Name USS Oklahoma City Laid down 4 January 1984 Commissioned 9 July 1988 Launched 2 November 1985 Beam 10 m | Awarded 13 August 1981 Sponsored by Mrs. Linda M. Nickles Construction started 4 January 1984 Length 110 m Builder Newport News Shipbuilding | |
Namesake Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | ||
USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), a Los Angeles-class submarine, is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The contract to build it was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 13 August 1981 and its keel was laid down on 4 January 1984. It was launched on 2 November 1985 sponsored by Mrs. Linda M. Nickles, and commissioned on 9 July 1988, with Commander Kevin John Reardon in command.
In 1991, Oklahoma City won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.
On 13 November 2002, Oklahoma City collided with the Leif Hoegh liquefied natural gas tanker Norman Lady, east of the Strait of Gibraltar. No one on either vessel was hurt, and there were no leaks of oil from fuel tanks and no threat to the environment, but the submarine sustained damage to its periscope and sail area, and put into La Maddalena, Sardinia, for repairs. Its commanding officer, Commander Richard Voter, was relieved of his command on 30 November. One other officer and two enlisted crew members also were disciplined for dereliction of duty.
On 20 January 2005 Oklahoma City returned to Norfolk, Virginia, after a six-month deployment in support of national security interests and the War on Terrorism. OKC transited to its patrol area in the Pacific Ocean via the Arctic Ocean, the first such transit for a first-flight Los Angeles-class submarine. After the patrol, it then completed a circumnavigation of North America by transiting back to the Atlantic Ocean through the Panama Canal and returning to its home port in Norfolk.
In early 2007, Oklahoma City became the first submarine certified to exclusively use Digital Nautical Charts (DNCs), using the Voyage Management System (VMS). VMS is part of the Electronic Chart Display and Information System-Navy (ECDIS-N) system, which has been under development since 1990. The shift from traditional paper navigation to an all-electronic navigation suite marked the first significant shift in U.S. Navy navigation practices since the introduction of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the 1990s.
From May to November 2007, Oklahoma City completed a deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of the War on Terror. It spent May to July 2008 in the Eastern Pacific in support of the War on Drugs, and was responsible for seizing more than 11 metric tons of cocaine valued at more than $1.5 billion (USD).
Oklahoma City was awarded the 2008 Squadron Eight Battle "E". On 22 November 2008, Commander Aaron M. Thieme relieved Commander Louis Edward Mayer IV as Commanding Officer.
After a 26-month overhaul, in March 2011 the sub was forward deployed to Guam.