USS Columbia (SSN-771)

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USS Columbia (SSN-771)
USS Columbia (SSN-771).jpg
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSS Columbia
NamesakeCities of Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri, and Columbia, Illinois
Awarded14 December 1988
Builder General Dynamics Electric Boat
Laid down21 April 1993
Launched24 September 1994
Sponsored by Hillary Clinton
Christened24 September 1994
Completed24 September 1994
Commissioned9 October 1995
Homeport Naval Station Pearl Harbor
MottoPreserving Freedom On The Seas
Statusin active service
Badge 771insig.png
General characteristics
Class and type Los Angeles-class submarine
Displacement
  • 6,000 long tons (6,096 t) light
  • 6,927 long tons (7,038 t) full
  • 927 long tons (942 t) dead
Length110.3 m (361 ft 11 in)
Beam10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Draft9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Propulsion
  • 1 × S6G PWR nuclear reactor with D2W core (165 MW), HEU 93.5% [1] [2]
  • 2 × steam turbines (33,500) shp
  • 1 × shaft
  • 1 × secondary propulsion motor 325 hp (242 kW)
SpeedSurface: About 15 knots. Submerged: About 32 knots.
Complement12 officers, 110 men
Armament
  • 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
  • 12 x Vertical Launch Missile Tubes

USS Columbia (SSN-771) is the 21st flight III, or Improved (688i) Los Angeles-class attack submarine of the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1995, the submarine is assigned to Submarine Squadron 7 and homeported in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. [3]

Contents

Columbia is the eighth U.S. warship to bear the name, though the first to be named for three cities: Columbia, Illinois, Columbia, Missouri and Columbia, South Carolina.

The contract to build Columbia was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 14 December 1988 and her keel was laid down on 21 April 1993. She was the 33rd Los Angeles-class boat built by Electric Boat, and was launched on 24 September 1994 with the slide down a 1,300-foot wooden ramp, the last American submarine to do so, giving her the title of "The Last Slider". Columbia was sponsored by Hillary Clinton, and commissioned on 9 October 1995.

Service history

From March to May 1999, Columbia operated off the California coast, participating in exercises and making port visits. [4]

In 2011, the submarine deployed to the Western Pacific Ocean (WestPac), including a port visit at Yokosuka, Japan. [5]

In May 2014, Columbia left on another western Pacific deployment, again stopping in Yokosuka on 5 November [6] and returning to her homeport of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on 21 November. [7]

In 2016, Columbia deployed on a six-month patrol in the western Pacific, making port visits at Yokosuka [8] [9] and Sasebo, Japan, [10] and Guam.

In 2018, the sub made another WestPac deployment, stopping at Yokosuka in May. [11]

In October 2018, the submarine began a mid-life overhaul at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. She left dry dock on 16 July 2020 [12] and returned to the Navy on 17 May 2021. [13]

In September 2021, Columbia participated in the 62nd annual UNITAS exercise off South America. [14]

2019 shooting

On 4 December 2019, while Columbia was in dry dock, a crew member on guard duty shot and killed two civilian employees and injured another before shooting and killing himself. Machinist's Mate Auxiliary Fireman Gabriel Romero, 22, used duty weapons issued to him as a member of the submarine's Topside Roving Patrol. Later investigation by the Navy determined that Romero was "likely unfit" for service on a submarine and that officers and senior enlisted sailors aboard Columbia had failed to recognize and coordinate action on his deteriorating mental state. [15] [16] [17] [18]

Awards

In July 2015, the ship was awarded the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy, as the Pacific Fleet ship that improved the most in the previous year, based on the Battle Efficiency Competition. [7]

Future U.S. submarine of the name

On 25 July 2016, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced that the lead ship of the planned Columbia class of ballistic missile submarines would also be named Columbia (SSBN-826), after the District of Columbia. [19] This raised the possibility that the attack sub Columbia might still be in active service when the new ballistic missile sub was commissioned in 2031, although the attack sub would be 37 years old by that point. As of 2022, 36 Los Angeles-class boats have been retired, and only three were in service longer than 37 years.

On 3 June 2022, the Navy announced that the new sub would be named USS District of Columbia to eliminate the possibility that two ships in commission might bear the same name, [20] which is forbidden by federal law. [21]

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References

  1. ↑ "International Panel on Fissile Materials". fissilematerials.org. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  2. ↑ "Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors" (PDF). dspace.mit.edu. June 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  3. ↑ "About USS Columbia | USS Columbia | SSN 771 | Submarine Squadron 7 | COMSUBPAC". www.csp.navy.mil. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "USS COLUMBIA (SSN 771) Command History - 1999" (PDF). history.navy.mil. Retrieved 5 June 2022. The Navy's history branch has made just two of Columbia's annual command histories Archived 6 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine public: 1995 and 1999. The histories from 1996, 2002, and 2005 are listed as "Classified, not available for posting"; while those from 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004 are listed as "Not available for posting." The histories from 2006 and later are not mentioned.
  5. ↑ "USS Columbia". DVIDS. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "USS Columbia Visits Yokosuka during Western Pacific Deployment". U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  7. 1 2 "USS Columbia Presented the 2014 Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy". U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "USS Columbia (SSN 771) prepares to moor at Fleet Activities Yokosuka". www.csp.navy.mil. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "Columbia visits Yokosuka during Indo-Asia-Pacific Deployment". Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "Columbia visits Sasebo during Indo-Asia-Pacific Deployment". Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Columbia Visits Yokosuka During Routine Patrol". Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & IMF successfully undocks USS Columbia (SSN 771)". Naval Sea Systems Command. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Completes USS Columbia Availability". U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "UNITAS LXII Opening Ceremony Takes Place in Lima". United States Navy. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "CASE STUDY: Kinetic Violence – Murder/Suicide" (PDF). Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Investigation Finds USS Columbia Shooter Was Likely Unfit to Serve on Submarines". USNI News. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  17. ↑ Ziezulewicz, Geoff (29 September 2020). "A troubled sailor was 'underdiagnosed' by mental health officials before mass shooting". Navy Times. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Navy Announces Three Deaths in Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Shooting". Navy.mil. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  19. ↑ "Navy Ohio Replacement Sub Class to Be Named for D.C." usni.org. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "SECNAV Names SSBN 826 USS District of Columbia". United States Navy. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  21. ↑ O'Rourke, Ronald (13 June 2022). "Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress" (PDF). Federation of American Scientists. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 17 August 2022.

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