DULUTH, Minn. – The U.S. combat ship U.S.S. Minneapolis-St. Paul sailed into Duluth for a celebratory commissioning as close to its namesake city as it could get. The ceremony was scheduled for Saturday. The 400-foot ship, which propels itself with rather water jets, not propellers, used side thrusters to navigate the narrow canal under the Duluth aerial bridge. The ship has a shallow raft for coastal defense. After the commissioning it will depart for its home port at Jacksonville, Florida.
New combat vessel. The U.S.S. Minneapolis-St. Paul entering Duluth harbor, Built by Marinette Marine on Lake Michigan.
Oceanic legacies
Earlier vessels with Twin Cities names:
> U.S.S. Minneapolis-Saint Paul. A Los Angeles-class submarine. Launched in 1983. The first submarine to carry Tomahawk missiles specifically designed for strikes against Iraq during the Gulf War. Decommissioned in 2007
> U.S. St. Paul. A Baltimore-class cruiser. Launched in 1944 for combat in the Pacific. Was in Tokyo for Japan’s surrender. Damaged by a collision with another Naval vessel in 1978. Scrapped in 1980.
> U.S.S. Minneapolis. A New Orleans-class heavy cruiser. Launched in 1933. World War II service included the battles of theCoral Sea and of Midway. Decommissioned in 1947. Scrapped in 1947.
> S.S. Minneapolis. A steam-powered British ocean liner. Built in 1910. Served as an armed merchant ship in the Atlantic World War I. Lost to a torpedo in 1916.