USS Virginia (SSN 774)

USS VIRGINIA is the lead ship of the VIRGINIA - class of nuclear-powered attack submarines. The submarines in this class are the first US submarines designed for battlespace dominance across a broad spectrum of regional and littoral missions as well as open-ocean, "blue water" missions. The VIRGINIA - class achieves the right balance of core military capabilities and affordability.

Crew List:

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

About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

Emblazoned on a blue background that symbolizes the mighty deep, USS VIRGINIA is prominently positioned. The forward view of VIRGINIA denotes her leading the Submarine Force into a new century and onto a new and exciting course for the United States Navy. The gold lettering and border around the seal combined with the blue background represent the Navy’s colors of blue and gold. The silhouette of the Commonwealth of Virginia represents the state for which the ship is named. Each of the nine stars represents an American warship named VIRGINIA. The single point of light at the stern of the ship symbolizes both the nuclear propulsion plant that powers the submarine as well as the ship’s data processing system fiber optic backbone. In keeping with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s motto, the words “Sic Semper Tyrannis” (Latin for “Thus Always To Tyrants”) appear at the bottom, which combined with the symbolism of the Commonwealth’s Seal, represents the triumph of Virtue over Tyranny.

The image of George Washington also looks forward with VIRGINIA. George Washington, a Virginia native, has been characterized as the “indispensable man” vital to the formation of the republic. In all of history, few men who possessed unassailable power have used that power so selflessly and wisely for the welfare of their countrymen and all mankind.

USS VIRGINIA History:

USS VIRGINIA is the lead boat of the VIRGINIA-class nuclear-powered attack submarines and the tenth U.S. Navy vessel to carry the name of the Commonwealth of Virginia, following, among others, the nuclear-powered cruiser USS VIRGINIA (CGN 38). Conceived in the 1990s as a more affordable and flexible successor to the SEAWOLF-class, the VIRGINIA-program emphasized operations in both deep water and littorals, with strong intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, special operations support, and strike capacity via torpedoes and cruise missiles. VIRGINIA was the first U.S. submarine completely designed using computer-aided design tools and introduced a photonics mast and fully digital ship and ballast control systems, allowing the control room to be located on a lower deck and giving designers more freedom in internal layout.

The contract to build USS VIRGINIA was awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, on September 30, 1998. Her keel was laid at Groton on September 2, 1999, marking the formal start of construction of the new class's lead boat. Throughout the early 2000s, Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding shared module construction under the joint production arrangement developed for the VIRGINIA-program, with Electric Boat responsible for final assembly of USS VIRGINIA herself. VIRGINIA was launched at Groton on August 16, 2003, with Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson and wife of former Virginia governor and senator Charles Robb, serving as sponsor.

Following launch, the submarine underwent outfitting and a period of builder's sea trials off the New England coast. Contemporary Navy accounts describe a series of pre-delivery tests in which the prospective USS VIRGINIA fired dummy torpedoes from each of her four tubes into the Thames River near Groton to verify her combat systems and weapons handling. In these early trials the boat's photonics mast and digital control systems were exercised at sea for the first time, reflecting the Navy's shift away from traditional optical periscopes and analog control consoles.

VIRGINIA was formally delivered to the U.S. Navy on October 12, 2004, exactly 104 years after the commissioning of USS HOLLAND, the Navy's first modern submarine. In mid-October, she shifted from Groton to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for commissioning preparations. Photographic records show the pre-commissioning unit arriving there on October 18, 2004. On October 23, 2004, USS VIRGINIA was commissioned at Norfolk under the command of Captain David J. Kern, entering service as the first of her class and joining Submarine Force Atlantic with an assigned homeport at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton.

After commissioning, VIRGINIA began an intensive shakedown period from Groton. She conducted local operations to test her propulsion plant, navigation, sonar and combat systems, and to qualify her crew on the new-generation design. The boat's shakedown operations formed part of the Navy's broader effort to validate the VIRGINIA-class concept, which emphasized modular construction, reduced manning, and multi-mission flexibility in the context of the post-Cold War security environment.

The submarine's first operational cruise came the following year. On November 23, 2005, USS VIRGINIA returned to Submarine Base New London from her maiden deployment "in support of the Global War on Terrorism", a phrase used in Navy public releases and contemporary coverage. She had been commanded on this first deployment by Commander Todd W. Cramer. The deployment demonstrated the class's ability to integrate quickly into real-world operations in the early years of the post-9/11 campaigns, although the specific operating areas and missions for this first GWOT cruise remain largely classified.

Soon after completing her initial deployment, VIRGINIA entered a scheduled post-shakedown availability (PSA). On January 12, 2006, she went back into the Electric Boat shipyard at Groton for this intensive maintenance and modification period, which was expected to last for most of the year. During the PSA, shipbuilders and Navy engineers corrected deficiencies identified during shakedown, incorporated early lessons from fleet operations, and made design tweaks common to first-of-class vessels. The availability prepared her for sustained deployments while also feeding data back into the VIRGINIA-class construction and maintenance program.

By 2007 and 2008, photographs and Navy releases show USS VIRGINIA routinely operating in and out of New London, indicating her integration into the regular Atlantic Fleet training, exercise, and readiness cycle after the PSA. She conducted local operations and shorter underways that are not publicly documented in detail, but that would have included tactical development, certification events, and participation in fleet exercises as the Navy refined how best to employ its new class of multi-mission attack submarines.

VIRGINIA's first full-length six-month deployment, and the first such deployment by any VIRGINIA-class boat, began in autumn 2009. She departed Groton on October 15, 2009, for a deployment that official reports later highlighted as a key milestone for the program. During this cruise she operated in the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) areas of responsibility, demonstrating the class's ability to support a range of tasks from intelligence gathering to theater security cooperation across multiple regions. The submarine visited several ports, including Rota, Spain; Souda Bay, Crete; Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates; and Aksaz, Turkey, reflecting a route that linked the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and approaches to the Middle East at a time when U.S. forces were still heavily engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. Operating independently and with surface and air assets from allied navies, she provided a stealth platform for surveillance and presence in key maritime choke points. USS VIRGINIA returned to Groton on April 13, 2010, after this six-month cruise, having steamed roughly 37,000 miles. The deployment, described in Navy and defense analyses as highly successful, was used as an exemplar by program officials when arguing to Congress for sustained procurement of the class, underscoring that the new submarines were performing demanding real-world missions at high operational tempo.

Later in 2010, VIRGINIA entered the first major overhaul ever undertaken on a VIRGINIA-class submarine. She arrived at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) in Kittery, Maine, on September 1, 2010, to begin an Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA). This multi-year maintenance period aimed to inspect and refurbish the hull and internal systems after her initial deployments, incorporate design changes, and refine maintenance procedures for the class. PNSY engineers worked closely with Electric Boat, Newport News Shipbuilding and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, sharing technical data so that lessons from this first overhaul would guide future availabilities on other VIRGINIA-class boats. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard completed this first-of-class major maintenance availability in early May 2012, returning USS VIRGINIA to the fleet on May 5, 2012.

Within weeks, on June 29, 2012, the submarine was photographed passing under the Interstate 95 bridge as she returned to her homeport at Groton after post-availability trials and transits from Maine, a move the Navy described as her return to the "submarine capital of the world" following maintenance and upgrades. Additional images from August 2012 show her again arriving at Groton, indicating a period of local operations to verify systems, retrain the crew, and rebuild deployment readiness after nearly two years in dock.

On August 13, 2013, USS VIRGINIA departed Submarine Base New London to begin another six-month deployment, this time focused on the North Atlantic under U.S. Sixth Fleet and European Command. She operated in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas, reflecting the renewed emphasis on undersea operations in the North Atlantic as NATO navies monitored Russian submarine activity and maintained presence in waters near Northern Europe. After about half a year at sea, VIRGINIA returned to Groton on February 13, 2014. Navy reporting for this deployment notes that the submarine completed missions in the North Atlantic and made port calls in Norway, Scotland and England, underscoring her role in strengthening ties with key NATO allies and operating in challenging high-latitude environments.

Barely had that deployment ended when VIRGINIA was tasked with another, shorter surge mission. On March 28, 2014, she departed Groton again for a 14-week surge deployment to the European Command area of responsibility. This cruise, which lasted through early July, reflected the Navy's need to sustain attack-submarine presence in European waters during a period of heightened concern over Russia and instability along NATO's southern flank. Operating once more under Sixth Fleet, VIRGINIA conducted a mix of operational tasking and exercises before returning to Groton on July 3, 2014. At that point she had been deployed for nine of the preceding eleven months, a tempo highlighted by Navy officials as evidence of both crew resilience and the class's utility.

The following years saw VIRGINIA continue her Atlantic service under Submarine Squadron 4. In January, during one of her European deployments, she took part in an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Gulf of Cadiz with the guided-missile destroyer USS ROSS (DDG 71) and the Spanish frigate BLAS DE LEZO (F 103), training in coordinated submarine-hunting tactics with a NATO ally and a forward-deployed U.S. surface combatant. Exercises of this kind were designed to sharpen interoperability and ensure that surface and subsurface forces could operate together effectively in the busy sea lanes linking the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

On July 28, 2016, USS VIRGINIA returned to New London from another deployment to the European Command region. Under the command of Commander Steven Antcliff, she had again operated in the North Atlantic and nearby waters, steaming more than 35,000 nautical miles. During this deployment the submarine made port visits to Faslane, Scotland; Haakonsvern, Norway; and Plymouth, England. The Plymouth visit was notable as the first by a VIRGINIA-class submarine and the first visit by any U.S. submarine to that historic Royal Navy port since 2009, underlining the boat's role in visible reassurance to allies as well as in undersea operations. The deployment also saw numerous crew qualifications and promotions, reflecting the boat's function as both an operational asset and a platform for developing future leaders within the Submarine Force.

A change of command followed soon afterward. On September 2, 2016, at Groton, Commander Jeffrey Anderson relieved Commander Steven Antcliff as commanding officer of USS VIRGINIA during a ceremony aboard the submarine. Under Anderson's leadership, the boat prepared for another extended deployment to European waters.

By early 2018, VIRGINIA had completed yet another six-month cruise. On February 22, 2018, she returned to Submarine Base New London from a regularly scheduled deployment to the U.S. European Command area of operations. During this deployment, she steamed approximately 27,500 nautical miles and made port visits to Faslane, Scotland; Rota, Spain; and Haakonsvern, Norway. These ports reflected a pattern of operating with NATO allies around the approaches to the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic, at a time when undersea activity in the High North and North Atlantic was again a focus of allied attention. The Navy emphasized the large number of sailors who earned their submarine warfare "dolphins", along with multiple advancements and qualifications, during the cruise, highlighting the intensive training environment aboard a frontline fast-attack submarine.

Later that same year, USS VIRGINIA once again entered a major maintenance period. On September 26, 2018, local media in Maine recorded the submarine entering Portsmouth Harbor en route to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, indicating the start of a new extended availability. This mid-life availability was intended to carry out deeper maintenance and upgrades as the first-of-class boat reached the midpoint of her planned service life. A subsequent Congressional Research Service report on the VIRGINIA-class program noted in 2022 that USS VIRGINIA was "wrapping up a mid-life availability", and that lessons from this extended repair period and from other early boats in the class were being used to shape a class-wide maintenance plan and improve scheduling and material support for future overhauls. Together with her earlier EDSRA, this availability made VIRGINIA a pathfinder not only for the design and operational concepts of the class but also for its long-term sustainment strategy.

By the early 2020s, following completion of this availability, USS VIRGINIA returned to full operational service with Submarine Squadron 4 at Groton.

In 2024, she undertook another extended deployment to the U.S. European Command area. Under the command of Commander Mike Hartzell, the submarine deployed for approximately six months, during which she steamed more than 32,000 nautical miles. The cruise reflected the continuing importance of attack-submarine presence in the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea as NATO navies monitored Russian naval activities and paid increasing attention to the Arctic and High North. An unusual incident occurred during this deployment. On November 13, 2024, while operating off the coast of northern Norway near the island of Senja, USS VIRGINIA became entangled in the fishing gear of the Norwegian vessel ØYGUTT, which was halibut fishing at the time. According to Norwegian and international reporting, the submarine was caught in the nets but was able to free herself with assistance from the Norwegian Coast Guard, without apparent damage to the submarine or serious injury to those involved. The incident drew public attention to the presence of U.S. nuclear-powered submarines operating close to Norwegian coastal waters and highlighted the practical challenges of coordinating military and civilian activity in busy fishing areas. Despite that episode, the deployment continued successfully. On December 20, 2024, USS VIRGINIA returned to Naval Submarine Base New London, completing her six-month cruise to the European Command area.

The DVIDS account of the homecoming describes families and friends gathered on the pier in harsh winter weather, and notes that the submarine had made two port calls to Tromso, Norway, during the deployment. While deployed, the crew set a new record for the longest continuous period submerged in the boat's history, an achievement they timed to coincide with celebrations of VIRGINIA’s twentieth commissioning anniversary on October 23, 2024. The article also records that two babies were born to crew families during the deployment, two officers were promoted, three sailors advanced to chief petty officer, and thirty-one sailors earned their submarine warfare insignia, illustrating the continuous professional development that occurs alongside operational tasking on such deployments.

USS VIRGINIA Construction Gallery:

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USS VIRGINIA Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the VIRGINIA at Submarine Base Groton, Conn., on October 15, 2015.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS VIRGINIA undergoing a 20-month Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, on September 11, 2022.

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General Characteristics:	Awarded: September 30, 1998
	Keel laid: September 2, 1999
	Launched: August 16, 2003
	Commissioned: October 23, 2004
	Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat Division, Groton, Conn.
	Propulsion system: one nuclear reactor
	Propellers: one
	Length: 377 feet (115 meters)
	Beam: 34 feet (10.4 meters)
	Draft: 30.5 feet (9.3 meters)
	Displacement: Surfaced: approx. 6,950 tons Submerged: approx. 7,800 tons
	Speed: Surfaced: approx. 25 knots Submerged: approx. 32 knots
	Armament: Tomahawk missiles from 12 VLS tubes, four 533 mm torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes, Harpoon, advanced mobile mines and unmanned undersea vehicles
	Crew: 15 officers, 117 enlisted
	Homeport: Groton, Conn.