zoom in on model


April 6, 1974 – February 4, 2011

USS Los Angeles (SSN-688)

Scale 1/200

Credit: Museum of Military Models, Clyde, Texas. Private Collection of Warren D. Harkins.

ON VIEW

General Characteristics

Class and Type:

Los Angeles-class submarine

Displacement:

5,700 tons light

6,072 tons full

1,372 tons dead

Length: 110.3 m (361 ft 11 in)

Beam: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)

Draft: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)

Propulsion:

S6G nuclear reactor

2 turbines

35,000 hp (26 MW)

1 auxiliary motor 325 hp (242 kW)

1 shaft

Speed:

25 knots (46 km/h) surfaced

30 knots (56 km/h) submerged (actual top speed classified)

Test Depth: 290 m (950 ft)

Complement: 13 Officers; 121 Enlisted

Armament:

4 Γ— 21 in (533 mm) bow tubes

Mark 48 torpedo

Harpoon missile

Tomahawk cruise missile

Description

USS Los Angeles (SSN-688), lead ship of her class of submarines, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Los Angeles, California. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 8 January 1971 and her keel was laid down on 8 January 1972. She was launched on 6 April 1974 sponsored by Anne Armstrong, and commissioned on 13 November 1976. She hosted President Jimmy Carter and the First Lady on 27 May 1977 for an at-sea demonstration of her capabilities. In 2007 she was the oldest submarine in active service with the United States Navy. The Navy decommissioned Los Angeles on 23 January 2010, in the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, her namesake city.

USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) November, 1981.

Ownership & Province

  • FLAG

    Name: USS Los Angeles

    Namesake: City of Los Angeles

    Awarded: January 8, 1971

    Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding

    Laid Down: January 8, 1972

    Launched: April 6, 1974

    Commissioned: November 13, 1976

    Decommissioned: February 4, 2011

    Out of Service: February 1, 2010

    Stricken: February 4, 2011

    Homeport: Pearl Harbor

    Fate: Disposed of by Recycling

Identification

History & Related Content

USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) off Hawaii - January 1997.

Deployments

Los Angeles made her first operational deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in 1977 and was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation. In 1978, she transferred to the Pacific Fleet and was assigned to Submarine Squadron 7, homeported in Pearl Harbor. She conducted 17 Pacific deployments over the next 32 years and earned eight Meritorious Unit Citations and a Navy Unit Citation. Los Angeles participated in four multinational "Rim of the Pacific" (RIMPAC) exercises, and visited numerous foreign ports in Italy, Republic of the Philippines, Diego Garcia, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Canada and Singapore.

In 1999, Los Angeles was modified to carry a Dry Deck Shelter (DDS). Her capabilities included undersea warfare, surface warfare, strike warfare, mining operations, special forces delivery, reconnaissance, carrier battle group support and escort, and intelligence collection.

The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) permanently docked at the US Submarine Force Museum and Library, Groton, CT.

Decommissioning

Los Angeles was inactivated on 1 February 2010 and decommissioned 4 February 2011. The wardroom of the oldest submarine in the fleet carries Richard O'Kane's personal cribbage board, and upon her decommissioning the board was transferred to the next oldest boat at that time, USS Bremerton (SSN-698). Ex-Los Angeles entered the Navy's Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1 February 2010, and recycling was completed 30 November 2012.

USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) San Pedro, California - December 2006.
USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) Santa Rita, Guam - March 2005.

USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) Los Angeles, California - January 2010.

USS Los Angeles (SSN-688).

USS Los Angeles Badge