USS Louisville (SSN-724)

The crew of the Los Angeles class submarine USS Louisville (SSN-724) pose for a picture with their submarine.
The crew of USS Louisville
History
United States
NameUSS Louisville
NamesakeThe City of Louisville, Kentucky
Awarded11 February 1982
BuilderGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat
Laid down24 September 1984
Launched14 December 1985
Commissioned8 November 1986
Decommissioned9 March 2021
Out of service6 August 2020
Stricken9 March 2021
HomeportNaval Station Bremerton
MottoBest of the Breed
StatusStricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeLos Angeles-class submarine
Displacement
  • 5,789 long tons (5,882 t) light
  • 6,185 long tons (6,284 t) full
  • 396 long tons (402 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%[1][2]
  • 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, 150 enlisted
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), minelaying Mk 67 mobile Mk 60 captor mines

USS Louisville (SSN-724), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Louisville, Kentucky. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 11 February 1982 and her keel was laid on 24 September 1984. She was launched on 14 December 1985—sponsored by Mrs. Betty Ann McKee (née Harris), wife of Admiral Kinnaird McKee, Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion —and commissioned on 8 November 1986 with Captain Charles E. Ellis in command.

Louisville serves as a trial platform for the prototype BQQ-10 ARCI sonars, which incorporate off-the-shelf computer components, allowing easy introduction of modular upgrades.

  1. ^ "International Panel on Fissile Materials". fissilematerials.org. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  2. ^ "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.