USS San Francisco (SSN-711)

USS "San Francisco" (SSN-711), a "Los Angeles"-class submarine, is the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for San Francisco, California. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 1 August 1975 and her keel was laid down on 26 May 1977. She was launched on 27 October 1979 sponsored by Mrs Robert Y. Kaufman, and commissioned on 24 April 1981, with Commander J. Allen Marshall in command.

Following an initial shakedown cruise, "San Francisco" joined Submarine Force, US Pacific Fleet and moved to her homeport at Pearl Harbor. "San Francisco" completed deployments in 1982, 1985, and 1986 with the U.S. Seventh Fleet and various independent operations in the Pacific in 1986 and 1988 earning the Battle Efficiency "E" for Submarine Squadron Seven in 1985 and 1988.

"San Francisco" entered a Depot Modernization Period at Pearl Harbor from 1989 to 1990 and then went on to conduct deployments to the Western Pacific in 1992 and 1994. The submarine was awarded the 1994 Commander Submarine Squadron Seven "T" for excellence in tactical operations and a Meritorious Unit Commendation for the 1994 Western Pacific deployment.

On 18 December 2002 "San Francisco" arrived at her new homeport at Apra Harbor, Guam.

Collision with Seamount

On 8 January 2005 at about 0200 GMT, "San Francisco" collided with an undersea mountain about 560 kilometers (350 statute miles) south of Guam while operating at flank (maximum) speed and more than 500 feet deep. The collision was so serious that the vessel was almost lost - accounts detail a desperate struggle for positive buoyancy to surface after the forward ballast tanks were ruptured. Twenty-three crewmen were injured, and Machinist's Mate Second Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died on 9 January from head injuries. Other injuries to the crew included broken bones, lacerations, and a back injury. "San Francisco"’s forward ballast tanks and sonar dome were severely damaged, but her inner hull was not breached and there was no damage to her nuclear reactor. She surfaced and, accompanied by USCGC "Galveston Island" (WPB-1349), USNS "Stockham" (T-AK-3017), and
USNS "Kiska" (T-AE-35), as well as MH-60S Knighthawks and P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, arrived in Guam on 10 January. The Navy immediately stated that there was "absolutely no reason to believe that it struck another submarine or vessel." Later, an examination of the submarine in drydock showed unmistakably that the submarine had indeed struck an undersea mountain which had only vague references on the charts available to "San Francisco".Commander Kevin Mooney, "San Francisco"’s commanding officer, was reassigned to a shore unit in Guam during the incident investigation. As the investigation concluded, the Navy found that, despite Mooney's otherwise remarkably good record, "several critical navigational and voyage planning procedures" were not being implemented aboard "San Francisco". Consequently, the Navy relieved Mooney of command, and issued him a nonjudicial letter of reprimand. (He was not charged with a crime and was not court-martialed). Six crew members were also found guilty at their own nonjudicial punishment hearings ("Captain's Mast") of hazarding a vessel and dereliction of duty, and were reduced in rank and given punitive letters of reprimand. For their actions in the crisis, twenty other officers and men received awards, including letters of commendation, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

The seamount that the "San Francisco" struck did not appear on the chart in use at the time of the accident, but other charts available for use indicated an area of 'discolored water', an indication of the presence of a seamount. The Navy determined that information regarding the mount should have been transferred to the charts in use — particularly given the relatively uncharted nature of the ocean area that was being transited — and that the failure to do so represented a breach of proper procedures.

As "San Francisco" recently had her nuclear fuel replaced and thus was expected to remain in-service until 2017, the Navy determined that repair of the vessel was in its best interests. "San Francisco" transited to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for extensive repairs. Temporary repairs were made in Guam to provide water-tight integrity and forward buoyancy, so that the boat could safely transit to another location. "San Francisco" steamed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington via Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on 26 August 2005. [Guam Pacific Daily News. [http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050901/NEWS01/509010309/1002 (Dead Link)] .]

Fate

In June 2006 it was announced that "San Francisco"'s bow section was to be replaced with that of the soon to be retired USS "Honolulu" (SSN-718) at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Though the "San Francisco" is four years older than the "Honolulu", she was refueled and upgraded in 2000-2002. The cost of the bow replacement has been estimated at $79 million, as compared to $170 million to refuel the reactor on the "Honolulu". [US Navy. [https://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=27010 USS Honolulu Holds Final Change of Command Ceremony] . December 14 2006.] [ [http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jun/26/br/br06p.html Nose of USS Honolulu to go to USS San Francisco] The Honolulu Advertiser ]

See also

* Major submarine incidents since 2000

References

External links

* [http://www.guam.navy.mil/711.htm Official site]
* [http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/SSN711.htm Official NVR Entry]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4527459.stm BBC story on grounding report]
* [http://navysite.de/ssn/ssn711.htm USS San Francisco (SSN 711)] (navysite.de)

*(coord|13.444315|144.659772|scale:2000_type:landmark|display=inline) [http://maps.google.com/?hl=en&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=13.444315,144.659772&spn=0.002786,0.003487&t=k&om=1 Satellite photograph of USS San Francisco in dry dock at Guam, 2005] (maps.google.com)