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USS San Juan (SSN-751)
Encyclopedia
USS San Juan (SSN-751), a , was the third ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
Division of General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
Corporation in Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
on 30 November 1982 and her keel was laid down on 9 August 1985. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 6 December 1986 sponsored by Mrs. Sherrill Hernandez, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 6 August 1988, with Commander Charles Young in command.
San Juan was the first Los Angeles class (688-class) submarine to receive a number of significant improvements to the class's basic design, creating the 688I (for "improved 688"). San Juan and all following submarines in her class are quieter, incorporated an advanced AN/BSY-1 "busy one" combat control system/sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
suite, and have dedicated tubes for vertical launch of the Tomahawk cruise missile
BGM-109 Tomahawk
The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a surface platform. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures...
. The externally visible changes are also significant, as San Juan had her forward diving planes moved from the sail (fairwater planes) to the bow and made retractable. Together, the retractable bow planes, strengthening of the sail, and installation of additional depth control and support systems make it possible for San Juan to break through polar and near-polar ice as a part of 'normal' ship operations.
Minor Collision
On 19 March 1998, south of Long Island, New York, San Juan collided with the fleet ballistic missile submarine . Kentucky suffered damage to her rudder but no injuries occurred on either ship; San Juan's forward ballast tank was breached, but she was able to surface and return to port.
Notable Deployments
San Juan fired the Mark 48 torpedo
Mark 48 torpedo
The Mark 48 and its improved ADCAP variant are heavyweight submarine-launched torpedoes. They were designed to sink fast, deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships.-History:...
that deliberately sank the former ammunition ship
Ammunition ship
An ammunition ship is a warship specially configured to carry ammunition, usually for Navy ships and aircraft. Their cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks between decks, and mechanisms for flooding entire compartments with sea water in...
USNS Butte (T-AE-27)
USS Butte (AE-27)
The second USS Butte was a Kilauea-class ammunition ship in the United States Navy. She was laid down 21 July 1966 by General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division at Quincy, Massachusetts and was christened and launched 9 August 1967. She was commissioned on 14 December 1968 in the Boston Naval...
in a target exercise on 3 July 2006. In 2009 the USS San Juan went on what would become a Battle E winning deployment. During her time out, San Juan became the first US nuclear submarine to make a port visit in the country of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
San Juan is often used by the Navy for testing of advanced weapons, sensors and tactics.
Submiss Incident
On 13 March 2007, San Juan was the subject of a search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
mission by elements of the Enterprise
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
USS Enterprise , formerly CVA-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth US naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E". At , she is the longest naval vessel in the world...
Carrier Strike Group
Carrier Strike Group
A carrier strike group is an operational formation of the United States Navy. It is composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers and/or frigates, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft...
when a red flare was spotted in her projected vicinity, suggesting an emergency. Communications were established by the early hours of the next day when San Juan surfaced, and no problems were indicated.
Current Employment
In early 2010, the San Juan changed homeport to the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, ME to undergo a routine Engineered Overhaul (EOH). In June 2010, the USS San Juan became the first submarine in PNSY history to perform Dual Media Discharge (DMD) as part of an EOH. "San Juan" holds the unofficial record for fastest 688 DMD at PSNY.