USS Connecticut (SSN-22)

History of USS Connecticut (SSN-22)

Before the end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. Navy proposed a plan to produce an entirely new nuclear-powered fast attack submarine called the Seawolf class.

The group, which will consist of 29 ships, will be an integral part of the American underwater force against the future power of the Soviet Union. However, the end of the Cold War, the thawing of relations between the United States and Russia, and the unit cost of each Seawolf-class ship meant that only three of the planned 29 ships ended up being built.

These became the USS Seawolf (SSN-21), USS Connecticut (SSN-22) and USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23).

USS Connecticut was ordered on May 3, 1991, and construction began on September 14, 1992 by General Dynamics Electric Boat Company. She was launched on September 1, 1997, and officially commissioned on December 11, 1998.

Her home port is currently (2015) at Kitsap Naval Base, Bremerton, Washington, on the US West Coast, while operating under the appropriate motto of "The National Armory".

The USS Connecticut has a traditional design profile with a rounded nose section, rounded hull shape and cruciform rudder assembly. A shrouded multi-blade propulsion unit extends beyond the rudder assembly. The sails are set high in the midship forward in the Seawolf class design, with a significantly sloping section forward.

Diving aircraft and various communication equipment and sensors are also attached to the tower structure. The dimensions of the boat are 353 feet long and 40 feet wide. Her standard operating staff consists of 14 officers and 126 soldiers.

Electricity is provided by a Westinghouse S6W (S = submarine, 6 = sixth generation core, W = Westinghouse) pressurized water nuclear reactor, producing 45,000 horsepower on a single shaft. The ship can travel underwater at speeds of up to 35 knots, and thanks to its nuclear-powered propulsion, its range is essentially unlimitedits range is limited only by the onboard supplies available to the crew.

The primary armament consists of an 8 x 26 inch (660 mm) tube that can be used to launch torpedoes or rockets (Harpoon anti-ship missiles or Tomahawk cruise missiles). This enables the vessel to attack underwater and above-water threats as well as land-based threats as needed.

It can also be used to deploy up to 100 mines.

Connecticut went on her sea trial cruise in late 1999, testing all her great systems. Her early career usually consisted of routine patrols and drills before 9/11 prompted the United States to go to war with Islamic extremists. She began serving in the "War on Terror" in late March 2004 and returned to the United States in September of that year for about three years of scheduled maintenance. Connecticut was then officially assigned to Naval Base Kitsap in early 2007 to help strengthen the U.S. submarine force in the Pacific succeeding her sisters in doing so.

Her next excursion started in July and she arrived in Kitsap in January 2008. Some of their most recent notable operations are "ICEX 2011" - a naval exercise focused on training in the Arctic environment.

Also, this ship is active in the US Navy today (2015) and should remain a participant for decades to come.

To make up for the number lost due to the cancellation of the additional Seawolf class, the more compact and cheaper Virginia class ships were carried over. These were commissioned in 2004 and currently (2015) comprise 13 units.

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