Agency. “Starting with USS North Carolina (SSN 777) last August, these visits are taking on a more important meaning for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Submarine Agency as we build the infrastructure, knowledge, and stewardship needed to establish SRF-West in 2027.”
Great SSN Memorial Concept
Speaking of 688s, the planned USS Cincinnati Cold War Memorial & Peace Pavilion was formally unveiled last week by the Cincinnati Navy League. It’s slated to open in spring 2025. USS Cincinnati (SSN-693) was commissioned in 1978 and, decommissioned in 1996, was fully recycled by 2014 with her reactor stored at Hanford.
Unlike some SSN memorials that are just sails or diving planes, the innovative Cinncinatti memorial will be full length, 360 feet long, and include about 100 tons of material from the former submarine including much of the fairweather, the 17-foot tall rudder, and a back-up diesel engine, which was painted red and referred to as the “Big Red Machine” in homage to the Reds’ baseball team lineup in the ’70s.
Which I think is very cool and would be a great way to better salute the memory of all these SSNs and SSBNs that have sailed since Nautilus. Add a small building for additional relics, photos, and keepsakes, and you are in business
