GROTON, Conn. (AP) - A $2.6 billion submarine named for the state of South Dakota will officially join the U.S. Navy fleet. The 377-foot (115-meter) USS South Dakota will be commissioned Saturday morning at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The vessel marks the 17th Virginia-class attack submarine to join the fleet and the first submarine to be commissioned with the name South Dakota. It will also mark the first commissioning Governor Ned Lamont, who is scheduled to attend the ceremony. The last ship named after the state of South Dakota was the BB-57, a World War II-era battleship that won numerous honors in combat before it was decommissioned in 1947.
Parts of the battleship are on display at the U.S.S. South Dakota Battleship Memorial in Sioux Falls.
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