USS Minneapolis-St. Paul, 23 Years of Service
Minneapolis is honored to be among a select group of cities to have had a US Navy submarine named for it. USS Minneapolis-St. Paul (SSN-708) was deactivated on Friday, June 22nd, 2007 after 23 years in service.
The USS Minneapolis-St. Paul was the 16th Los Angeles class nuclear attack submarine built for the US Navy. Commissioned on March 10th, 1984, the submarine saw action in Operation Desert Shield during the Gulf War. It was the first submarine to carry Tomahawk missiles designed for use against land targets in Iraq.
It’s recent history had unfortunate circumstances for it’s crew. Four crew members were washed over the side in heavy seas in December 2006 when leaving HMNB Devonport in England. This resulted in the death of two crew members, and the dismissal of it’s captain, Edwin Ruff.
Scheduled for decommissioned on September 27th, 2007, the ship is now moored in Norfolk, Virginia. Unfortunately, there will be no ship named after any city in Minnesota, something that hasn’t happened since 1934.
More Information:
- Wikipedia: USS Minneapolis-St. Paul (SSN-708)
- Stars and Stripes: USS Minneapolis-St. Paul is being decommissioned
Los Angeles-class, USS Minneapolis-St. Paul


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