Providence transiting the Thames River, Connecticut | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Providence |
Namesake | City of Providence |
Awarded | 16 April 1979 |
Builder | General Dynamics Electric Boat |
Laid down | 14 October 1982 |
Launched | 4 August 1984 |
Acquired | 26 June 1985 |
Commissioned | 27 July 1985 |
Decommissioned | 22 August 2022 |
Out of service | 2 December 2021 |
Stricken | 22 August 2022 |
Identification | UIC 21029 |
Motto |
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Status | Stricken, Final Disposition Pending |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Los Angeles-class submarine |
Displacement | |
Length | 110.3 m (361 ft 11 in) |
Beam | 10 m (32 ft 10 in) |
Draft | 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) |
Propulsion | |
Speed |
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Complement | 12 officers; 98 enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems | BQQ-10 passive sonar, BQS-15 detecting and ranging sonar, BYG-1 fire control, BLQ-10 radio and ESM, BPS-15H radar |
Armament | 4 × 21 in (533 mm) bow tubes, 10 Mk48 ADCAP torpedo reloads, Tomahawk land attack missile block 3 SLCM range 1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km), Harpoon anti–surface ship missile range 70 nautical miles (130 km), mine laying Mk67 mobile Mk60 captor mines |
USS Providence (SSN-719), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is the fifth vessel of the United States Navy to be named for Providence, Rhode Island. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 16 April 1979 and her keel was laid down on 14 October 1982. She was launched on 4 August 1984 sponsored by Mrs. William F. Smith, and commissioned on 27 July 1985. [3] [4]
Providence is the first Los Angeles class submarine to be equipped with the Tomahawk missile Vertical Launch System (VLS). While others used test boxes and programs, Providence was the first submarine to launch a Tomahawk cruise missile from the VLS system using its combat system CCS MK1 and associated software Program C4.1.
Providence has been deployed several times to the Western Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Some of the ports visited have included Port Canaveral (Cocoa Beach, Florida) and Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, Tromsø, Norway, Halifax, Canada, Gibraltar, Toulon, France, Souda Bay, Crete, La Maddalena, Italy, and Koper, Slovenia, in the Mediterranean, and al-Manama, Bahrain, and both Dubai and Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf. The submarine has made transits of the Suez Canal in 1998, 2001, and 2003 and participated in Operation Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, where she earned the nickname "Big dog of the Red Sea wolf pack."
She has since been retrofitted with numerous upgrades including the AN/BYG-1 Fire Control system and AN/BQQ-10 ARCI Sonar suite. Her achievements continued in 2006–2007 as she has also completed an around-the-world deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean earning the coveted Order of Magellan certificate, participating in Exercise MALABAR 2006, and many other significant assignments. Port visits included Singapore, Yokosuka and Okinawa in Japan, Goa in India, as well as transits through both the Suez Canal and Panama Canal.
In 2008, she completed another deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean, only this time taking a northern route, successfully transiting under the arctic ice cap. On 1 July 2008 she surfaced at the North Pole to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the historic feat of the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) in 1958.
On March 19, 2011, Providence launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan air defenses as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn. [5] [6]
With the decommissioning of USS Bremerton (SSN-698) on 21 May 2021, Providence became the oldest active Los Angeles-class submarine in the US Fleet. She was then assigned to Submarine Squadron 12 at US Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut. [7]
On 20 August 2021, a Change of Homeport ceremony was held at the Naval Submarine Base New London, in Groton, Connecticut. Providence was then transferred to Kitsap Naval Base in Bremerton, Washington for decommissioning after 37 years of service. [8] Providence was officially placed in reserve status, inactivated but in commission on 2 December 2021. The submarine was officially decommissioned on 15 August 2022 (although she was decommissioned on 22 August 2022 in the Naval Vessel Register) and the decommissioning ceremony for Providence was held on 1 September 2022. [9] [3]
Providence won the Tomahawk Strike Derby in 1988 [10] with a 5-second time on target. The USS Providence was the winner of the 2008 Arleigh Burke Award for superior performance in battle efficiency, presented by Fleet Forces Command on Monday 16 June 2008. Providence has, once again, earned the coveted 2008–2009 Battle Efficiency 'E' for COMSUBRON 2.
USS La Jolla (SSN-701/MTS-701), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is named for La Jolla, California. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 10 December 1973 and her keel was laid down on 16 October 1976. She was launched on 11 August 1979 sponsored by Mrs. Jean Bryant Wilson, wife of Congressman Bob Wilson, and commissioned on 24 October 1981. In 2017, La Jolla was converted to a Moored Training Ship and is currently stationed at NPTU Charleston in Goose Creek, SC.
USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) is a Los Angeles-class submarine and is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
USS Annapolis (SSN-760), is the tenth "improved" Los Angeles-class submarine. Annapolis is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Annapolis, Maryland, site of the United States Naval Academy.
USS Omaha (SSN-692), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Omaha, Nebraska. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 31 January 1971 and her keel was laid down on 27 January 1973. She was launched on 21 February 1976 sponsored by Mrs. Victoria Kuncl Hruska, wife of Senator Roman L. Hruska, and commissioned on 11 March 1978.
USS Louisville (SSN-724), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Louisville, Kentucky. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 11 February 1982 and her keel was laid on 24 September 1984. She was launched on 14 December 1985—sponsored by Mrs. Betty Ann McKee, wife of Admiral Kinnaird McKee, Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion —and commissioned on 8 November 1986 with Captain Charles E. Ellis in command.
USS Cheyenne (SSN-773), the final Los Angeles-class submarine, is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Cheyenne, Wyoming. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 28 November 1989 and her keel was laid down on 6 July 1992. She was launched on 16 April 1995 sponsored by Mrs. Ann Simpson, wife of Wyoming Senator Alan K. Simpson, and commissioned on 13 September 1996, with Commander Peter H. Ozimik in command. Cheyenne transferred to her homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1998.
USS Portsmouth (SSN-707) is a decommissioned Los Angeles-class submarine. She was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
USS Tautog (SSN-639), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the tautog, a wrasse commonly found along the Northern Atlantic coast. The submarine was in service from 17 August 1968 to 31 March 1997.
USS Albuquerque (SSN-706) was a Los Angeles-class attack submarine of the United States Navy. She was the second U.S. warship to be named for Albuquerque, New Mexico. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 31 October 1973 and her keel was laid down on 27 December 1979. She was launched on 13 March 1982, sponsored by Nancy L. Domenici, and commissioned on 21 May 1983.
USS Sunfish (SSN-649), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the ocean sunfish, a marine species having a deep body truncated behind, and high dorsal and anal fins.
USS Pargo (SSN-650), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pargo, also known as the red snapper, a fish of the genus Lutjanus found in the West Indies.
USS Seahorse (SSN-669), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second submarine and third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seahorse.
USS Flying Fish (SSN-673), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the flying fish, any of number of fishes whose long winglike fins make it possible for them to move some distance through the air.
USS Groton (SSN-694), the seventh Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Groton, Connecticut. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 31 January 1971 and her keel was laid down on 3 August 1973. She was launched on 9 October 1976 sponsored by Mrs. Anne Francis Richardson, wife of Secretary of Commerce Elliot L. Richardson, and commissioned on 8 July 1978, with Commander R. William Vogel, III in command and Master Chief Petty Officer Joseph Pow as Chief of the Boat.
USS Bremerton (SSN-698), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is the second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for Bremerton, Washington. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 24 January 1972 and her keel was laid down on 8 May 1976. She was launched on 22 July 1978 sponsored by Mrs. Helen Jackson, wife of Henry M. Jackson, and commissioned on 28 March 1981.
USS Jacksonville (SSN-699), a nuclear powered Los Angeles-class attack submarine, is the only vessel of the United States Navy to be named for Jacksonville, Florida.
USS Olympia (SSN-717) is a Los Angeles-class submarine of the United States Navy. She is the 30th Los Angeles class nuclear powered fast attack submarine.
USS Key West (SSN-722), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after Key West, Florida.
USS McKee (AS-41), named after Andrew McKee, was the third Emory S. Land-class submarine tender built by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington for the United States Navy.
USS Emory S. Land (AS-39) is a United States Navy submarine tender and the lead ship of her class. She was named for Admiral Emory S. Land.
This article includes information collected from the public domain sources Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and Naval Vessel Register .