USS Miami (SSN-755)

USS ''Miami'' (SSN-755) was a United States Navy ''Los Angeles''–class attack submarine. She was the third vessel of the U.S. Navy to be named after Miami, Florida. ''Miami'' was the forty-fourth ''Los Angeles''-class (688) submarine and the fifth Improved ''Los Angeles''-class (688I) submarine to be built and commissioned. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 28 November 1983, and her keel was laid down on 24 October 1986. She was launched on 12 November 1988 and commissioned on 30 June 1990 with Commander Thomas W. Mader in command.

On 1 March 2012, ''Miami'' pulled into the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, for a scheduled 20-month Engineered Overhaul (EOH) and system upgrades. On 23 May, a shipyard employee started a fire that spread to crew living, command and control, and torpedo spaces. Repairs were initially estimated to require three years and $450 million, an estimate later revised to a range of $450 million to $700 million.

On 6 August 2013, Navy officials said that due to budget cuts, the vessel would not be repaired. The submarine was placed on the inactive list, then decommissioned on 28 March 2014.

History

1999

''Miami'' became the first submarine to conduct combat operations in two theaters since World War II (Operation Desert Fox and Operation Allied Force).

2012 fire

At 5:41 p.m. EDT on 23 May 2012, fire crews were called with a report of a fire on ''Miami'' while she was being overhauled at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. At the time, the submarine was on a scheduled 20-month maintenance cycle, indicating that she was undergoing an extensive overhaul called an "Engineering Overhaul". The national media reported that seven firefighters had been injured. One crew member suffered broken ribs when he fell through a hole left by removed deck plates during the fire. It took firefighters 12 hours to extinguish it.

Initially, the U.S. Navy reported that the fire started when an industrial vacuum cleaner used "to clean worksites on the sub after shipyard workers' shifts" sucked up a heat source that ignited debris inside the vacuum. On 23 July 2012, however, civilian painter and sandblaster Casey J. Fury was indicted on two counts of arson after confessing to starting the fire. Fury said he lit rags on a berthing compartment's top bunk so he could get out of work early. On 15 March 2013, he was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $400 million in restitution.

The debate over whether to repair or scrap ''Miami'' lasted more than a year. Within a month of the fire, Maine Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe advocated repairing the submarine. In July 2012, Navy leaders asked Congress to add $220 million to the operations and maintenance budget for emergent and unfunded ship repairs. In August, the Navy decided to repair the boat for an estimated total cost of $450 million. The repair cost was expected to be trimmed by using spare parts from the recently decommissioned and by repairing rather than replacing damaged hull sections, as had been done with another ''Los Angeles''-class boat, . But both of these approaches proved unworkable with the newer ''Miami.'' As well, a detailed assessment raised the estimated repair bill to $700 million.

On 6 August 2013, the U.S. Navy announced its intention to decommission ''Miami'', concluding the cost was more than it could afford in a time of budget cuts. The sub was officially decommissioned on 28 March 2014, to be disposed of via the nuclear Ship-Submarine Recycling Program.

Previous mottos

*"Can do, will do, glad to": Used before Operation Desert Fox.
*"First to fire. Twice to fire": Adopted after returning from the 1998–99 deployment.

In popular culture

*USS ''Miami'' is one of two vessels featured in '' Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship'', a 1993 non-fiction book by Tom Clancy.

Gallery

File:USS Miami (SSN-755).jpg, Tugboats maneuver ''Miami'' into a berth at Port Everglades, Florida on 17 July 1993.
File:USS Miami (SSN-755) docked.jpg, A bow-on view looking down on ''Miami'' in the auxiliary medium repair dock Shippingport (ARDM-4) during a routine hull inspection at Naval Submarine Base New London. (16 March 1994)
File:US Navy 040426-N-6268K-026 Sailors aboard the Los Angeles class attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755), man the rails.jpg, Sailors aboard ''Miami'' man the rails as they prepare to moor at Port Everglades, Florida, Fleet Week. (26 April 2004)
File:US Navy 040426-N-4518L-003 The Los Angeles class attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755) prepares to moor at Port Everglades, Fla., for Fleet Week 2004.jpg, ''Miami'' moored at Port Everglades, Florida. (26 April 2004)
File:US Navy 071111-N-7090S-016 The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755) surfaces in the North Arabian Sea during an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise with the Enterprise Carrier Strike Gro.jpg, ''Miami'' surfaces in the North Arabian Sea during an anti-submarine warfare exercise with the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group. (11 November 2007)
File:US Navy 071113-N-8132M-014 USS Miami (SSN 755) steams through the Arabian Sea accompanied by the USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USNS Supply (T-AOE 6), and USS Gettysburg (CG 64).jpg, ''Miami'' steams through the Arabian Sea accompanied by the USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USNS Supply (T-AOE-6), and USS Gettysburg (CG 64). (11 November 2007)
File:US Navy 091202-N-5339S-693 Santa Claus stands with Sailors aboard USS Miami (SSN 755).jpg, Santa Claus stands with sailors aboard ''Miami'' during the submarine's return to Naval Submarine Base New London after an eight-month deployment. (2 December 2009)
File:US Navy 091202-N-2214H-017 Sailors man the rails as USS Miami (SSN 755) transits the Thames River.jpg, Sailors man the rails as the submarine transits the Thames River en route to Naval Submarine Base New London after an eight-month deployment. (2 December 2009)
File:US Navy 091202-N-2214H-040 Sailors aboard the nuclear submarine Nautilus salute the Sailors aboard the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755)..jpg, Sailors aboard the decommissioned nuclear submarine ''Nautilus'' salute the sailors aboard ''Miami'' as the boat returns home to Naval Submarine Base New London following an eight-month deployment. (2 December 2009)
File:US Navy 111010-N-ZZ999-005 Rear Adm. Bernt Grimstvedt, chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy, looks through the periscope of the Los Angeles-class subm.jpg, Rear Admiral Bernt Grimstvedt, chief of the Royal Norwegian Navy, looks through the periscope during a port visit to strengthen maritime partnership with Norwegian counterparts. (11 October 2011)
File:US Navy 111215-N-AW342-017 The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755) returns home to Submarine Base New London.jpg, ''Miami'' returns home to Submarine Base New London following a five-month deployment conducting operations in the United States Sixth Fleet area of responsibility. (15 December 2011)
File:US Navy 111215-N-UM744-002 The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755) returns home to Submarine Base New London.jpg, ''Miami'' returns home following a five-month deployment. (15 December 2011)

References

External links

* at the Naval Vessel Register
*USS ''Miami'' command histories – Naval History & Heritage Command
1990
https://web.archive.org/web/20131029183807/http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/m/ssn-755/1991.pdf 199
1992
https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192519/http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/m/ssn-755/1993.pdf 199
1994
https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193120/http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/m/ssn-755/1995.pdf 199
1998
https://web.archive.org/web/20131029183804/http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/m/ssn-755/1999.pdf 199
2000
https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194943/http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/m/ssn-755/2001.pdf 200
2002

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miami (Ssn-755)
Los Angeles-class submarines
Cold War submarines of the United States
Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy
Ships built in Groton, Connecticut
1988 ships
Ship fires
Maritime incidents in 2012
Arson in Maine
United States submarine accidents