USS Olympia (SSN-717)
USS Olympia (SSN-717) is a Los Angeles-class submarine of the United States Navy. She is the 29th Los Angeles class nuclear powered fast attack submarine.[1]
History | |
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Name: | USS Olympia |
Namesake: | City of Olympia |
Awarded: | 15 September 1977 |
Builder: | Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia, U.S. |
Laid down: | 31 March 1981 |
Launched: | 30 April 1983 |
Commissioned: | 17 November 1984 |
Homeport: | Pearl Harbor |
Motto: |
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Status: | Active, awaiting decommissioning |
Badge: |
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General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Los Angeles-class submarine |
Displacement: |
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Length: | 362 ft (110.3 m) |
Beam: | 33 ft (10 m) |
Draft: | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
Propulsion: | S6G reactor |
Complement: | 12 officers, 98 men |
Armament: | 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
Etymology
Olympia is the second ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for Olympia, Washington.[2]
History
The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 15 September 1977 and her keel was laid down on 31 March 1981. She was launched on 30 April 1983 sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Williams, and commissioned on 17 November 1984.[3]
Olympia was assigned to Submarine Squadron 7 (SUBRON SEVEN) and was homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
In 1998, Olympia became the first Pacific-based submarine to pass through the Suez Canal in over 35 years.[4]
When USS Bremerton (SSN-698) was decommissioned in August 2018, Olympia became the oldest commissioned submarine in the US fleet. Keeping with a tradition that dates back to World War II, Richard O'Kane's cribbage board was transferred from Bremerton to Olympia's wardroom.[5] When she was decommissioned on 31 October 2019, USS Chicago (SSN-721) thus became the "Oldest Fast Attack in the Fleet". The O'Kane Board now resides in her wardroom.[6]
Olympia arrived in Bremerton, WA, on Thursday, October 31, 2019, for decommissioning after completing a final circumnavigation.[7] Like all other recent U.S. submarines, the vessel will be recycled via the Navy's Ship-Submarine Recycling Program.
Awards
- Navy Unit Commendation
- Meritorious Unit Commendation
- National Defense Service Medal with star
- Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
- Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
- Engineering Excellence
- Deck Seamanship Award
- Silver Anchor Award
- Battle "E"
References
- "About USS OLYMPIA (SSN 717)". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- "USS Olympia Completes Around-the-World Deployment". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- "USS Olympia Arrives in Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton for Namesake Visit". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- "USS Olympia (SSN-717) Nuclear-Powered Submarine". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- "O'Kane Cribbage board passed to USS Olympia (SSN-715)". Bremerton-Olympic Peninsula Council Navy League of the US. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- "The O'Kane Cribbage Board Is Passed Down". Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- "USS Olympia arrives in Bremerton for decommissioning". 30 October 2019.
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain., as well as various press releases and news stories.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Olympia (SSN-717). |