USS Olympia (SSN-717)

USS Olympia (SSN-717) is a Los Angeles-class submarine of the United States Navy.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Olympia.
History
United States
Name: USS Olympia
Namesake: City of Olympia
Awarded: 15 September 1977
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Laid down: 31 March 1981
Launched: 30 April 1983
Commissioned: 17 November 1984
Homeport: Pearl Harbor
Motto:
  • Este Paratus
  • ("We Are Ready")
Status: Active, awaiting decommissioning
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Los Angeles-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 5,763 long tons (5,855 t) surfaced
  • 6,130 long tons (6,228 t) submerged
  • 6,136,730 long tons (6,235,206 t) dead
Length: 362 ft (110.3 m)
Beam: 33 ft (10 m)
Draft: 32 ft (9.8 m)
Propulsion: S6G reactor
Complement: 12 officers, 98 men
Armament: 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Etymology

Olympia is the second ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for Olympia, Washington.

History

The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 15 September 1977 and her keel was laid down on 31 March 1981. She was launched on 30 April 1983 sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Williams, and commissioned on 17 November 1984.

Olympia was assigned to Submarine Squadron 7 (SUBRON SEVEN) and was homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

In 1998, Olympia became the first Pacific-based submarine to pass through the Suez Canal in over 35 years.

When USS Bremerton (SSN-698) was decommissioned in August 2018, Olympia became the oldest commissioned submarine in the US fleet. Keeping with a tradition that dates back to World War II, Richard O'Kane's cribbage board was transferred from Bremerton to Olympia's wardroom.[1] When she was decommissioned on 31 October 2019, USS Chicago (SSN-721) thus became the "Oldest Fast Attack in the Fleet". The O'Kane Board now resides in her wardroom.

Olympia arrived in Bremerton, WA, on Thursday, October 31, 2019, for decommissioning after completing a final circumnavigation. It will be scrapped; its nuclear reactor dismantled.[2]

Awards
  • Engineering Excellence
  • Deck Seamanship Award
  • Silver Anchor Award

References
  1. "O'Kane Cribbage board passed to USS Olympia (SSN-715)". Bremerton-Olympic Peninsula Council Navy League of the US. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  2. "USS Olympia arrives in Bremerton for decommissioning". 30 October 2019.
  • This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain., as well as various press releases and news stories.
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