USS Groton (SSN-694) explained
USS Groton (SSN-694), the seventh, was the third ship of the
United States Navy to be named for
Groton, Connecticut. The contract to build her was awarded to the
Electric Boat Division of
General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 31 January 1971 and her
keel was laid down on 3 August 1973. She was
launched on 9 October 1976 sponsored by Mrs. Anne Francis Richardson (née Hazard), wife of Secretary of Commerce
Elliot L. Richardson, and
commissioned on 8 July 1978, with
Commander R. William Vogel, III in command and
Master Chief Petty Officer Joseph Pow as
Chief of the Boat.
Groton departed on her first overseas deployment in March 1980 to the Indian Ocean. The submarine made her way back to the homeport of Groton, Connecticut by way of the Panama Canal. Groton completed the Around-the-World Cruise in October 1980.
Groton was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 7 November 1997. Ex-Groton was scheduled to enter the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington 1 October 2011.[1]
References
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register as well as various press releases and news stories.
Notes and References
- US Naval Battle Force Changes 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2010 . Samuel Loring . Morison . Proceedings . May 2011 . US Naval Institute .