USS ''Ohio'' (SSBN-726/SSGN-726), the

lead boat The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

fleet ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – ...

s (SSBN), is the fourth vessel 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 the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. She was commissioned with the hull designation of SSBN-726, and with her conversion to a

guided missile submarine A cruise missile submarine is a submarine that carries and launches cruise missiles (SLCMs and anti-ship missiles) as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a vessel's ability to attack surface combatants and strike land targets, and alt ...

she was re-designated SSGN-726.

Conversion to SSGN

Original plans called for ''Ohio'' to be retired in 2002. Instead, ''Ohio'' and three sister boats were modified and remain in service as cruise missile submarines (

SSGN A cruise missile submarine is a submarine that carries and launches cruise missiles (SLCMs and anti-ship missiles) as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a vessel's ability to attack surface combatants and strike land targets, and al ...

s). In November 2003 ''Ohio'' entered drydock, beginning a 36-month refueling and conversion overhaul. Electric Boat announced on 9 January 2006 that the conversion had been completed.

Service history

As SSBN

The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London i ...

on 1 July 1974 and her keel was laid down on 10 April 1976 by Mrs. Robert A. Taft, JR., wife of Senator

Robert Taft Jr. Robert Alphonso Taft Jr. (February 26, 1917 – December 7, 1993) was an American politician. He was a member of the Taft political family who served as a Republican Congressman from Ohio between 1963 and 1965, as well as between 1967 and 1971 ...

On 2 February 1978, the Precommissioning Unit was formed with Commander A. K. Thompson as its commanding officer. ''Ohio'' was launched on 7 April 1979 sponsored by Mrs. Annie Glenn, wife of Senator

John H. Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...

. In the summer of 1981, sea trials were held to test the equipment and systems, and the submarine was delivered to the

U.S. 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 o ...

on 28 October 1981. On 11 November 1981, ''Ohio'' was commissioned. The principal speaker,

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

George H. W. Bush, remarked to the 8000 assembled guests that the boat introduced a "new dimension in our nation's strategic deterrence," and Admiral

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors offic ...

noted that ''Ohio'' should "strike fear in the hearts of our enemies." On that day, command of the two crews (designated Blue and Gold) of ''Ohio'' was assumed by Captain A. K. Thompson (Blue) and Captain A. F. Campbell (Gold). Following Post Shakedown Availability at Electric Boat Division, ''Ohio'' left the Atlantic and transited to her new home port,

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, by way of Cape Canaveral – where she tested her missile launch systems – and the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, arriving on 12 August 1982. During August and September 1982, the first loadout of Trident C-4 missiles and a predeployment refit were conducted. ''Ohio'' and her Blue Crew departed on the first Trident Submarine Strategic Deterrent Patrol in October 1982. From June 1993 to June 1994 ''Ohio'' underwent overhaul at

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

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 Bremer ...

, receiving extensive upgrades to sonar, fire control, and navigation systems. ''Ohio'' resumed strategic deterrent patrols in January 1995 as part of Submarine Squadron Seventeen, Submarine Group Nine, Pacific Submarine Force.

As SSGN

Following her conversion to a SSGN, ''Ohio'' rejoined the fleet on 7 February 2006. On 21 January 2007, the Gold Crew departed

Naval Base Kitsap Naval Base Kitsap is a U.S. Navy base located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state, created in 2004 by merging the former Naval Station Bremerton with Naval Submarine Base Bangor. It is the home base for the Navy’s fleet throughout ...

for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

to conduct a forward-deployed crew exchange, the first such forward-deployed swap in approximately 20 years. Ballistic submarines of ''Ohio''s class employ two crews, ''Blue'' and ''Gold'', in order to facilitate continuous operation at sea, called "forward-presence" in USN parlance. ''Ohio'' left for her first mission as an SSGN on 15 October 2007. The Blue crew underwent several tests and inspections before completing a mission some time in December. ''Ohio'' was also the first one of the class to complete a mission. On 28 June 2010, ''Ohio'' was one of three ''Ohio''-class submarines involved in a US response to Chinese missile testing in the contested East China Sea. ''Ohio'', , and all surfaced simultaneously in the waters of the Philippines, South Korea, and the British Indian Ocean Territory respectively. In November 2011, Lt. Britta Christianson became the first female officer, and first female overall, to qualify for service on a US Navy submarine, being assigned to ''Ohio''s Gold Crew. The first female enlisted sailor qualified in August 2016, assigned to sister boat, ''Michigan''. In December 2020, it was announced that ''Ohio'' would be decommissioned and enter the

Ship-Submarine Recycling Program The Ship-Submarine Recycling Program (SRP) is the process that the United States Navy uses to dispose of decommissioned nuclear vessels. SRP takes place only at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) in Bremerton, Washington, but the preparations ...

by 2026.

Awards

* Acting Navy Secretary Robert B. Pirie, Jr. announced the 2001 winners of the Navy Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Awards and the Marine Corps Major General W. P. T. Hill Memorial Awards for outstanding food service in the Navy and Marine Corps. The formal presentation of the awards was made during the International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA) conference on Saturday, 3 March 2001, in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

. The afloat galley first-place winner in the Pacific fleet was ''Ohio'' (Blue). This award was before her conversion from SSBN to SSGN.

References

External links

* Keel Laying – Commissioning * Life as a SSBN / 1982–2002 * Conversion to SSGN * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohio (SSGN-726) Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Ohio-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy Symbols of Ohio 1979 ships Ballistic missile submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Submarines of the United States