USS Santa Fe (SSN-763), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Santa Fe, New Mexico. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 21 March 1986 and her keel was laid down on 9 July 1991. She was launched on 12 December 1992 sponsored by Mrs. Joy Johnson, and commissioned on 8 January 1994, with Commander Rodger P. Krull in command.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Santa Fe |
| Namesake | The City of Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Awarded | 21 March 1986 |
| Builder | General Dynamics Electric Boat |
| Laid down | 9 July 1991 |
| Launched | 12 December 1992 |
| Sponsored by | Joy Johnson |
| Commissioned | 8 January 1994 |
| Homeport | Naval Base Point Loma |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In active service |
| 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 |
|
| Complement | 12 officers, 98 men |
| Sensors and processing systems | BSY-1/BQQ-10 passive sonar, BQS-15 detecting and ranging sonar, WLR-8 fire control radar receiver, WLR-9 acoustic receiver for detection of active search sonar and acoustic homing torpedoes, BRD-7 radio direction finder |
| 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 |
Operational history
editSanta Fe's maiden deployment was in 1997 to the Persian Gulf and Western Pacific. In 1998, she completed a Selected Restricted Availability in Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. In 1999, she was again deployed to the Persian Gulf and Western Pacific earning a Meritorious Unit Commendation and Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation. In 2001, she deployed to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf earning two Meritorius Unit Commendations as well as earning her first coveted CSS-7 Battle E.
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Santa Fe deployed to the Western Pacific in September 2003 until March 2004. For this deployment she participated in ANNUALEX '03 with the Japanese Maritime Defense Force. The ship made port calls in Singapore, Guam, multiple times in Sasebo, Japan, and in Yokosuka, Japan in which she rode out a typhoon while in port. Santa Fe was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, the second highest award given to a submarine, for actions completed on this deployment. She underwent a three-month Interim drydocking in October 2004.
After the ship completed sea trials and other various workups she then completed a two-month Eastern Pacific Deployment that started in May 2005. After returning to her homeport of Pearl Harbor in June 2005, she again deployed to the Western Pacific on 9 August 2005. During this deployment she participated in Exercise Malabar with the Indian Navy. Santa Fe was the second U.S. nuclear submarine to participate in the exercise and also to port in Goa, India. After Malabar, the ship made a brief stop in Phuket, Thailand. She was the first U.S. submarine to visit Phuket since 2001. The ship returned to Pearl Harbor in February 2006. She made the transit to the East Coast in July 2006, surfacing near the North Pole on the way and stopping in Brest, France.
After shipyard she completed a six-month Western Pacific deployment from May–November 2009, after stops in Singapore, Saipan, Guam, Okinawa, JP, and Yokosuka, JP. She received the Battle "E" Award in January 2010.
Santa Fe returned 24 August 2011 to Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam after successfully completing a six-month deployment to the western Pacific region. During this deployment Santa Fe skillfully conducted four operations of great importance to national security by safely operating in a demanding and challenging undersea environment, directly enhancing fleet, theater and national objectives. The crew displayed exceptional tactical skill, tenacity and perseverance while operating under extremely challenging conditions to prepare the battle space for future operations. Santa Fe's tactical acumen was further displayed by their highly successful participation in Exercise Malabar, a bilateral exercise with the Indian navy. Port calls included Sasebo, Japan (x3), Chinhae, South Korea; Yokosuka, Japan; Guam, and Subic Bay, Philippines. In recognition of their outstanding performance, Santa Fe received the COMSUBRON 7 Battle "E" Award and was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation by the Secretary of the Navy.
Awards
edit- 2000 – Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy for most improved ship in the Fleet.
- 2001 – Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award
- 2001, 2004, 2009, and 2011, 2015 – COMSUBRON 7 Battle Efficiency "E" Award.
- 2003, 2012 – Navy Unit Commendation by the SECNAV (2nd highest award that can be given to a Naval vessel)
- 2006 – Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
See also
edit- David Marquet (former captain)
References
edit- ^ "International Panel on Fissile Materials". fissilematerials.org. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ "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.
This article includes information collected from the public domain sources Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and Naval Vessel Register.
External links
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