The Winston S. Churchill is the fourth American warship to be named in honor of an Englishman. USS Winston S. Churchill is the 31st ship of the Arleigh Burke class and the 18th of the class to be built by Bath Iron Works.

May 24, 2000 The Navy detonated a seven-ton under water explosive device near one of their newest and most technologically advanced warships, USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81). The explosion was no accident, in fact, it was the first detonation of three for a program called Shock Trials. The purpose of Shock Trials is to assess the survivability of a new class or design of ship. The Churchill sustained minor damage during each shock.

DDG 81 is the first ship in the Arleigh Burke Class Flight IIA program to test the 5"/62 Gun Mount. Tests were conducted to satisfy three major points. First, that the 5"/62 is capable of firing Extended Range Guided Munitions (ERGM), secondly, that it can fire standard munitions with increased accuracy and finally, the hull's structural integrity is not compromised with the higher energy released by an ERGM projectile.

August 22, 2001 USS Winston S. Churchill pulled to Portsmouth, England, for an historic first visit. It returned to Norfolk in October.

July 16, 2002 USS Winston S. Churchill is back at her birthplace to receive a $25 million equipment upgrade after her maiden deployment. The guided-missile destroyer returned to Bath Iron Works in May for the tune-up, known as the Post Shakedown Availability (PSA). The work comes after a first deployment to the United Kingdom and Norway that drew international attention because of her mission and namesake. When complete, the Churchill will boast dozens of advanced systems, corrosion-control improvements, a rearranged Combat Information Center (CIC), an upgraded Passive Countermeasure System, the Naval Fires Control System (NFCS), and numerous improvements to the ship’s command and control, communications and computers (C4I) systems. The destroyer’s engineering department also will receive the new Fully Automated Digital Control/Redundant Independent Mechanical Starting System (FADC/RIMSS) to offer a more efficient way of starting the generators. In addition, there will be new decking, a self-service laundry, modifications to the Hazardous Materials Center, and other improvements.

September 24, USS Winston S. Churchill came to the aid of a 35-foot Bertram sport fishing boat in distress, about 40 miles off the coast of Currituck, N.C. The destroyer was conducting flight deck-landing qualifications with an aircraft from the Norfolk-based Helicopter Support Squadron Six around 6:50 p.m., when a distress call came in.

May 29, 2003 USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) returned to Naval Station Norfolk after nearly a five-month combat deployment, as part of USS Theodore Roosevelt CSG in eastern Mediterranean, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

November 8, 2004 The guided-missile destroyer pulled to Portsmouth, England, for a routine port visit upon conclusion of the Royal Navy-sponsored Joint Maritime Course-043. After the port call in Portsmouth, the Churchill will return to Norfolk.

August 22, 2005 USS Winston S. Churchill colided with USS McFaul (DDG 74) while conducting training operations off the coast of Florida. Damage to Churchill included a 5x10 foot hole on the port side helo hangar, a damaged antenna, and a hydraulic leak in the helo hangar. McFaul sustained light damage to its starboard side bow. There were no personnel casualties or flooding on either ship. The collision occurred while the ships were preparing for deployment and conducting a training event that required aggressive ship-handling and high speed, close quarters tactical maneuvering.

November 7, USS Winston S. Churchill departed Norfolk for a scheduled six-month deployment, with USS Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group Five (ESG-5), in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

January 21, 2006 U.S. Navy Sailors from USS Winston S. Churchill boarded the suspect pirate vessel and discovered small-arms weapons on board, approximately 54 miles off the central eastern coast of Somalia at 3 p.m. local time.

April 9, ESG 8 transited through the Suez Canal, marking the end of more than four months of maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

May 2, USS Winston S. Churchill returned to Naval Station Norfolk after a six-month deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

May 16, 2007 DDG 81 recently departed Philadelphia after participated in Fleet Navy Week.

May 23, The guided-missile destroyer pulled to New York City to participate in Fleet Week 2007.

November 5, USS Winston S. Chuchill departed homeport for a scheduled underway period, as part of USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Carrier Strike Group.

February 11, 2008 The Churchill is currently in the Persian Gulf conducting Maritime Security Operations.

June 4, DDG 81 returned to Norfolk after a seven-month deployment.