History:
USS SANTA FE (SSN763) is the
Navy's 52nd LOS ANGELES class fast attack nuclear powered
submarine. She was christened by Mrs. Joy Johnson and launched
on December 12, 1992 at General Dynamics Electric Boat Division
in Groton, Connecticut. She was then commissioned on January 8,
1994 at Naval Submarine Base, Groton, Connecticut.
The SANTA FE is the second ship to be named in honor of
the capital city of New Mexico. An improved LOS ANGELES CLASS
(or 688I), she features the BSY-1 combat system, retractable bow
planes, and twelve vertical launch tubes for cruise missile
strikes.
USS SANTA FE combines stealth, endurance, and agility to
provide a highly cost effective and capable ship, ready on a
moments notice to carry out a multitude of missisons. A verstile
platform, SANTA FE is equally at home in the roles of tactical
intelligence gathering and surveillance, regional sea denial and
task group support. Should conflict arise, her inherent
covertness, near vulnerability to attack, and cruise missile
capability provide SANTA FE a unique ability to be in place and
undetected offshore for precision strike or ground warfare
support.
Incorporated in SANTA FE's normal arsenal are MK-48 and
Advanced Capabiltiy (ADCAP) torpedoes, as well as TOMAHAWK
cruise missiles like the ones fired during DESERT STORM and in
Bosnia. She carries 12 TOMAHAWK cruise missiles in vertical
lauch tubes located external to the pressure hull forward of the
sail. The preparation and launching of each weapon is
accomplished by highly sophisticated, computer-controlled sonar
and fire control systems. Additionally, SANTA FE has the ability
to deliver underwater mines in coastal areas and carry teams of
Special Forces for covert deployment.
SANTA FE is 362 feet long and displaces 6900 tons
submerged. Being nuclear powered, she can remain submerged for
long periods of time. Since she can produce her own water and
oxygen, SANTA FE's endurace is limited to mainly how much food
she can carry. SANTA FE can dive deeper than 800 feet and run at
speeds in excess of 25 knots.
After completing builders trials and follow-on outfitting,
SANTA FE transited to the Pacific Ocean in March 1995 to be
based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Operating in Submarine Squadron
Seven, she prepared for her first deployment. In April 1997, she
finished her first six-month Western Pacific Deployment with the
USS KITTY HAWK Carrier Battle Group. In September 1998 she
completed a very successful dry-dock availability at Pearl
Harbor Naval Shipyard, and has just recently returned from a
three month trip tot he Eastern Pacific and West Coast of the
United States. |
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