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The following was released by the Office of the Assistant to the
Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs):

                                           No. 422-94
                                           (703)697-5342(media)
                                           (703)697-3189(copies)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE      July 14, 1994       (703)697-
                                           5737(public/industry)

  NAVY TO CHRISTEN BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINE MAINE (SSBN 741)

     A christening ceremony will be held for the U.S. Navy's
newest ballistic missile submarine Maine (SSBN 741) on Saturday,
July 16, 1994 at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics
Corporation, Groton, Connecticut, commencing at 11:30 a.m.

     Maine (SSBN 741) honors the 23rd State of the Union.  Two
previous ships have borne this name.  The first was a second-
class armored battleship (1895-1898) whose sinking precipitated
the Spanish-American War.  The second, also a battleship (BB 10)
(1902-1920), participated in the globe-circling deployment of the
"Great White Fleet."

      Mrs. Donna McLarty, wife of Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty,
Counselor to the President, is the ship's sponsor.  She will
break a bottle of champagne over the bow and formally name the
ship, in the age old Navy tradition.

     Mack McLarty will be the ceremony's principal speaker.

     Maine is the 16th of 18 Ohio Class ballistic missile
submarines authorized by Congress.  As a principal part of the
U.S. strategic defense posture, Maine will serve as an ever
vigilant deterrent in an uncertain world.

     The submarine is 560 feet in length, has a beam of 42 feet
and displaces approximately 18,750 tons submerged.  It will carry
a crew of 16 officers and 157 enlisted personnel.   Captain Gary
Anderson Gradisnik, a native of  Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the
ship's Prospective Commanding Officer.
                               -USN-