USS ''Topeka'' (SSN-754) is a and the third

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 ...

vessel to be named for

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

. The contract to build her was awarded to the

Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...

Division of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

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 is ...

, on 28 November 1983 and her keel was laid down on 13 May 1986. She was launched on 23 January 1988, sponsored by

Elizabeth Dole Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford Dole (née Hanford; born July 29, 1936)Mary Ella Cathey Hanford, "Asbury and Hanford Families: Newly Discovered Genealogical Information" ''The Historical Trail'' 33 (1996), pp. 44–45, 49. is an American attorn ...

, and commissioned on 21 October 1989. ''Topeka'' and form a unique variant among ''Los Angeles'' class submarines. The pressure hulls of both ships were partially manufactured using stronger HY-100, instead of the

HY-80 HY-80 is a high-tensile, high yield strength, low alloy steel. It was developed for use in naval applications, specifically the development of pressure hulls for the US nuclear submarine program and is still currently used in many naval applicati ...

steel used in the manufacturing of all other ''Los Angeles'' class submarines. This was done to test construction methods using this steel, which would later be employed in the assembly of the new s. In theory, this permits ''Albany'' and ''Topeka'' to dive to a slightly greater depth than any other member of the ''Los Angeles'' class, though it remains unclear if this ability has ever been tested by either vessel.

History

During New Year's Eve 2000, ''Topeka'' straddled the international dateline, thus was famously "in two millenniums at once". In October 2002, after completing a Modernization Period in

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard located in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is one of just four public shipyards operated by the United States Navy. The shipyard is physically a part ...

, ''Topeka'' shifted homeport to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, from

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

. In December 2012, the submarine began an overhaul at

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

. Earlier that same year, she completed a six-month-long deployment in the Western Pacific, covering around 35,000 nautical miles. In May 2015, after miscellaneous repairs at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, ''Topeka'' shifted homeport to

Naval Base Guam Naval Base Guam is a strategic U.S. naval base located on Apra Harbor and occupying the Orote Peninsula. In 2009, it was combined with Andersen Air Force Base to form Joint Region Marianas, which is a Navy-controlled joint base. The Ship Repa ...

as part of the U.S. Navy's rebalance of force into the Pacific. In December 2020, ''Topeka'' shifted homeport to

Naval Station Pearl Harbor Naval Station Pearl Harbor is a United States naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. In 2010, along with the United States Air Force's Hickam Air Force Base, the facility was merged to form Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. Pearl Harbor is ...

. ''Topeka'' participated in

RIMPAC RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held i ...

2022.

Awards

COMSUBRON 11 Battle "E" - 1993/1995 In August 2004, ''Topeka'' returned to San Diego after six months of operations with the

Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of ...

, including three missions significant to national security that earned the boat the

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...

and Navy Unit Commendation Medal. The ship and crew earned the Battle Efficiency "E" Award for 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, and 2021.

Popular culture

*In the 2009 live-action movie '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'', ''Topeka'' was part of a

Carrier Battle Group A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The ''CV'' in ''CVBG'' is the United States Navy hull classification code for an airc ...

stationed permanently in the

Laurentian Abyss The Laurentian Fan or Laurentian Abyss is an underwater depression off the eastern coast of Canada in the Atlantic Ocean. Not a trench, but more of an "underwater valley", it is estimated to be at most ~19,685 feet (3.7 miles; 6.0 km) in depth. The ...

to guard the dumping site of Megatron. When several Decepticons arrived and dived to reach Megatron, the submarine spotted them and set off in pursuit only for it to be destroyed by the Decepticon leader. * ''Topeka'' is also featured in TV series '' 24'' in season 5 when terrorists intend to use her weapons against civilians in Los Angeles. *She was featured as the "lost" submarine in the series ''Surface'' *''Topeka'' was also featured in the documentary series '' Submarines: Sharks of Steel''.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Topeka (Ssn-754) 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 Submarines of the United States