USS Pennsylvania (SSBN-735)

USS *Pennsylvania* (SSBN-735)
	USS Pennsylvania (SSBN-735) in November 1995.
History
United States
Name	USS Pennsylvania
Namesake	Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Ordered	29 November 1982
Builder	General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut
Launched	23 April 1988
Commissioned	9 September 1989
Homeport	Bangor, Washington
Identification	SSBN-735
Motto	Virtue, Independence, Liberty
Honors and; awards	Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award 2001
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Template:Sclass- ballistic missile submarine
Displacement	16,764 long tons (17,033 t) surfaced; 18,750 long tons (19,050 t) submerged;
Length	560 ft (170 m)
Beam	42 ft (13 m)
Draft	38 ft (12 m)
Propulsion	1 × S8G PWR nuclear reactor (HEU 93.5%); 2 × geared turbines; 1 × 325 hp (242 kW) auxiliary motor; 1 × shaft @ 60,000 shp (45,000 kW);
Speed	Greater than 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Test depth	Greater than 800 feet (240 m)
Complement	15 officers; 140 enlisted;
Armament	MK-48 torpedoes; 20 × Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles;

USS Pennsylvania (SSBN-735) is a United States Navy Template:Sclass- ballistic missile submarine that has been in commission since 1989. She is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Construction and commissioning

The contract to build Pennsylvania was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 29 November 1982 and her keel was laid down there on 10 January 1984. She was launched on 23 April 1988, sponsored by Mrs. Marilyn Garrett, and commissioned on 9 September 1989, with Captain Richard M. Camp commanding the Blue Crew and Captain Lee Edwards commanding the Gold Crew.

Service history

On 29 September 1989, Pennsylvania ran aground as she entered the channel during her first visit to Port Canaveral, Florida. Tugboats freed her in about two hours. A U.S. Navy investigation determined that Pennsylvania was properly positioned in the channel, but the channel had been silted by the recent passing of Hurricane Hugo. Pennsylvania had been rerouted to Port Canaveral shortly after another submarine had struck a buoy that had repositioned in the entrance channel of Kings Bay but it was thought at the time that the channel to Port Canaveral was not affected. Pennsylvania received no damage. This was a rare occasion of a warship running aground and the Commanding Officer not being disciplined. Shortly thereafter, Pennsylvania departed on her first strategic deterrent patrol which lasted 82 days.^[6]

In 2001, Pennsylvania won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the United States Atlantic Fleet.

In 2009, Pennsylvania was featured in an episode of the British television documentary series Big, Bigger, Biggest.^[7]

In 2012, Pennsylvania completed a mid-life 2+1⁄2-year Engineered Refueling Overhaul (ERO) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where her reactor was refueled for an estimated 25 more years of service.

On 28 March 2014 Commander John E. Cage relieved Commander Gustavo Gutierrez as commanding officer. On 17 April 2015 Commander Andrew Clark took command at a ceremony in Bangor, Washington.

On 14 June 2014, the Gold crew under the command of Commander G. Tiger Pittman, completed a record-setting 140-day strategic deterrent patrol. This is the longest strategic deterrent patrol completed since the beginning of the Poseidon C3 missile program in the 1970s.^[8]

USS Pennsylvania in fiction

In Tom Clancy's 1994 novel Debt of Honor, USS Pennsylvania is one of several submarines sent to deal with a Japanese invasion of the Northern Mariana Islands. She becomes the first U.S. nuclear submarine to sink an enemy warship when she fires a torpedo at a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force hunter-killer (SSK)-type submarine.

Pennsylvania is featured in season six of the AMC drama Fear The Walking Dead. After Pennsylvania is beached in Galveston, TX during a hurricane, a cult leader obtains the launch keys for her D5 missiles and attempts to fulfill his doomsday plan.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "SSBN-726 Ohio-Class FBM Submarines". Federation of American Scientists. 9 February 2000. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Frost, Peter. "Newport News contract awarded". Daily Press. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
^ "US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel". Fissile Materials. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
^ Brendan Patrick Hanlon (July 2015). Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors (PDF) (Master thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Submarine Frequently Asked Questions". Chief of Naval Operations Submarine Warfare Division. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
^ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-09-30/news/8909304822_1_port-canaveral-submarine-tugboats
^ ""Big, Bigger, Biggest" Submarine". imdb.com. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
^ Arendes, Ahron (30 June 2014). "USS Pennsylvania Sets Patrol Record". Military.com.

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

USS pennsylvania website USS Pennsylvania website

Photo gallery of USS Pennsylvania (SSBN-735) at NavSource Naval History* Video: The Largest Submarine in the U.S. Navy

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[FAS-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "SSBN-726 Ohio-Class FBM Submarines". Federation of American Scientists. 9 February 2000. Retrieved 25 October 2021.

[Frost-2] Frost, Peter. "Newport News contract awarded". Daily Press. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2011.

[3] "US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel". Fissile Materials. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2021.

[fuel-4] Brendan Patrick Hanlon (July 2015). Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors (PDF) (Master thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 25 October 2021.

[subFAQ-5] "Submarine Frequently Asked Questions". Chief of Naval Operations Submarine Warfare Division. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2011.

[6] ttp://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-09-30/news/8909304822_1_port-canaveral-submarine-tugboats

[7] ""Big, Bigger, Biggest" Submarine". imdb.com. Retrieved 9 January 2015.

[8] Arendes, Ahron (30 June 2014). "USS Pennsylvania Sets Patrol Record". Military.com.

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v t e Ohio-class submarines
SSGN	Ohio Michigan Florida Georgia
SSBN	Henry M. Jackson Alabama Alaska Nevada Tennessee Pennsylvania West Virginia Kentucky Maryland Nebraska Rhode Island Maine Wyoming Louisiana
Preceded by: Benjamin Franklin class Followed by: Columbia class
List of submarines of the United States Navy List of submarine classes of the United States Navy

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1989
Shipwrecks	7 Jan: Lavia 21 Jan: USS Muliphen 28 Jan: Bahía Paraíso 15 Feb: Maassluis 8 Apr: K-278 Komsomolets 25 Apr: USS Parsons 24 May: Moby Dick June (unknown date): USS Blenny 20 Aug: Marchioness 10 Sep: Mogoșoaia 29 Oct: Murree 4 Dec: USCGC Mesquite Unknown date: HMS Leander, YO-257, ROCS Tze Yang
Other incidents	17 Jan: USS Norfolk, USS San Diego 16 Mar: NOAAS Oregon II 24 Mar: Exxon Valdez (oil spill) 19 Apr: USS Iowa (turret explosion) 19 Jun: Maxim Gorkiy 25 Jun: K-131 19 Aug: Ross Revenge 20 Aug: Bowbelle 29 Sep: USS Pennsylvania October (unknown date): HMS Spartan 19 Dec: Khark 5 (oil spill)
1988 1990