USS Texas (SSN-775)
PCU Texas (SSN-775), a Virginia-class submarine, will be the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 28th state.
The contract to build her was awarded to the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard (then called Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.) in Newport News, Virginia on 30 September 1998 and her keel was laid down on 12 July 2002. She was christened on 31 July 2004 by Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States. United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) was the keynote speaker for the ceremony, which also included Northrop Grumman Newport News President Tom Schievelbein, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England, Director of Naval Reactors Admiral "Skip" Bowman, and other dignitaries.
Texas is scheduled to join the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in September 2006. The ship was originally scheduled to launch in June 2005, but construction delays have twice caused the Navy to extend its completion estimates.[1] On 17 May 2006 Texas successfully completed her initial sea trials.
Texas is scheduled to be commissioned on 9 September 2006 in Galveston, Texas, sponsored by First Lady of the United States Laura Bush. Texas is expected to arrive at Galveston Bay five days earlier, and to be escorted into the harbor by Elissa, the official tall ship of Texas.
See USS Texas for other ships of that name.
References
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.
