USS Ohio (SSBN 726)

USS Ohio (SSBN 726)

Introduction

USS Ohio (SSBN-726) is the lead ship of the Trident Class of nuclear-powered fleet ballistic submarines, each equipped to carry 24 Trident missiles. She was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1981.

In 2003 she began conversion to carry conventional weapons and was designated a “guided missile” submarine (SSGN). The conversion was finished in 2006.

Note: This article covers only her history as a ballistic submarine.

Namesake

Ohio is the fourth United States Navy vessel to bear the name of the seventeenth state of the Union.

The first Ohio, a merchant schooner purchased by the Navy in 1812, was converted to a warship and commissioned in 1813. The second Ohio, a sailing ship of the line, was launched in 1820. The third ship, USS Ohio (BB-12) was launched in 1901 and commissioned in 1904.

Specifications

The Trident SSBN is the largest submarine built in the United States. It is 560 feet long, has a diameter of 42 feet, and displaces 18,700 tons when submerged. These submarines are as large as buildings. This is because they have a big nuclear reactor and are designed to carry Trident II missiles. These missiles are thirty-four feet high and stored vertically inside the submarine.

Check Ohio-Class (SSBN-726) Submarine Technical Specification for the ship’s detailed characteristics.

Construction

USS Ohio (SSBN-726) under construction at the outboard erection area at Electric Boat's Groton Facility
USS Ohio (SSBN-726) under construction at the outboard erection area at Electric Boat’s Groton Facility (U.S. Navy photo)
  • Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat Division
  • Fund Approval: 15 NOVEMBER 1973
  • Contract awarded: 25 JULY 1974
  • Keel laying ceremony: 10 APRIL 1976
  • Keel laid by: Mrs. Robert Taft, Jr., wife of Senator Taft (R. Ohio).
  • Launched: 7 APRIL 1979
  • Christen by: Mrs. Annie Margaret Castor Glenn, wife of Senator John H. Glenn.
  • Sea trials start: 17 JUNE 1981
  • Delivered: 28 OCTOBER 1981

Commissioning

USS Ohio (SSBN-726) during her commissioning ceremony.
USS Ohio (SSBN-726) during her commissioning ceremony.(National Archives)
  • Commissioned: 11 NOVEMBER 1981
  • Principal speaker: Vice President George C. Bush
  • Sponsor: Mrs. Annie Margaret Castor Glenn, wife of Senator John H. Glenn.
  • Pre-commissioning Unit Commanding Officer: Captain Alton K. Thompson
  • Commanding Officer Blue Crew: Captain Alton K. Thompson
  • Commanding Officer Gold Crew: Arlington F. Campbell

Service

  • 25 AUGUST 1982 – The arrival of USS OHIO (SSBN 726) at Bangor, WA
  • 6 SEPTEMBER 1982 – USS OHIO (SSBN 726) completed pre-deployment Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific, Bremerton, WA, and deployed in the Pacific.
  • 1 October 1982 – USS OHIO (SSBN 726) began the first TRIDENT patrol
  • 10 DECEMBER 1982 – Returned from the first TRIDENT operational patrol.
  • 22 NOVEMBER 1986 – Gold Crew completed the 50th TRIDENT I patrol.
  • 12 MARCH 1998 – The Blue Crew completed Ohio’s 50th TRIDENT I patrol. She was the first Trident submarine to tally 50 patrols.
  • 1 OCTOBER 2002 – USS OHIO (SSBN 726), the first TRIDENT I (C4) boat, is removed from strategic service.
  • 10 OCTOBER 2002 – Successfully completed final TRIDENT I (C4) strategic offload at Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific (SWFPAC).
  • 19 NOVEMBER 2003 – Entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for SSGN Conversion.

Assignments

DatesUnitLocation
August 1982 - October 2002Submarine Squadron (SUBRON ) 17Bangor, Wash

Overhauls & Conversions

LocationStartEndComments
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard1 July 199310 June 1994First Trident Engineered overhaul (EOH)
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard15 November 2002Mid-life refuelling
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard19 November 200317 January 2006SSGN Conversion

Missile Launches

  • DASO (Demonstration and Shakedown Operation). These were launches conducted to demonstrate the readiness of the Trident Weapon System and its crew for deployment.
  • CINC – Commander-in-Chief.
  • OT (Operational Test) / CET (CINC Evaluation Test) These tests provided initial data on the reliability and accuracy of the missile.
  • FOT (Follow-on Operational Test / FCET (Follow-On CINC Evaluation Test). Annual launches were designed to ensure that the reliability and accuracy factors were preserved during the system’s life and carried out under tactical conditions to exercise all weapon system elements.

The table below details the launches from 1982 to 2001:

#DateTypeMissileStatusComment
117 January 1982DASOTrident C4SuccessfullBlue Crew
213 March 1982DASOTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew
36 September 1983FOTTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew. This was the first TRIDENT I (C4) flight test conducted in the Pacific.
46 September 1983FOTTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew
56 September 1983FOTTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew
66 September 1983FOTTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew
73 June 1984FOTTrident C4Successfull
83 June 1984FOTTrident C4Successfull
93 June 1984FOTTrident C4Successfull
103 June 1984FOTTrident C4Successfull
1128 April 1986FOTTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew
1228 April 1986FOTTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew
1319 May 1989FOTTrident C4Successfull33rd TRIDENT I (C4) Follow-on Operational Test.
1419 May 1989FOTTrident C4Successfull33rd TRIDENT I (C4) Follow-on Operational Test.
1531 August 1992FCETTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew
1631 August 1992FCETTrident C4SuccessfullGold Crew
1722 October 1994DASOTrident C4SuccessfullDASO following EOH.
1816 May 1996FCETTrident C4Successfull
1916 May 1996FCETTrident C4Successfull
2016 May 1996FCETTrident C4Successfull
2116 May 1996FCETTrident C4Successfull
229 December 2001FCETTrident C4Successfull
239 December 2001FCETTrident C4Successfull
249 December 2001FCETTrident C4Successfull
259 December 2001FCETTrident C4Successfull
2618 December 2001FCETTrident C4Successfull
2718 December 2001FCETTrident C4Successfull
2818 December 2001FCETTrident C4Successfull
2918 December 2001FCETTrident C4SuccessfullThis was the final missile launch for the TRIDENT I (C4) Strategic Weapon System.

Further reading

Other ships of the class:

Bibliography

  • Facts/Chronology: Polaris, Poseidon, Trident, 50th Anniversary, Strategic Systems Programs, 2005
  • USS Ohio Welcome Aboard pamphlet (1983)
  • Polmar, N. (2013). The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet. United Kingdom: Naval Institute.

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Javier Guerrero
Javier Guerrero
Javier is the editor @ Nuclear Companion and loves to investigate and write about the cold war.

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