Bath Iron Works Lays Keel of DDG 1002
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works celebrated the keel laying of the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer, future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), on January 30. The U.S. Navy named the ship in honor of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, credited with enacting major civil rights, education and public welfare legislation, including the Voting Rights Act and the creation of the Head Start Program and Medicare. President Johnson’s daughters, Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, are the ship sponsors. A special steel plate containing the initials of the sisters was prepared for the ceremony. Assisted by Timothy Trask, a 30-year Bath Iron Works welder, the sponsors authenticated the laying of the keel by striking welding arcs onto the steel plate.
Virginia, the Nation's Most Advanced Submarine, to Be Christened Saturday
General Dynamics Electric Boat will christen the Virginia (SSN-774), the U.S. Navy's newest and most advanced nuclear attack submarine, at a ceremony at its shipyard here Saturday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD). Ship sponsor is Lynda Johnson Robb, daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson, and the wife of former U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb (D- Va.) The event's principal speaker is U.S. Sen. George Allen (R- Va.). Capt. David J. Kern, a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is the ship's commanding officer. The Virginia is the first U.S. submarine designed to satisfy the requirements of regional and near-land missions in the post-Cold War era.
