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USS Columbus (SSN-762)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other ships with the same name, see USS Columbus.
Not to be confused with USS Columbia (SSN-771).

Columbus performing an Emergency main ballast tank blow in 1998
History
United States
NameUSS Columbus
NamesakeThe City of Columbus, Ohio
Awarded21 March 1986
BuilderGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat
Laid down9 January 1991
Launched1 August 1992
Sponsored byMargaret DeMars[1]
Commissioned24 July 1993
HomeportNaval Station Pearl Harbor (Currently Newport News Shipbuilding for overhaul.[2])
MottoAll Seas Are Navigable[3]
StatusIn active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeLos Angeles-class submarine
Displacement
  • 6,000 long tons (6,096 t) light
  • 6,927 long tons (7,038 t) full
  • 927 long tons (942 t) dead
Length110.3 m (361 ft 11 in)
Beam10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Draft9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Propulsion
  • 1 × S6G PWR nuclear reactor with D2W core (165 MW), HEU 93.5%[4][5]
  • 2 × steam turbines (33,500) shp
  • 1 × shaft
  • 1 × secondary propulsion motor 325 hp (242 kW)
Speed
  • Surfaced:20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h)
  • Submerged: +20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) (official)
Complement12 officers, 98 men
Sensors and
processing systems		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
Armament4 × 21 in (533 mm) bow tubes, 10 Mk48 ADCAP torpedo reloads, Tomahawk land attack missile block 3 SLCM range 1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km), Harpoon anti–surface ship missile range 70 nautical miles (130 km), mine laying Mk67 mobile Mk60 captor mines

USS Columbus (SSN-762) is a Los Angeles-class nuclear powered fast attack submarine and the second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for Columbus, Ohio. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 21 March 1986 and her keel was laid down on 9 January 1991. She was launched on 1 August 1992 sponsored by Mrs. Margaret DeMars, wife of Admiral Bruce DeMars and commissioned on 24 July 1993.

Operational history

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Columbus completed a Post Shipyard Availability in June 1994 in Groton, Connecticut after initial construction and shakedown operations. In September 1994, the submarine conducted an interfleet transfer to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force. Columbus deployed to the Western Pacific in late 1995 through early 1996 and conducted a variety of operations as a unit of the Seventh Fleet along the way making port visits in Hong Kong, Subic Bay, Guam, and Yokosuka, Japan.[6]

Columbus was the first submarine equipped with the BYG-1 Fire Control System in December 2002.[7] Two successful test launches of Tactical Tomahawk (Block IV) cruise missiles were conducted in late May 2003 from Columbus, while underway in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California.[8] Columbus departed Pearl Harbor for another western Pacific deployment in late 2003,[9] and visited Jinhae-gu, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan while taking part in Annual-Ex 2003, an exercise with various units of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.[10]

In mid-April 2006 seven Columbus crewmen were charged with a variety of offenses, including assault, dereliction of duty, and hazing, for alleged attacks on two of their shipmates. The accused range from a petty officer third class (E-4) to a senior chief (E-8).[11] A complete report on the situation was completed on 30 May. On 13 June, the Navy announced the dismissal of Columbus's commanding officer, Commander Charles Marquez because of concerns about his "ability to establish and maintain appropriate standards of professional conduct, provide the crew a safe, positive, professional environment in which to work, and maintain good order and discipline".[12][13] Captain Brian McIlvaine, former commanding officer of USS Ohio (SSGN-726), replaced Marquez temporarily. After a few months in command CAPT McIlvaine was replaced with CDR James Doody. At the end of a DMP (depot modernization period) In Bremerton, Washington, Columbus relocated back to Pearl Harbor on 22 December 2006.

Following a modernization refit at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard from 2004 to 2006 in Bremerton, Washington, Columbus returned to Submarine Squadron Seven in Pearl Harbor. She departed in March 2008 for a regularly scheduled six-month deployment with the Seventh Fleet. Columbus supported national taskings and theater security cooperation efforts while making port visits in Saipan, Guam, Okinawa, Sasebo, and Yokosuka, Japan.[14] In January 2009 Columbus was awarded the Submarine Squadron Seven Battle Efficiency (Battle "E") award, given to the submarine crew that best demonstrates technical proficiency and continual mission readiness throughout the previous year.[15]

In July 2009 Admiral Gary Roughead, the Chief of Naval Operations, announced that Columbus was the Pacific Fleet winner of the 2008 Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy.[16]

Columbus returned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in August 2012 after completing a six-month deployment that included Seventh Fleet and national mission tasking along with port visits to Japan, South Korea, and Guam.[17] Columbus arrived in the South Korean southern port city of Busan on 3 March 2014 as a part of a scheduled deployment in the Western Pacific.[18] In September 2017, Columbus returned to Pearl Harbor from a six-month deployment having performing three national tasking periods, two theater operation periods, and a multinational exercise. Columbus also enjoyed four port visits, including Singapore and Guam.[19]

Columbus is currently in drydock in Newport News Shipbuilding for overhaul.

General Dynamics Electric Boat employees on the day of USS Columbus's Launch

Awards

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1995
Pacific Fleet Golden Anchor Award
Red Engineering "E"
Yellow Medical "M"
1996
Meritorious Unit Commendation[20]
1997
Supply Blue "E"
1998
Pacific Fleet Silver Anchor Award
Engineering "E"
Deck Seamanship[21]
2002
Red Green Navigational "N"
2003
Navy Unit Commendation
Tactical "T"
Communications "C"
2004
Medical "M"[22]
2008
Department of the Navy Safety Excellence Award[23]
Damage Control 'DC', Navigation 'N', Communications 'C', and Supply Blue 'E'[24]
Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy[16]
Squadron 7 Battle "E" Efficiency Award[25]
Meritorious Unit Commendation
2012
Squadron 7 Battle "E" Efficiency Award[26]
2014
Communications 'C', Information Dominance 'I', and Weapons 'W'

References

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  1. ^ "Columbus (SSN-762)". history.navy.mil. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Huntington Ingalls Industries wins $115m contract for USS Columbus overhaul". 25 April 2023.
  3. ^ "USS Columbus SSN-762 Los Angeles class attack submarine US Navy". www.seaforces.org. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  4. ^ "International Panel on Fissile Materials". fissilematerials.org. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors" (PDF). dspace.mit.edu. June 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  6. ^ "USS 'Columbus' command history 1996" (PDF). Naval History and Heritage Command. 7 March 1997. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  7. ^ "USS 'Columbus' command history 2002" (PDF). Naval History and Heritage Command. 12 September 2003. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  8. ^ Schroeder, Sandra (27 May 2003). "Submarine USS Columbus Launches Tomahawks in West Coast Tests". U.S. Navy. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  9. ^ Rush, David (29 October 2003). "USS Columbus Deploys to Western Pacific". U.S. Navy. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  10. ^ "USS 'Columbus' command history 2004" (PDF). Naval History and Heritage Command. 1 April 2005. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  11. ^ Navy Times[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^ Seattle Post-Intelligencer[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  14. ^ Clark, Cynthia (13 September 2008). "USS Columbus Returns to Pearl Harbor". U.S. Navy. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  15. ^ Marano, Luciano (8 January 2009). "USS Columbus receives Battle Efficiency award". Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  16. ^ a b Roughead, Gary (9 July 2009). "Calendar Year 2008 Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy Award Recipients". Chief of Naval Operations. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via NAVADMIN Library.
  17. ^ "Columbus Completes Deployment". Ho'okele Pearl Harbor Hickam News. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Nuclear-powered U.S. submarine arrives in S. Korea". Xinhua News Agency. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017.
  19. ^ "USS Columbus Returns Home From Deployment". DVIDS. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  20. ^ "USS 'Columbus' Command history 1997" (PDF). Naval History and Heritage Command. 1 March 1998. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  21. ^ "USS 'Columbus' command history 1998" (PDF). Naval History and Heritage Command. 31 March 1999. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  22. ^ "USS Columbus gets a new boss". The Northwest Navigator. 1 October 2004. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  23. ^ "2008 DON Safety Excellence Award Recipients Announced". U.S. Navy Task Force 74. 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  24. ^ "The Battle 'E' Winners!". Anything But Dependent Blog. 10 January 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  25. ^ Lohmeyer, Dean. "Submarine Force Announces Battle "E" Winners". U.S. Navy. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  26. ^ "Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet announces 2012 Battle Efficiency award winners". COMSUBPAC. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

This article includes information collected from the public domain sources Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and Naval Vessel Register.

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