History:
USS CHICAGO (SSN 721) is the
Navy's 145th nuclear powered submarine and the 34th of the Los
Angeles class. She was commissioned on September 27, 1986 at the
Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia.
USS CHICAGO can carry the full arsenal of submarine
launched weapons, including torpedoes, Harpoon missiles, mines,
and Tomahawk land attack missiles. She is the first US submarine
originally built with vertical missile tubes which gives her
significant land attack capability.
USS CHICAGO conducted an interfleet Panama Canal and
arrived in San Diego, California in June 1988. Since arriving in
the Pacific Fleet, she has conducted seven deployments,
including operations in the Western Pacific, the Red Sea, and
the Persian Gulf.
The ship participated in Operation Desert Storm in the
spring of 1991, conducting a 32-day Tomahawk missile patrol in
the Red Sea. In 1992, she participated in the 50th anniversary
commemoration of the Battle of the Coral Sea. In 1995, CHICAGO
conducted operations in the Persian Gulf as a member of the USS
INDEPENDENCE carrier battle group. Ports visited during deployed
operations include Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore,
Australia, Japan, Korea, Guam, and Bahrain. CHICAGO changed her
homeport to Hawaii in June 1997.
The ship has been awarded Meritorious Unit Commendation
for outstanding performance during deployed operations. CHICAGO
earned the Battle Efficiency “E” in 1990, 1991 and
1994, and has received two engineering Red “E” awards,
the 1990 and 1991 CINCPACFLT Golden Anchor Awards, and the 1994
Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy. |
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