Happy Birthday To The USS Cheyenne

One of America's most powerful nuclear submarines turns 24 today. The USS Cheyenne first set sail on April 16, 1995.

The Los Angeles class submarine is the sixth United States Navy vessel named for Wyoming's Capital City and is currently based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is best known as the first ship to launch Tomahawk missiles during Operation: Iraqi Freedom. The 362-foot long, 6,000-ton submarine carries 12 officers and 98 enlisted sailors and travels at a top speed of 25 knots (29 miles per hour).

The first USS Cheyenne was a Navy tugboat commissioned for use in 1898 for the Spanish-American War. Another battleship originally named the USS Wyoming provided support in Panama's war for independence in 1903 before it renamed for Cheyenne in 1909. Cheyenne was also the namesake for two War War II battleships. The fifth USS Cheyenne launched in 1945 and later served as a cargo ship in the Vietnam War before it was decommissioned in 1973.

The USS Cheyenne has been the subject of several books, including Tom Clancy's best-selling 1996 novel SSN, which depicts a fictional war with China. There is also a fictional Star Trek aircraft called the USS Cheyenne set in the 24th century.