Ship Information · SSN-750
The boat, in reference
The third U.S. Navy ship named for the city — a Los Angeles-class attack submarine built in the same yard as the cruiser whose name she took. This page keeps her facts compact; her full story is told on The Submarine.
Identity
The Navy awarded her contract on 19 April 1982 to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. Her keel was laid 3 March 1984; she was launched on 15 March 1986, sponsored by Mrs. Rosemary D. Trible; and she commissioned on 3 June 1989 at Naval Station Norfolk. An improved Los Angeles-class boat — the "688i" flight — she carried twelve vertical launch tubes for Tomahawk missiles fitted forward of her sail.
Her insignia, as the committee's original page described it, was an ellipse echoing the shipyard's own mark, bearing the Victory Arch and stars for the two earlier ships named Newport News. Her motto was chosen for the name: Magni Nominis Umbra, "under the shadow of a great name."
Facts
| Namesake | City of Newport News, Virginia — the third U.S. Navy ship of the name |
|---|---|
| Class | Los Angeles-class (688i flight) nuclear-powered attack submarine |
| Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia |
| Contract awarded | 19 April 1982 |
| Laid down | 3 March 1984 |
| Launched | 15 March 1986; sponsor Mrs. Rosemary D. Trible |
| Commissioned | 3 June 1989, Naval Station Norfolk |
| Inactivated | 31 January 2026, Naval Station Norfolk |
| Motto | Magni Nominis Umbra — "under the shadow of a great name" |
| Length | 362 feet |
| Beam | 33 feet |
| Displacement | About 6,000 tons surfaced / 6,900 submerged |
| Propulsion | One S6G nuclear reactor; one shaft |
| Armament | Four 21-inch torpedo tubes; twelve vertical-launch tubes for Tomahawk cruise missiles |
| Complement | About 130 officers and enlisted |
| Homeports | Norfolk, Virginia (1989–2022); Groton, Connecticut (2023–2026); Norfolk again for her final week |
| Status | Inactivated; bound for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard recycling — as of 2026 |
Status, as of 2026
She returned to Naval Station Norfolk on 23 January 2026 and was inactivated there on 31 January — announced by NAVADMIN 034/26 — bound for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to be defueled and recycled under the Navy's Ship-Submarine Recycling Program.
Related pages
The Submarine tells the full story — her crews, the Mogamigawa night, the homecomings, and the citizens' committee that stood behind her. That committee's own history is on the Liaison Committee page.