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
- 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
- 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
| Dates | Unit | Location |
|---|---|---|
| August 1982 - October 2002 | Submarine Squadron (SUBRON ) 17 | Bangor, Wash |
Overhauls & Conversions
| Location | Start | End | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puget Sound Naval Shipyard | 1 July 1993 | 10 June 1994 | First Trident Engineered overhaul (EOH) |
| Puget Sound Naval Shipyard | 15 November 2002 | Mid-life refuelling | |
| Puget Sound Naval Shipyard | 19 November 2003 | 17 January 2006 | SSGN 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:
| # | Date | Type | Missile | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 January 1982 | DASO | Trident C4 | Successfull | Blue Crew |
| 2 | 13 March 1982 | DASO | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew |
| 3 | 6 September 1983 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew. This was the first TRIDENT I (C4) flight test conducted in the Pacific. |
| 4 | 6 September 1983 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew |
| 5 | 6 September 1983 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew |
| 6 | 6 September 1983 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew |
| 7 | 3 June 1984 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 8 | 3 June 1984 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 9 | 3 June 1984 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 10 | 3 June 1984 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 11 | 28 April 1986 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew |
| 12 | 28 April 1986 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew |
| 13 | 19 May 1989 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | 33rd TRIDENT I (C4) Follow-on Operational Test. |
| 14 | 19 May 1989 | FOT | Trident C4 | Successfull | 33rd TRIDENT I (C4) Follow-on Operational Test. |
| 15 | 31 August 1992 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew |
| 16 | 31 August 1992 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | Gold Crew |
| 17 | 22 October 1994 | DASO | Trident C4 | Successfull | DASO following EOH. |
| 18 | 16 May 1996 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 19 | 16 May 1996 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 20 | 16 May 1996 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 21 | 16 May 1996 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 22 | 9 December 2001 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 23 | 9 December 2001 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 24 | 9 December 2001 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 25 | 9 December 2001 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 26 | 18 December 2001 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 27 | 18 December 2001 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 28 | 18 December 2001 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | |
| 29 | 18 December 2001 | FCET | Trident C4 | Successfull | This was the final missile launch for the TRIDENT I (C4) Strategic Weapon System. |
Photo Gallery
Further reading
- United States Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM)
- Ohio-Class (SSBN-726) Ballistic Missile Submarines
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.
