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Northrop Grumman Newport News
employees will build the USS Monitor
replica in 22 steel sections inside the shipyard’s
steel production facility. Pictured is the first
section, called the keel unit, which weighs approximately
18 tons and is about the size of a rail car.
(Photo by Chris Oxley)
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Northrop Grumman Newport News
employee Josh Cantrell welds
the keel section of the USS Monitor replica
in preparation for a Mar. 6 keel laying ceremony.
(Photo by Chris Oxley.)
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Resolution Image
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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Feb. 21, 2004 – Northrop
Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has teamed with The
Mariners’ Museum, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Navy to construct
a full-scale replica of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor.
The replica will be the centerpiece of the $30 million
USS Monitor Center at The Mariners’ Museum
in Newport News, Va.
More than 100 employees of Northrop Grumman's Newport
News sector will build the replica in 22 steel sections
inside the shipyard’s steel production facility from
Navy-donated materials. Construction of the ship’s hull
is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2005. The
sector’s Apprentice School recently completed the first
section, the keel unit. Weighing approximately 18 tons
and about the size of a rail car, the keel unit will
be transported to the USS Monitor Center on
Feb. 26 for a public keel-laying ceremony on Mar. 6
at 3 p.m.
“We are proud to be a part of this special project
and to have the opportunity to rebuild a piece of history
that our employees, their families and the entire Hampton
Roads community can visit and learn about for many years
to come,” said Mike Petters, president, Northrop Grumman
Newport News. Nancy Petters, Petters' wife, will serve
as keel authenticator for the ceremony by chalking her
initials onto a metal plate. Her initials will then
be welded onto the plate and permanently affixed to
the Monitor replica.
Since 2000, Northrop Grumman Newport News employees
have volunteered their help and expertise to the Monitor
recovery project by off-loading artifacts at shipyard
piers and docks, constructing conservation tanks at
The Mariners' Museum and performing topographical ultrasonic
inspections and X-rays of the recovered items. The sector
also made a $250,000 contribution to the USS Monitor
Center Capital Campaign in 2004.
“Northrop Grumman’s involvement in the USS Monitor
project at The Mariners’ Museum has been nothing short
of phenomenal,” said The Mariners’ Museum President
and CEO, John B. Hightower. “The Monitor project would
simply not be possible without the shipyard’s involvement.
From welding, rigging, chemistry coating experts, metallurgists
and financial support, the help from Northrop Grumman
has been invaluable.”
In 1987, The Mariners' Museum was designated by NOAA,
on behalf of the federal government, as the repository
for artifacts and archives from the USS Monitor.
The museum has received over 1,100 artifacts from the
Monitor, including the steam engine, propeller
and revolving gun turret. This past October, the museum
in partnership with NOAA, broke ground for the new $30
million USS Monitor Center, which will be the
national authority and repository for the recovered
artifacts and other materials, research and programming
related to the history of the famous ship. The center
will open on March 9, 2007. For more information, visit
www.monitorcenter.org.
Northrop Grumman Newport News, headquartered in Newport
News, Va., is the nation's sole designer, builder and
refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one
of only two companies capable of designing and building
nuclear powered submarines. Newport News also provides
after-market services for a wide array of naval and
commercial vessels. The Newport News sector employs
about 19,000 people.
CONTACT:
Jennifer Dellapenta
Northrop Grumman Newport News
757-380-3558
Justin Lyons
The Mariners' Museum
(757) 591-7738
