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 (née Hazard), 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.
 Groton alongside
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Groton |
| Namesake | Groton, Connecticut |
| Awarded | 31 January 1971 |
| Builder | General Dynamics Corporation |
| Laid down | 3 August 1973 |
| Launched | 9 October 1976 |
| Commissioned | 8 July 1978 |
| Decommissioned | 7 November 1997 |
| Stricken | 7 November 1997 |
| Fate | Disposed of by submarine recycling |
| 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 |
|
| Test depth | 290 m (950 ft) |
| Complement | 12 officers; 98 enlisted |
| Armament | 4 × 21 in (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes |
Groton departed on her first overseas deployment in March 1980 to the Indian Ocean. The submarine made her way back to the homeport of Groton, Connecticut by way of the Panama Canal. Groton completed the Around-the-World Cruise in October 1980.
Groton was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 7 November 1997. Ex-Groton was scheduled to enter the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington 1 October 2011.[1]
References
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This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register as well as various press releases and news stories.
- ^ Morison, Samuel Loring. "US Naval Battle Force Changes 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2010" (PDF). Proceedings (May 2011). US Naval Institute.