USS ''Rhode Island'' (SSBN-740) 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 A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – t ...

which has been in commission since 1994. She is the third U.S. Navy ship to be named for

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, the 13th state.

Construction and commissioning

Originally, another ''Ohio''-class submarine, SSBN-730, was to have been named ''Rhode Island''; a contract was awarded in 1977 for SSBN-730s construction 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 in 1981 with the name ''Rhode Island'' planned for the completed submarine. However, shortly after the sudden death of

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Henry M. Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington. A Cold War liberal and a ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, SSBN-730 was renamed while still under construction. The name ''Rhode Island'' was transferred to SSBN-740, for which a construction contract had not yet been awarded. The contract to build ''Rhode Island'' (SSBN-740) was awarded to the

Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...

Division of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

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 is ...

, on 5 January 1988 and her

was laid down there on 15 September 1988. She was launched on 17 July 1993, sponsored by Mrs. Kati Machtley, and commissioned on 9 July 1994, with

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John K. Eldridge commanding the Blue Crew and

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Michael Maxfield commanding the Gold Crew.

Service history

On 11 August 2009, ''Rhode Island'' rescued five Bahamian fishermen whose boat had capsized on 7 August 2009. ''Rhode Island''s medical staff tended to the four men and one boy before transferring them to a ship which took them to shore for further treatment. In 2010 ''Rhode Island'' was awarded the Battle "E" for Squadron 20. In 2011 ''Rhode Island'' was awarded the Omaha Trophy in recognition for superior performance and setting fleet standards in the field of strategic deterrence. From December 2015 to August 2018, ''Rhode Island'' was in Norfolk Naval Shipyard undergoing an Engineered Refueling Overhaul, in which her reactor was refueled and numerous other systems modernized. On 1 November 2022, ''Rhode Island'' arrived at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

for a scheduled port visit.

USS ''Rhode Island'' in popular culture

On 8 May 2007, ''Rhode Island'' was named the "official ballistic missile submarine" of the American satirical television show ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'' after crew members submitted photos of a "Colbert Nation" poster taken in different locations aboard the vessel. The connection to the show was made through one of the sailors who was engaged to Stephen Colbert's cousin.

References and notes

External links

* Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Ohio-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1993 ships Submarines of the United States {{US-submarine-stub