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| Press Release May 25, 2001 |
Aegis Destroyer will be the last in Bath Iron Works' 117-year history to slide down traditional inclined ways
BATH, Maine (May 25, 2001) -- Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics Company, will slide a U.S. Navy destroyer down traditional inclined building ways on Saturday, June 23, 2001 - using this age-old method of launching a ship for the last time in its 117-year history. The shipyard opened a new world-class Navy shipbuilding facility on May 5, 2001.
Mason (DDG 87) will launch at slack high tide, 3:25 p.m. The West Gate on Washington Street in Bath will open to the public at 1 p.m. U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine will christen the ship as Sponsor. DDG 87 is the 21st Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer to be built at BIW.
The ship name honors two previous ships of the same name. The first Mason (DD 191) served the Navy from 1920-1941 and was named for John Young Mason, Secretary of the Navy for Presidents John Tyler and James K. Polk. The second Mason (DE 529) served the Navy from 1944-1945 and was named after Ensign Newton Henry Mason , who enlisted as a seaman in the Naval Reserve and became an aviation cadet in 1941. Assigned to Fighting Squadron 3, he died following aerial combat against Japanese forces during the Battle of the Coral Sea, May 8-9, 1942. Mason was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his skill and courage in battle. DE 529 is also known as the first U.S. Navy ship to carry the first African American sailors to sea.
Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, a leader in surface combatant design and construction, employs 7,000 people. It is a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. General Dynamics has leading market positions in shipbuilding and marine systems, land and amphibious combat systems, information systems, and business aviation. The company employs 46,000 people and anticipates 2001 sales of approximately $11.5 billion. More information about General Dynamics can be found on the worldwide web at www.generaldynamics.com.
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