USS ''Cincinnati'' (SSN-693), a , was the fourth ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

to be named for

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. The contract to build her was awarded to

Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia, and sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

on 4 February 1971 and her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid down on 6 April 1974. She was launched on 19 February 1977 sponsored by Mrs.

William J. Keating William John Keating (March 30, 1927 – May 20, 2020) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician of the Republican party. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1974. Background Keating was born in Cinci ...

, and commissioned on 10 June 1978. In August 1979, ''Cincinnati'' rescued a Finnish sailor off the east coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

who had been in the water for 22 hours after falling overboard from the Finnish freighter ''Finnbeaver''. In November 1980, after a patrol in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, ''Cincinnati'' was visited by former

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

and Admiral Hyman Rickover. In 1981, ''Cincinnati'', under the command of Commander Kurt T. Juroff USN, conducted an around the world cruise, steaming 60,000 miles and operating in the Indian Ocean. From 8–13 June 1981 ''Cincinnati'' visited Western Australia, docking at HMAS Stirling, Rockingham for an R&R visit. ''Cincinnati'' was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 29 July 1996. Ex-''Cincinnati'' was scheduled to enter the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

. After an attempt made to preserve her as a museum and memorial in her namesake city failed, the city now plans on acquiring the

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

and other artifacts for display on the riverfront. A portion of the submarine, the nuclear reactor compartment, was transported via river barge to Hanford, Washington in September 2014 for disposal.

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register as well as various press releases and news stories. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cincinnati (SSN-693) Los Angeles-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy History of Cincinnati 1977 ships Ships built in Newport News, Virginia