USS Alabama (SSBN-731)

All you want to know about USS Alabama (SSBN-731)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Alabama.
USS Alabama (SSBN-731)
USS Alabama (SSBN-731)
Career (US) United States Navy Ensign
Namesake: U.S. state of Alabama
Ordered: 27 February 1978
Laid down: 14 October 1980
Launched: 19 May 1984
Commissioned: 25 May 1985
Homeport: Bangor, Washington
Motto: Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere
("We dare defend our rights")
Fate: Active in service as of 2008
Badge:
General characteristics
Displacement:

Surfaced: approx. 16,765 tons

Submerged: approx. 18,750 tons
Length: 170.69 meters (560 feet)
Beam: 12.8 meters (42 feet)
Draft: 11.5 meters (38 ft)
Propulsion: 1 × S8G reactor
Speed: 20+ knots (37+ km/h)
Complement: 13 officers, 140 men
Armament:

MK-48 Torpedoes

24 × Trident II D-5 Ballistic Missiles

USS Alabama (SSBN-731) is the sixth Ohio-class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine, and the sixth United States ship to be named after the state of Alabama. The ship's motto mimics the state's motto, Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere (We dare defend our rights).

Alabama was laid down on 14 October 1980 at Groton, Connecticut, by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics and was launched on 19 May 1984; sponsored by Mrs. Barbara E. Dickinson, wife of William Louis Dickinson, Representative from Alabama; and commissioned at New London, on 25 May 1985.

Alabama departed Connecticut to conduct her shakedown cruise off the coast of Florida. After several domestic maneuvers and crew changes, Alabama visited Mobile, Alabama before heading for the Panama Canal, after which it returned to Bangor, Washington. Alabama operated out of Bangor until mid-May when the submarine embarked upon its first deterrent patrol. Operating from the Pacific Northwest, Alabama carried out four deterrent patrols during the last seven months of 1986.

In May 1988, Alabama conducted a successful test missile firing, launching two TRIDENT I (C-4) missiles. On 1 September 1988, Alabama moored at Bangor, Washington, to complete the ship's 9th patrol and the 100th Strategic Deterrent Patrol by a TRIDENT submarine. An official ceremony commemorating the event was held pierside with then-Under Secretary of the Navy, H. Lawrence Garrett III, heading the official greeting party. Alabama conducted another test missile firing in August 1989, launching four TRIDENT I (C-4) missiles.

After completing 47 strategic deterrent patrols, Alabama underwent a refitting in 1999 and returned to service with numerous tactical and survivability upgrades. In the spring of 2000, Alabama celebrated its 50th Strategic Deterrent Patrol and its 15th birthday.

Alabama is currently part of Submarine Group 9 and is homeported at Naval Base Kitsap in Bangor, Washington.

Alabama in fiction

The Alabama is the setting for the 1995 film Crimson Tide, starring Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington. The Alabama also figures in the movie Time under Fire.

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

External links

v • d • e
Ohio-class submarine
SSGN 726 Class
SSBN 726 Class
List of submarines of the United States Navy  · List of submarine classes of the United States Navy
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Alabama_(SSBN-731)"

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