USS Buffalo (SSN-715)
{{short description|Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the US Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Buffalo}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=File:USS Buffalo SSN-715.jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{USN flag}} |Ship name=USS Buffalo |Ship namesake=Buffalo, New York |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder= Newport News Shipbuilding |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= 25 January 1980 |Ship launched= 8 May 1982 |Ship sponsor= Joanne Kemp |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= 27 October 1983 |Ship commissioned= 5 November 1983 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= 30 January 2019 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= 30 September 2017 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= 30 January 2019 |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport=Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington{{cite web |url=http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/05/30/submarine-uss-buffalo-arrives-washington-decommissioning.html |title=Submarine USS Buffalo arrives in Washington for decommissioning |website=military.com |date=30 May 2017 |access-date=2 August 2018}} |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= Silent Thunder |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship notes= |Ship badge= 150px }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}} |Ship type= Nuclear attack submarine |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement= 5771 tons light, 6142 tons full, 371 tons dead |Ship length={{convert|362|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= |Ship draft={{convert|31|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship decks= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=1 GE 165 MW S6G PWR nuclear reactor,{{cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-applications/transport/nuclear-powered-ships.aspx |title=Nuclear-Powered Ships |website=World Nuclear Association |date=July 2018 |access-date=3 August 2018}} 2 turbines {{convert|35000|hp|MW|abbr=on}}, 1 auxiliary motor 325 hp (242 kW), 1 shaft |Ship speed=*Surfaced: {{convert|20|kn|mph km/h}}
|Ship range=Unlimited |Ship endurance=90 days |Ship test depth={{convert|800|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship complement=12 officers, 98 men |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament= 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes |Ship armor= |Ship notes= }} |
USS Buffalo (SSN-715) was a {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}}, the second vessel that actively served the United States Navy to be named for Buffalo, New York (another USS Buffalo was named for the animal). The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 23 February 1976, and her keel was laid down on 25 January 1980. She was launched on 8 May 1982 sponsored by Mrs. Joanne Kemp,{{cite DANFS | last = Cressman | first = Robert J. | date = 11 July 2016 | title = Buffalo III (SSN-715) | url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/buffalo-iii.html | access-date = 2018-08-03 }} wife of former Buffalo Bills quarterback and New York's 31st congressional district representative Jack Kemp, who was credited with winning approval to name the ship after the city in his district.{{cite web |url=https://buffalonews.com/2018/07/04/from-talking-proud-to-the-scrapyard-uss-buffalo-ends-service/ |title=From 'Talking Proud' to the scrapyard: USS Buffalo ends its service |author=Stephen T. Watson |date=4 July 2018 |access-date=3 August 2018 |website=The Buffalo News}} Buffalo was commissioned on 5 November 1983, with Commander G. Michael Hewitt in command. Buffalo was decommissioned on 30 January 2019 after 35 years of service.{{cite web|url={{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=SSN715}}|title=Buffalo (SSN 715) |publisher=Naval Vessel Register|access-date=2 May 2019}}
Operational history
=1980s=
Upon commissioning, Buffalo was assigned to Submarine Squadron 8 in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1984, after a five-month post-shakedown maintenance availability, Buffalo transited through the Panama Canal during a change of homeport to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where she was assigned to Submarine Squadron 1.{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/archives/command-operations-reports/ships/b/buffalo-ssn-715-iii.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023111056/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/archives/command-operations-reports/ships/b/buffalo-ssn-715-iii.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 October 2016 |title=Buffalo (SSN-715) III Command Operations Reports |department=Naval History and Heritage Command |date=12 December 2017 |access-date=3 August 2018}}
Buffalo completed her first deployment to the Western Pacific in 1985, where she became the first nuclear-powered submarine to anchor off the coast of Pattaya Beach, Thailand. Buffalo's second Western Pacific deployment came in 1987, after which she was awarded her first Battle Effectiveness Award, which she proceeded to win for three consecutive years. She conducted another Western Pacific deployment from late 1988 to early 1989.
=1990s=
{{Image frame|width=320|align=left|content=File:Uss Buffalo departing Pearl Harbor.jpg|caption=USS Buffalo departing Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for a Western Pacific Deployment in 1995.}}
After conducting Western and Eastern Pacific deployments in 1990, the next year Buffalo entered dry-dock in Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and began a yearlong Depot Modernization Period during which she was temporarily assigned to Submarine Squadron 7. In the following years, Buffalo conducted numerous deployments to the Eastern and Western Pacific, earning a CNO Letter of Commendation for her 1997 deployment.
Buffalo conducted the first-ever dual Selected Restricted Availability, sharing a dry-dock with the USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) in 1998, followed by an Eastern Pacific deployment that included special Joint Operations with the United States Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard, for which she was awarded the Coast Guard Special Operations Ribbon. In 1999, she conducted another Western Pacific deployment, earning the Battle "E" again, which occurred again in 2001.
=2000s=
In 2002, Buffalo entered dry-dock in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and became the first{{cite web |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Dec/14/ln/hawaii812140368.html |title= Pearl Harbor ends era of submarine reactor projects |author=William Cole |date=14 December 2008 |access-date=8 August 2018}} ship to undergo the multi-year nuclear refueling process in Hawaii. In late November 2005, the DDS was used to launch an underwater glider capable of gathering and storing information to be later transmitted using a built-in satellite phone.{{cite magazine |last=Rush |first=David |date=Winter 2006 |title=Submarine Makes First Launch of an Underwater Glider |url=http://www.public.navy.mil/subfor/underseawarfaremagazine/Issues/PDF/USW_Winter_2006.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211232441/http://www.public.navy.mil/subfor/underseawarfaremagazine/Issues/PDF/USW_Winter_2006.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 February 2017 |magazine=Undersea Warfare |volume=8 |issue=2}}
==Operations in Guam==
Buffalo changed homeport again in 2007 to Naval Base Guam, where she operated out of Apra Harbor assigned to Submarine Squadron 15 as one of the Navy's most forward-deployed submarine assets.{{cite web |url=http://www.kuam.com/story/11071677/submarine-uss-buffalo-now-calls-guam-home |title=Submarine USS Buffalo now calls Guam home |date=26 July 2017 |access-date=3 August 2018 |website=KUAM}} While stationed in Guam, she conducted 11 missions vital to national security and visited Australia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Saipan, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand. She won numerous awards including three Battle "E" awards,{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=47763 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506023949/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=47763 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 May 2017 |title=USS Buffalo holds change of command |date=20 August 2008 |access-date=3 August 2018 |author=MC3 Jacob Sippel |website=Navy.mil}}{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=71824 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205043129/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=71824 |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 February 2013 |title=USS Buffalo holds change of command |date=2 February 2013 |access-date=3 August 2018 |author=MC2 Steven Khor |website=Navy.mil}} the prestigious Pacific Fleet Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy,{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=71428 |title=USS Buffalo bids farewell to Guam |date=14 January 2013 |access-date=3 August 2018 |author=MC1 Jeffrey Jay Price |website=Navy.mil |archive-date=22 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222134043/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=71428 |url-status=dead }} and a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
=2010s=
==Return to Hawaii==
{{Image frame|width=320|align=right|content=File:USS Buffalo and USS Stethem depart Changi Naval Base for the at-sea. (28506939156).jpg|caption=USS Buffalo moored in Changi Naval Base, Singapore during her final deplyoment in 2016.}}
After five and a half years in Guam, Buffalo returned to Pearl Harbor in early 2013, rejoining Submarine Squadron 1. After completing a 17-month Pre-Inactivation Restricted Availability,{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=91406 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121222416/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=91406 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 November 2016 |title=USS Buffalo changes of command |date=7 October 2015 |access-date=3 August 2018 |author=MC1 Jason Swink |website=Navy.mil}} on 23 December 2016 Buffalo completed her final Western Pacific deployment prior to scheduled decommissioning,{{cite web |url=https://navaltoday.com/2016/12/25/us-navy-attack-submarine-completes-final-deployment-before-its-decommissioning// |title=US Navy attack submarine completes final deployment before its decommissioning |website=NavalToday.com |date=25 December 2016 |access-date=2 August 2018}} for which she earned a Navy Unit Commendation.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} On 1 May 2017, Buffalo departed Pearl Harbor for the final time.
==Inactivation and decommissioning==
Per the Annual Report to Congress on Long-Range Planning for Construction of Naval Vessels for FY2013, Buffalo was originally scheduled for decommissioning in 2017.{{cite web |url=https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/2012/03/navy-shipbuilding-fy2013.pdf |title=Annual Report to Congress on Long-Range Planning for Construction of Naval Vessels for FY2013 |department=Office of the Chief of Naval Operations |date=April 2012}} On 26 May 2017, Buffalo arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Friday for inactivation and decommissioning. Buffalo was officially placed in reserve status, inactivated but in commission on 30 September 2017. On 16 July 2018, Buffalo conducted her inactivation ceremony, the final public event prior to the ship's official decommissioning, which would occur within the access-controlled Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.{{cite web |url=https://navaltoday.com/2018/07/17/attack-submarine-uss-buffalo-inactivated-after-35-years-of-service/ |title=Attack submarine USS Buffalo inactivated after 35 years of service |website=NavalToday.com |date=17 July 2018 |access-date=2 August 2018}}{{cite press release |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=106365|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717172528/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=106365|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 July 2018|title=USS Buffalo (SSN 715) Holds Inactivation Ceremony Celebrating 35 Years of Service|publisher=United States Navy|id=NNS180717-06|date=17 July 2018|access-date=2 August 2018}} Buffalo was decommissioned on 30 January 2019 and is currently pending disposal.
Portions of the former USS Buffalo, alongside the former USS Providence, are set to be displayed outside at a new Advanced Training in Defense Manufacturing facility in Danville, Virginia.{{Cite web |last=McFarland |first=Diana |date=2022-10-28 |title=Portions of USS Buffalo, Providence to be on display in Danville |url=https://www.chathamstartribune.com/news/article_64241b9c-553f-11ed-ba04-5b76304dbe66.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Chatham Star-Tribune |language=en}}
References
{{DANFSNVR}}
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|USS Buffalo (SSN-715)}}
- [http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08715.htm NavSource.org]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170530075908/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/buffalo-iii.html DANFS]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170204003724/http://www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_SSN_715_2209.HTML NVR]
{{Los Angeles class submarines}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo (SSN-715)}}
Category:Los Angeles-class submarines
Category:Cold War submarines of the United States
Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy