USS ''Tucson'' (SSN-770), a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Tucson, Arizona. 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 10 June 1988 and her keel was laid down on 15 August 1991. She was launched on 20 March 1994 sponsored by Mrs. Diane C. Kent.

History

''Tucson'' was originally supposed to be commissioned on 18 August 1995, however, Hurricane Felix threatened the Virginian coastline, and the U.S. Navy decided to sortie the fleet, to prevent damage to ships in port if the hurricane made landfall. ''Tucson'' was the last ship to leave port, in case the prediction for landfall changed. As it turned out, the hurricane never did make landfall, but ''Tucson'' was at sea on 18 August. Upon returning to port, the commissioning ceremony was quickly rescheduled for 19 September 1995. At the new commissioning ceremony, the commanding officer, Commander Duane M. Baker, declared that for the next two hours, it was officially 18 August. In June 1996, ''Tucson'' was struck by the

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

vehicle cargo ship Vehicle cargo ship is a model of United States Navy ship used for the prepositioning of Army vehicles. An example of this is the USNS ''Bob Hope'' (T-AKR-300), the lead ship of her class. Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy ...

while moored in port at Newport News. A sudden windstorm caused ''Gilliland'' to break free from her mooring and cross the harbor, colliding with ''Tucson'' and the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

damagecontrolmuseums.org USS ''Deyo'' (DD 989) and USNS ''Gilliland'' (T-AKR 298), Collision, June 1996
/ref> moored behind her. While ''Deyo'' suffered the most damage, ''Tucson'' suffered minor damage to her AN/BRA-34 antenna. From September 1996 to October 1996, ''Tucson'' changed her home port. ''Tucson'' left

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, passed through the Panama Canal and stopped in San Diego, California for five days. VIPs from Tucson, Arizona, were allowed to ride on three separate short cruises, and then busloads of tourists from the city of Tucson came for tours of the submarine while in port. Following this port visit, ''Tucson'' continued on to arrive in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ''Tucson'' left for her first deployment ever, to the Western Pacific Ocean, in February 1998. At that time, tensions between the United Nations and Iraq had escalated drastically. In the 30 days leading up to departure, the government of Iraq had blocked access to the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) and had withdrawn cooperation with the UNSCOM monitoring teams. The ship traveled as far west as the Persian Gulf before returning to Pearl Harbor in August 1998. It was during this period of time that the PBS series ''

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

'' filmed the episode "Battlegroups" aboard ''Tucson''. On 19 May 2004, ''Tucson'' departed for a Western Pacific deployment.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tucson (SSN-770) Los Angeles-class submarines Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy United States submarine accidents Cold War submarines of the United States Maritime incidents in 1996 Ships built in Newport News, Virginia 1994 ships Submarines of the United States