Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, today, announced that the future Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine SSN 810 will be named USS San Francisco.
Secretary Del Toro made the announcement during Fleet Week San Francisco.
In addition, Secretary Del Toro announced the Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi agreed to be the ship's sponsor. In that role, Speaker Emerita Pelosi will represent a lifelong relationship with the ship and crew.
This is the fourth vessel to honor San Francisco. The first San Francisco, a steel protected cruiser, blockaded Havana, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War and served as a mine planter in the North Sea during World War I.
The second San Francisco, a heavy cruiser, had an equally distinguished career, participating in operations and engagements at Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, Guam, the Marshall Islands, and Okinawa during World War II. In total, the ship and its crew earned 17 Battle Stars, a Presidential Unit Citation, four Medals of Honor, and 32 Navy Crosses.
The third San Francisco was a Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine (SSN 711), which completed multiple deployments to the western Pacific, earning a Navy Unit Commendation and Navy Expeditionary Medal among other awards. Decommissioned in 2022, the venerable boat now serves as a moored training vessel for the Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit, Charleston, South Carolina.
Attack submarines like the future USS San Francisco are designed to seek and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; project power ashore with Tomahawk cruise missiles and Special Operation Forces (SOF); carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions; support battle group operations; and engage in mine warfare.
