USS Portsmouth (SSN-707)
{{short description|Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the US Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Portsmouth}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=USS Portsmouth (SSN-707).jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{USN flag|2004}} |Ship name=USS Portsmouth |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= 10 December 1973 |Ship builder= General Dynamics Corporation |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= 8 May 1980 |Ship launched= 18 September 1982 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=1 October 1983 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned=10 September 2004 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= 10 September 2004 |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport=Groton, Connecticut |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate= Stricken, To be disposed of by submarine recycling |Ship status= |Ship notes= |Ship badge= File:707insig.png }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}} |Ship type= |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement= 5,755 tons light, 6,129 tons full, 374 tons dead |Ship length= {{convert|110.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|10|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draft= {{convert|9.7|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship decks= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=S6G nuclear reactor |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship complement=12 officers, 98 enlisted |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=* 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes |Ship armor= |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox service record |is_ship=yes |label= |partof=*United States Fifth Fleet (1995–1996)
|codes= |commanders= |operations=Operation Urgent Fury |victories= |awards=*Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal }} |
USS Portsmouth (SSN-707) is a decommissioned {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}}. She was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
History
The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 10 December 1973 and her keel was laid down on 8 May 1980. She was launched on 18 September 1982 sponsored by Mrs. Helen Poe Goodrich, and commissioned on 1 October 1983, with Commander Donald M. Olson in command. The ceremony took place at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, just east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, her namesake city.{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=Darren |title=In The Same Boat |date=4 October 2023 |publisher=Klaris Books |isbn=9788023959567 |pages=213–220}}
Three weeks after commissioning Portsmouth began her first mission, supporting rescue operations in Grenada. She was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for that action.{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=Darren |title=In The Same Boat |date=4 October 2023 |publisher=Klaris Books |isbn=9788023959567 |pages=222–224}}
In 1984 Portsmouth entered her homeport of Groton, Connecticut, which she left for her permanent homeport at Ballast Point Submarine Base in San Diego. En route she transited through the Panama Canal and made a quick dash south for her first transit across the equator.{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=Darre |title=In The Same Boat |date=4 October 2023 |publisher=Klaris Books |isbn=9788023959567 |pages=291–292}}
In 1985 Portsmouth commenced her first Western Pacific operations that included port-calls in Japan and Australia and became the first American nuclear-powered warship to visit Fiji. Years later she became the first to make a liberty call to communist Chinese reunified Hong Kong.
On 10 September 2004 Portsmouth was decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia and was inactivated at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in nearby Portsmouth, Virginia, her other namesake city. She entered the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. While the submarine was only halfway through her design lifespan, her reactor core required refueling. Decommissioning was chosen as a cost-saving measure.{{Cite web |title=Submarine Photo Index |url=https://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08707.htm |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=www.navsource.org}}
Awards
The ship deployed to 5th Fleet with the Nimitz Battle Group in 1995–1996. She was awarded the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) and the COMSUBRON 11 Battle "E".
The ship deployed to 7th Fleet in 1997. The crew was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal. Upon return to homeport, the ship was again awarded the COMSUBRON 11 Battle "E", judged the most battle effective submarine in her squadron.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.ussportsmouth.org www.ussportsmouth.org]
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
{{Los Angeles class submarines}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portsmouth (SSN-707)}}
Category:Los Angeles-class submarines
Category:Cold War submarines of the United States
Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy
Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut
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