USS Los Angeles SSN 688
USS
Los Angeles (SSN-688)The
USS Los Angeles was the lead ship in her class of submarines,
was fourth ship of the United
States Navy to be named for Los
Angeles, California. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport
News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport
News, Virginia on 8 January 1971 and her keel was laid down on 8
January 1972. She was launched
on 6 April 1974 sponsored by Anne
Armstrong and commissioned
on 13 November 1976 with Commander John Christensen in command.
She hosted President Jimmy Carter and the First Lady on 27 May 1977 for an at sea demonstration of her capabilities. In 2007 she was the oldest submarine in active service with the US Navy. The Navy decommissioned the USS Los Angeles on 23 January 2010, in Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, her namesake city. The wardroom of the oldest submarine in the fleet carries Richard O'Kane's personal cribbage board, and upon the decommissioning the board was transferred to the next oldest boat, the USS Bremerton.
DeploymentsLos
Angeles made her first operational deployment to the Mediterranean
Sea in
1977 and was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation. In 1978, she
transferred to the Pacific Fleet and was assigned to Submarine
Squadron 7, home ported in Pearl
Harbor. She conducted 17 Pacific deployments over the
next 32 years and earned eight Meritorious
Unit Citations and
a Navy
Unit Citation. Los Angeles participated in four
multinational "Rim of the Pacific" (RIMPAC)
exercises, and visited numerous foreign ports in Italy, Republic
of the Philippines, Diego Garcia, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Australia,
Japan, Republic of Korea, Canada and Singapore.[2]
In 1999, while under the command of Mark D. Jenkins, Los Angeles was modified to carry a Dry Deck Shelter (DDS). Her capabilities included undersea warfare, surface warfare, strike warfare, mining operations, special forces delivery, reconnaissance, carrier battle group support and escort, and intelligence collection.
The USS Los Angeles' 34-year career was one of the longest for a US Navy submarine.
DecommissioningThe Los Angeles was inactivated on 1 February 2010 and decommissioned on 4 February 2011.