USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723)

{{short description|Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the US Navy}}

{{other ships|USS Oklahoma City}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}

{{Infobox ship begin}} {{Infobox ship image |Ship image= Image:USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723).jpg |Ship caption= USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723) }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag= {{USN flag}} |Ship name=USS Oklahoma City |Ship namesake= Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= 13 August 1981 |Ship builder= Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= 4 January 1984 |Ship launched= 2 November 1985 |Ship sponsor=Mrs. Linda M. Nickles |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= 28 June 1988 |Ship commissioned= 9 July 1988 |Ship decommissioned= 9 September 2022 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= 10 February 2022 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= 9 September 2022 |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship identification= |Ship motto= The Sooner, The Better |Ship nickname= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship status= Stricken, Final Disposition Pending |Ship notes= |Ship badge=150px }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}} |Ship type= |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement=*{{convert|5782|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} light {{convert|6200|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full {{convert|418|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} dead |Ship length={{convert|110.3|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|10|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draft={{convert|9.4|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship decks= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion={{Los Angeles-class submarine Flight II/III propulsion}} |Ship speed=*Surfaced:{{convert|20|kn|mph km/h}} Submerged: +{{convert|20|kn|mph km/h}} (official) |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship complement=17 officers, 134 men |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors=BQQ-5 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 |Ship EW= |Ship armament=4 × 21 in (533 mm) bow tubes, 10 Mk48 ADCAP torpedo reloads, Tomahawk land attack missile block 3 SLCM range {{convert|1700|nmi|km}}, Harpoon anti–surface ship missile range {{convert|70|nmi|km}}, mine laying Mk67 mobile Mk60 captor mines |Ship armor= |Ship notes= }}

USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), a {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}}, is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 13 August 1981 and the keel was laid down on 4 January 1984. She was launched on 2 November 1985 sponsored by Mrs. Linda M. Nickles, and commissioned on 9 July 1988.{{cite web |title=USS OKLAHOMA CITY (SSN 723) |url=https://www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_SSN_723.HTML |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025102445/http://www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_SSN_723.HTML |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 October 2016 |website=Naval Vessel Register |access-date=5 October 2022}} In 1991, Oklahoma City won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.

On 13 November 2002, Oklahoma City collided with the Leif Hoegh liquefied natural gas tanker Norman Lady, east of the Strait of Gibraltar. No one on either vessel was hurt, and there were no leaks of oil from fuel tanks and no threat to the environment, but the submarine sustained damage to the periscope and sail area, and put into La Maddalena, Sardinia, for repairs. The submarine's commanding officer was relieved of command on 30 November. One other officer and two enlisted crew members also were disciplined for dereliction of duty.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

On 20 January 2005 Oklahoma City returned to Norfolk, Virginia, after a six-month deployment in support of national security interests and the War on Terrorism. Oklahoma City transited to a patrol area in the Pacific Ocean via the Arctic Ocean, the first such transit for a second-flight {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}}{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}. After the patrol, she then completed a circumnavigation of North America by transiting back to the Atlantic Ocean through the Panama Canal and returning to her home port in Norfolk.

In early 2007, Oklahoma City became the first submarine certified to exclusively use Digital Nautical Charts (DNCs), using the Voyage Management System (VMS). VMS is part of the Electronic Chart Display and Information System-Navy (ECDIS-N) system, which has been under development since 1990. The shift from traditional paper navigation to an all-electronic navigation suite marked the first significant shift in U.S. Navy navigation practices since the introduction of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the 1990s.

From May to November 2007, Oklahoma City completed a deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of the War on Terror. The submarine spent May to July 2008 in the Eastern Pacific in support of the War on Drugs, and was responsible for seizing more than 11 metric tons of cocaine valued at more than $1.5 billion (USD).

Oklahoma City was awarded the 2008 Squadron Eight Battle "E". After a 26-month overhaul, in March 2011 the sub was forward deployed to Guam.Matthews, Laura, "[http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/gannett-navy-oklahoma-city-arrives-at-guam-030311/ Sub Oklahoma City arrives at Navy Base Guam]", Military Times, 3 March 2011, retrieved 4 March 2011.

Oklahoma City arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, on 22 November 2021 to start her months-long inactivation and decommissioning process.{{cite news|url=https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2021/11/23/uss-oklahoma-city-submarine-makes-final-voyage-bremerton/8736625002/|title=USS Oklahoma City submarine makes final voyage to Bremerton, where it will be scrapped|publisher=Kitsap Sun|last=Farley|first=Josh|date=23 November 2021|access-date=23 November 2021}} The submarine was officially placed in reserve status, inactivated but in commission on 10 February 2022 and decommissioned on 9 September 2022.