USS ''West Virginia'' (SSBN-736) is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ballistic missile submarine. She has been in commission since 1990. She is the third U.S. Navy ship to be named for

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

, the 35th

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, and the 11th of 18 ''Ohio''-class submarines.

Construction and commissioning

The contract to build ''West Virginia'' was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London i ...

, on 21 November 1983 and her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid down there on 24 December 1987. She was launched at Electric Boat in Groton Connecticut on 14 October 1989, sponsored by Mrs. Erma Byrd, wife of

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, and commissioned on 20 October 1990, in the dry-dock of the Kings Bay Georgia Submarine Base, with Captain J. R. Harvey in command of the Blue Crew and Captain Donald McDermott in command of the Gold Crew.

Service history

''West Virginia'' is based at

Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is a base of the United States Navy located adjacent to the city of St. Marys in Camden County, Georgia, on the North River in southeastern Georgia, and 38 miles (61 km) from Jacksonville, Florida. The Submari ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. On 29 December 2008, Captain Daniel Mack, commander of Submarine Squadron 16/20, relieved ''West Virginia''s commanding officer, Commander Charles "Tony" Hill, of command "due to a loss of confidence" in Hills ability to command. Captain Stephen Gillespie was assigned as ''West Virginia''s temporary commanding officer. In September 2010 the approximate 300 Sailors assigned to the two crews that alternate patrols on ''West Virginia'' merged into one crew of about 110 sailors during the overhaul and refueling, which was done at the Norfolk Navy Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Virginia, beginning in early 2011. Commander Adam D. Palmer relieved Commander Steven K. Hall as commanding officer of ''West Virginia'' during a change of command ceremony 9 September at Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. Commander Joseph W. Coleman relieved Commander Palmer during a change of command ceremony 25 November 2014 at St. Mary's Waterfront in St. Mary's, Georgia. On 24 October 2013, ''West Virginia'' departed Norfolk Naval Shipyard after a thirty-month refuel and overhaul. On 3 November 2013 she returned to her homeport of Kings Bay, Georgia.

Community Support

''West Virginia''s Blue and Gold crew members regularly return to the state of West Virginia to participate in parades, community service projects and initiatives. West Virginia's commissioning crew established a relationship with the West Virginia Children's Home (WVCH) in 1990. WVCH Director Carson Markley, who attended the ship's commissioning, appreciates the special bond between the ship and the WVCH.

''West Virginia'' in fiction

*In

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have ...

's 1994 novel ''

Debt of Honor ''Debt of Honor'' is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on August 17, 1994. A direct sequel to '' The Sum of All Fears'' (1991), Jack Ryan becomes the National Security Advisor when a secret cabal of Japanese industria ...

'', ''West Virginia'' is one of several submarines sent to deal with a Japanese

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

of the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

. She is used as a "slow-attack" submarine, relying on her stealthiness and her

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s in combating Japanese forces. *In one scenario of the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

series Doomsday, ''West Virginia'' and her crew are (briefly) the last surviving remnant of Earth after it is destroyed by a rogue planet, momentarily kept preserved in ocean water sucked off the planet.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:West Virginia (SSBN-736) Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Ohio-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1989 ships Submarines of the United States