State of Delaware Commissions New Nuclear Sub - Apr 2, 2022

 Today I had the privilege to (virtually) witness a commissioning of a new nuclear submarine called the USS Delaware in my home city. The ceremony was attended by Senator Tom Carper, Governor John Carney, County Executive Chris Coons, the Secretary of the Navy, President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.



The last time the United States Navy had a vessel called USS Delaware was more than a hundred years ago.  The last USS Delaware (BB-28) was a Dreadnought class battleship that served in World War 1. She was launched in 1910 and decommissioned in 1924. There were a few other USS Delaware ships, one that defended the Delaware River in 1776, another that replaced her after she was sunk a year or so later. One that served in the Civil War launched in 1861, another in 1868.  The 1861 vessel was built and launched by the Harlan & Hollingsworth steamship company right here in Wilmington. Her other namesakes served with distinction in the Navy of their time.

The previous USS Delaware.

Amusingly enough, it was a librarian who chose the name. A local librarian in Newark was a scholar of naval history and he saw that no ship had sailed named after Delaware for almost a century. So he wrote letters to the Secretary of the Navy, to Senator Tom Carper and First Lady Jill Biden asking if one of a series of new nuclear attack submarines under construction could bear the name. After a few months, the librarian's request was obliged.

The commissioning ceremony was originally scheduled for April 2020. The event was an mainly invitation for government officials and the crew's families. Only a limited number of public tickets were available. I wanted to attend in Hugh's memory, but sadly I learned about it a month after the tickets sold out. I started writing a letter to the authorities asking for an appeal to attend, but received no reply. As it turned out, it was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Delaware received her true commissioning at sea, while she was submerged. A first in Navy history.

I wanted to be present for this ceremony because my Grandpa attended several boat commissions in his life. He was an honorary guest when the SS-576 boat was dedicated in 1956, named Darter after his diesel boat from WWII. And he was on the crew that decommissioned her, thirty years later. (One of these days I will get around to uploading the video he had inside the control room as they were taking her out to sea one last time)

I know if he were still alive today, he would have come down here to see them off. And I hope he would be proud of me for wanting to be there.

This USS Delaware was built by General Dynamics and the Electric Boat Company, which has been building submarines since World War II.

As soon as a decent video of the live webcast is posted to Youtube, I will embed the video in this blog post.

They couldn't have picked a better day to do it. It was a beautiful sunny day here in Wilmington, with a clear blue sky and a warm breeze.  Fair winds and following seas, to the crew of the SS-791!