Navy commissions its newest submarine, the USS Iowa
The Virginia-class nuclear submarine is the first submarine to bear the name of the state.
Nicholas Slayton
Published Apr 6, 2025 12:50 PM EDT
The U.S. Navy welcomed a new USS Iowa into its service this weekend. The new nuclear submarine, SSN-797, was commissioned on Saturday, April 5, not in Iowa, but at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.
The commissioning ceremony — with cold and dreary weather, as many speakers noted — included its captain, Cmdr. Gregory Coy, and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, among others. Saturday’s event was Phelan’s first commissioning as secretary. Despite the poor weather, the speakers were cheerful and praised the crews that built the submarine and the submariners that will crew it.
The USS Iowa is the fourth Navy vessel to be named for the state, and the first to be a submarine. The first three were all battleships; the first served during the Spanish-American War, while the second was never completed. The third and most famous, the lead ship of the Iowa-class battleships, served during World War II, fighting extensively in the Pacific Theater, and the Korean War, before being decommissioned in 1990. During its service the ship gained the nickname t he “Gray Ghost.” It’s currently part of a maritime museum.
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