Search the Site with

General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

Cruise Books

About the Ship's Name

About the Ship's Coat of Arms

History

Homeports of USS Momsen

Image Gallery

to end of page

USS Momsen (DDG 92)

USS MOMSEN is the 14^th Flight IIA ARLEIGH BURKE - class guided missile destroyer and the Navy's first ship to honor Vice Admiral Charles Bowers "Swede" Momsen, who is best known for his efforts in the successful rescue of 33 crew members and the subsequent salvage of submarine USS SQUALUS after she sank in 240 feet of water in May 1939. He received a commendation from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for these actions.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS MOMSEN. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

back to top

go to the end of the page

• Click here to see which USS MOMSEN memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS MOMSEN Cruise Books:

• WestPac and Arabian Sea Cruise Book 2008

back to top

go to the end of the page

About the Ship's Name:

Charles Bowers Momsen was born in Flushing, Long Island, New York, on 21 June 1896. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating with the Class of 1920 in June 1919. Following initial service in battleships, he was trained as a Submarine Officer and commanded three submarines in 1923-27. Following those commands, Momsen was assigned to the Bureau of Construction and Repair. In 1929-32 he was actively engaged in the development of a submarine escape breathing apparatus that came to be known as the "Momsen Lung".

During the remainder of the 1930s, he held positions in submarines and surface ships and was in charge of Navy Experimental Diving. In 1939, Commander Momsen was involved in the salvage of the sunken submarine USS SQUALUS (SS 192). During World War II, he led two Submarine Squadrons, including service at sea as a "Wolf Pack" commander, and held other important staff and training positions. Captain Momsen was commanding officer of the battleship USS SOUTH DAKOTA in December 1944 - July 1945. During 1945-51, Rear Admiral Momsen administered the Japanese merchant marine, was Commandant of the Naval Operating Base at Guam, served on the Navy's General Board and was Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Undersea Warfare. In May 1951, he took command of the Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, holding that position until June 1953, when he became Commandant of the First Naval District. He was Commander, Joint Task Force Seven from April 1954 until September 1955, when he retired with an increased rank on the basis of combat awards. Vice Admiral Charles B. Momsen died on 25 May 1967.

back to top

go to the end of the page

About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

Gold and Dark Blue represent the Navy; Celeste (Light Blue) and arched chief symbolize world-wide capability. The single nebula rompu represents the submarine rescue chamber developed and tested by Vice Admiral Momsen and since used by the Navy in submarine rescue operations. The upper portion of the nebula is freed and rising from the main body to convey the function of the rescue chamber and Momsen Lung, devices conceived and developed by VADM Momsen to save trapped mariners from damaged and sunken submarines. The demi-trident symbolizes advanced weaponry and sea-power and its tines recall the attack pattern employed by VADM Momsen against convoys of Japanese shipping during Word War II. The dolphins, derived from the submariners' badge, and traditional friends of the sailor, refer respectively to the diving community and the individual submariners whose safety was the main concern of the Vice Admiral's own diving skills and the equipment testing he conducted at grave personal risk. Gold denotes achievement and excellence.

The Crest:

The stylized Navy Cross refers to that awarded to VADM Momsen for his heroism as Commander of an attack group of submarines against Japan's forces in the East China Sea during World War II. The blue and gold riband recalls the Distinguished Service Medal he received among many awards for his wartime service; the two gold stars refer to the legion of Merit. The swords denote readiness and ability to fight the cutlass represents the enlisted sailor and submariner. Together, in the form of the letter "V", they represent the Vice Admiral's Combat Awards. The Wreath, symbol of honor and achievement, recalls the many and various decorations made to him during his distinguished career. The Scarlet doubling on the riband symbolizes courage and sacrifice and refers to Navy support to Marine Corps forces. Gold denotes excellence.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS MOMSEN History:

USS MOMSEN was laid down at Bath Iron Works on November 16, 2001, launched on July 19, 2003, and commissioned on August 28, 2004, at Panama City, Florida, before shifting to her homeport at Naval Station Everett, Washington, to complete trials, certifications, and the basic training cycle.

Following local operations and workups in the eastern Pacific, MOMSEN sailed on her first Western Pacific deployment on April 6, 2006, conducting Seventh Fleet presence operations, exercises with allies in Northeast and Southeast Asia, and a string of logistics and liberty port visits along the traditional WestPac routes. She returned to Everett on September 22, 2006, having established her baseline in air defense watchstanding, maritime security, and coalition underway procedures.

On March 14, 2008, MOMSEN deployed with CARRIER STRIKE GROUP NINE to the Western Pacific and onward to the North Arabian Sea for maritime security operations supporting ongoing coalition campaigns tied to Iraq and Afghanistan. During the cruise she rendered assistance to distressed mariners in separate events typical of Fifth Fleet's constabulary mission set, and on October 12, 2008, she moored again in Everett after seven months at sea.

A third long deployment began in late 2010 with ABRAHAM LINCOLN's (CVN 72) strike group, carrying MOMSEN back to Fifth Fleet for escort and maritime security duty. On February 2, 2011, while operating in the Gulf of Oman amid a surge in piracy, MOMSEN and cruiser BUNKER HILL (CG 52) responded to the distress call of the Panamanian-flagged DUQM, broke up an attack by ladder-equipped skiffs, and subsequently neutralized the skiffs after tracking them to a mother ship - one episode in the broader Combined Task Force 151 counter-piracy effort of that period. The destroyer completed the deployment and returned to the Pacific in March 2011.

In 2013, MOMSEN shifted to an Asia-centric engagement profile. She joined CARAT Indonesia in the Java Sea in May, integrated at various points with forward-deployed carrier forces for Talisman Sabre in the Coral Sea and a search-and-rescue exercise in the Sea of Japan, and made port calls in Indonesia, Japan, Saipan, and Australia. She returned to Everett on August 22, 2013, closing a four-month Seventh Fleet period that reflected the Navy's emphasis on multilateral interoperability and presence.

The next year was dominated by a major maintenance period. In early 2014, the Navy awarded a docking selected restricted availability for MOMSEN at Vigor Shipyards, Seattle; the scope encompassed hull, mechanical and electrical repairs and combat-system modernization not feasible while waterborne. Work proceeded through the summer and, after approximately nine months in dry dock, the ship returned to Naval Station Everett on December 2, 2014, completing the availability on schedule.

With the dry-dock behind her, MOMSEN resumed the training pipeline in 2015. She got underway from Everett for post-availability trials on June 18, 2015, then moved through basic and integrated phases, sharpening air-defense, anti-submarine, and maritime interdiction competencies, and took part in Pacific Northwest outreach including Seattle Seafair Fleet Week in late July and early August. These events doubled as seamanship and public-affairs reps ahead of the next deployment.

On April 15, 2016, MOMSEN departed Everett to lead the inaugural Pacific Surface Action Group (PAC SAG) alongside DECATUR (DDG 73) and SPRUANCE (DDG 111), with Destroyer Squadron 31 staff embarked and HSM-49 helicopter detachments "Devil Fish" and "Warbirds" assigned across the trio. The SAG executed independent and combined patrols across the Western Pacific and South China Sea, called at Sasebo, Japan, from June 2-4, and visited Singapore on July 2 for logistics and crew rest. The deployment explored "distributed lethality" concepts - dispersed surface forces operating forward with flexible mission packages - before MOMSEN returned to Everett on November 10, 2016, after seven months on station.

Through early 2017, MOMSEN remained on the Everett waterfront for maintenance and crew rotation, holding a change of command on February 10. She then ramped up to another extended Indo-Asia-Pacific deployment later that year, operating in Seventh and Fifth Fleets with embarked helicopter detachments, integrating with carrier and amphibious groups for air-defense and maritime security tasking, and making a late-October liberty and logistics call linked to a carrier strike group visit to Colombo, Sri Lanka, as the Navy broadened engagement with the Indian Ocean littorals. MOMSEN paused in Pearl Harbor for fuel and stores on December 4 and moored in San Diego on December 10 en route home.

In August 2018, the destroyer shifted attention northward to the Arctic approaches. From August 15-18 she visited Anchorage, Alaska, in support of the Arctic Maritime Symposium hosted by Alaskan Command, a three-day forum for senior military leaders, interagency operators, and regional specialists to discuss emerging operational and logistical challenges as seasonal access improves in high latitudes. The port visit underscored the Pacific Fleet's growing focus on Arctic maritime awareness and combined planning.

MOMSEN's next independent deployment ran through much of 2019. She got underway in the summer with an HSM-35 detachment, spent time in the Yellow Sea and neighboring waters supporting U.N. sanctions enforcement against illicit DPRK maritime transfers and other maritime security tasks, and returned to Everett on October 28, 2019. The deployment highlighted the destroyer's dual capacity for high-end air and maritime defense and day-to-day enforcement missions with allies and partners.

After COVID-era training and maintenance, MOMSEN deployed with CARRIER STRIKE GROUP THREE in early 2022 for a seven-month, tri-fleet cruise. She operated across U.S. Third, Fifth, and Seventh Fleets, integrated frequently with allied navies in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, and in mid-April executed bilateral training with the Indonesian Navy focused on maneuvering and communications before returning to Everett on September 6, 2022.

In 2023, she blended community engagement with Southern Pacific partner exercises: the ship visited Port Angeles, Washington, on July 3-4, 2023, for Independence Day events, then shifted south in October for TEAMWORK SOUTH off Chile - sailing in formation with CNS ALMIRANTE WILLIAMS, CNS CAPITAN PRAT, CNS ALMIRANTE LYNCH, and oiler ALMIRANTE MONTT - and for SILENT FORCES EXERCISE with the Peruvian Navy, an ASW-focused series emphasizing coordinated surface-air prosecution of diesel submarines with her embarked MH-60R detachment.

In early 2024, she prepared to enter deep maintenance and modernization, and on May 31, 2024, MOMSEN entered dry dock in San Diego to commence her fiscal-year-2024 Depot Modernization Period - an overhaul combining hull, mechanical, electrical, and combat-system work typical of a mid-life destroyer reset. Through late 2024 and into the first half of 2025, she remained pier- and dock-side in San Diego under the DMP, with refit milestones that included undocking in early May 2025 after roughly ten months in dry dock and a subsequent stretch of pier-side testing, systems light-off, and crew certifications.

back to top

go to the end of the page

Homeports of USS MOMSEN:

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS MOMSEN Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by me and shows the MOMSEN at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 23, 2010.

The photo below was taken by Lars Ilchmann and shows the MOMSEN at Naval Station Everett, Wash., on January 7, 2016.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the MOMSEN at Naval Station Everett, Wash., on October 13, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning during an open ship event aboard USS MOMSEN as part of Seattle Seafair at Seattle, Wash., on August 3, 2018.

			Click here for more Photos.

The photos below were taken by me and show USS MOMSEN undergoing a Depot Modernization Period (DMP) at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair on July 26, 2024.

back to top

Back to Destroyers list.

Back to ships list.

Back to selection page.

Back to 1^st page.