Nuclear attack submarine USS Massachusetts commissioned in Boston

Flint McColgan, Boston Herald on Mar 28, 2026

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BOSTON — The Bay State’s proud naval history added a new chapter Saturday with the commissioning of the USS Massachusetts right in the harbor — with the USS Constitution, the oldest still-commissioned ship in the Navy, floating nearby in celebration.

“Today, USS Massachusetts is tested and battle ready,” said Commander Joshua Hightower, the ship’s executive officer, at the ceremony. “We are very proud to serve on the newest attack submarine in the United States Navy.”

The ceremony at Boston Harbor was well attended, with speeches not only from Hightower but Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey; Admiral William Houston, the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program; Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, himself a U.S. Marines veteran; and Kari Wilkinson, the president of Newport News Shipbuilding, where the submarine was built.

The ship’s sponsor is Sheryl Sandberg, the former chief operating officer of Facebook parent corporation Meta and the co-founder of Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners.

The ceremony was also attended by three Medal of Honor recipients: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Pitts, of New Hampshire; Army Sgt. Major Thomas Payne, of South Carolina; and Boston’s own Navy Capt. (Ret.) Thomas G. Kelley.

—The ship

The nuclear USS Massachusetts, SSN 798, is a Virginia-class attack submarine weighing 7,800 tons and is 377 feet long with a beam of 34 feet.

“She represents a revolution in submarine design, construction and mission capability. Brimming with bleeding-edge technology and advanced engineering, this vessel brings versatility and firepower to the fleet,” Hightower said. “Massachusetts and the Virginia-class are among the most effective platforms in the United States Navy, and this warship takes another step forward in advancing that superiority of the submarine force.”

“She’s capable of operating in the far corners of the world’s oceans, connected to air-, sea-, and land-based forces,” he continued. “These submarines are equipped to wage multi-dimensional warfare around the globe.”

A Navy statement adds that this class of submarines “have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that enable them to meet the Navy’s multi-mission requirements.”

The U.S. Navy says it is the seventh “Block IV” Virginia-class submarine and was built under a teaming agreement between General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding. The ship began construction in December 2020 at the NNS shipyard in Virginia and was christened — with the traditional champagne bottle smash — there on May 6, 2023.

—Massachusetts naval history

The new USS Massachusetts is the eighth US military ship to bear the name and the fifth for the U.S. Navy, a Navy spokesman told The Boston Herald.

The first two ships were members of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, the precursor to the U.S. Coast Guard, in the 1790s. Hightower provided some history on the rest:

— The first was built in 1845 and was a wooden steamer that saw action during the Mexican American war.

— The second, built in 1860, was an iron screw steamer that saw action in the American Civil War.

— Third, Massachusetts BB-2, commissioned in 1896, was an Indiana-class battleship that served in the Spanish-American War.

— Fourth, a private fast cargo ship that was purchased by the Navy at the start of World War I and turned into a mine layer. Later renamed the Shawmut.

— Fifth, and “most notable,” was BB-59, “known as Big Mammy to her crew,” which was commissioned in 1942 and served in the Pacific Theater of World War II, earning 11 Battle Stars throughout its many battles. It is now a museum off Fall River.

Gov. Healey proclaimed the day “USS Massachusetts Day” and spoke of the commonwealth’s significant military history dating back to the Revolution.

“That history also gave us our Navy,” she said. “In September of 1775, then-General George Washington himself commissioned the schooner Hannah out of Beverly, Massachusetts. He directed its commander and crew to intercept British supply ships. And since that time, countless ships, boats, and crews have served and defended our nation’s shores right here in the Bay State.”

Hightower directed the crowd’s attention to the crew, “hereafter known as ‘plank owners,’” as being “in formation and ready.”

“And now, the commanding officer has received the transfer. The ensign is hoisted, the pennant is broken, the orders have been read, the first watch set. Which means there’s only one custom left to officially commission this wicked stealthy submarine,” ship sponsor Sandberg said. “Officers and crew of the USS Massachusetts, man our ship and bring her to life!”

And, to celebratory marching music, the crew did exactly that and the U.S. Navy officially gained a brand-new Virginia-class attack submarine.