USS Jimmy Carter

USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) is the third and final Seawolf-class, nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine in the United States Navy. She is named for 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter, the only president to have qualified in submarines, having served as an officer for communications, sonar, electronics, weapons, and supply while on board USS Pomfret.[1] Jimmy Carter is one of the few ships of the United States Navy and the third submarine to be named for a living person, and the only submarine to be named for a living president.

Jimmy Carter departs NSB Kings Bay, 11 August 2005
History
United States
Name: USS Jimmy Carter
Namesake: Jimmy Carter
Ordered: 29 June 1996
Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat
Laid down: 5 December 1998
Launched: 13 May 2004
Christened: 5 June 2004
Commissioned: 19 February 2005
Homeport: Bangor Annex of Naval Base Kitsap, Washington
Motto: Semper Optima ("Always the Best")
Status: in active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Modified Seawolf-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 7,568 tons light
  • 12,139 tons full
  • 1,569 tons dead
Length:
  • 138 m (452.8 ft) overall
  • 128.5 m (421.6 ft) waterline length
Beam: 12.1 m (39.7 ft)
Draft: 10.9 m (35.8 ft)
Propulsion: One S6W reactor
Speed: 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)+
Complement: 15 officers, 126 enlisted
Armament:
  • 8 × 26 in (660 mm) torpedo tubes
  • Boeing Harpoon missiles
  • BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles
  • Mark 48 torpedoes
  • Ability to lay mines

History

Construction

The contract to build Jimmy Carter was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 29 June 1996, and her keel was laid on 5 December 1998. Original schedules called for Jimmy Carter to be commissioned in late 2001 or early 2002. Electric Boat was awarded an $887 million extension to the Jimmy Carter contract on 10 December 1999 to modify the boat for testing new submarine systems and classified missions previously carried out by USS Parche.[2] During modification, her hull was extended 100 feet (30 m) to create a 2,500-ton supplementary middle section which forms a Multi-Mission Platform (MMP). This section is fitted with an ocean interface for divers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and special operation equipment; ROV handling system, storage, and deployment space for mission systems, and a pressure-resistant passage between the fore and aft parts of the submarine to accommodate the boat's crew.[3][4][5]

Jimmy Carter was christened on 5 June 2004, and the ship sponsor was former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. One result of the changes was that Jimmy Carter was commissioned more than six years after USS Connecticut and almost four months after the commissioning of USS Virginia, the first of the Virginia-class subs.

Jimmy Carter has additional maneuvering devices fitted fore and aft that allow her to keep station over selected targets in odd currents. Intelligence experts speculate that the MMP may find use in missions as an underwater splicing chamber for optical fiber cables.[6][7][8][9]

Deployments

On 19 November 2004 Jimmy Carter completed alpha sea trials, her first voyage in the open seas. On 22 December, Electric Boat delivered Jimmy Carter to the US Navy, and she was commissioned 19 February 2005 at NSB New London.

Jimmy Carter began a transit from NSB New London to her new homeport at the Bangor Annex of Naval Base Kitsap, Washington on 14 October 2005 but was forced to return when an unusually high wave caused damage while the submarine was running on the surface. The damage was repaired and Jimmy Carter left New London the following day, arriving at Bangor the afternoon of 9 November 2005.

In November 2010 Jimmy Carter was revealed as the first US asset to provide intelligence after the North Korean bombardment of Yeonpyeong. Reports indicated that a UAV from the boat was used shortly after the incident.[10]

In 2017 Jimmy Carter returned to her homeport at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, flying a Jolly Roger flag, traditionally indicative of a successful mission.[11]

Awards
  • 2007 Battle Efficiency Award, commonly known as a "Battle E".[12]
  • 2012 Battle Efficiency Award.
  • 2013 Presidential Unit Citation[13]
  • Former President Carter holding a model of the boat that carries his name.
  • Diagram of Jimmy Carter, showing added features
  • Jimmy Carter during the submarine's commissioning ceremony, 19 February 2005
  • Jimmy Carter in the Magnetic Silencing Facility at Naval Base Kitsap for her first deperming treatment.
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See also

References
  1. "Lieutenant James Earle Carter, Jr., USN". Naval History & Heritage Command. United States Navy. 19 October 1997. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  2. Zimmerman, W. Frederick (2008). SSN-23 Jimmy Carter: U.S. Navy Submarine (Seawolf Class). Nimble Books. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-934840-30-6.
  3. RADM Davis, J. P. USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN23): Expanding Future SSN Missions, Undersea Warfare, Fall 1999, pp. 16-18.
  4. PCU Jimmy Carter Christened at Electric Boat, U.S. Navy, Story Number: NNS040609-07, Release Date: 6/9/2004
  5. The Navy’s underwater eavesdropper, Reuters, July 19, 2013
  6. "New Nuclear Sub Is Said to Have Special Eavesdropping Ability". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Associated Press. 20 February 2005. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  7. Zorpette, Glenn (January 2002). "Making Intelligence Smarter". IEEE Spectrum. IEEE. 39 (1): 38–43. doi:10.1109/6.975021. ISSN 0018-9235.
  8. Neil Jr. (23 May 2001). "Spy agency taps into undersea cable". ZDNet News. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  9. "Jimmy Carter: Super Spy?". Defensetech.org. 21 February 2005. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  10. "Yeonpyeong - Navy Notes 24 Hours Later". www.informationdissemination.net.
  11. Wetzel, Gary (17 September 2017). "America's Most Secret Spy Sub Returned To Base Flying A Pirate Flag". [Gizmodo]].
  12. Rowley, Eric (22 January 2008). "Pacific Northwest Sub Crews Win Battle "E"". Navy.mil. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  13. "This secretive U.S. Navy submarine went on a dangerous mission". theweek.com. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
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