USS Hartford (SSN-768)
6300 tons surfaced, 7100 tons submerged
110.3 m
10 m
9.7 m
12 officers, 115 teams
A S6G reactor
30 nodes
The USS Hartford ( SSN -768 ) is a nuclear submarine of the United States Navy and is part of the Los Angeles- class.
Technology
As a unit of the Los Angeles-class 110 -meter long and 10 meter wide Hartford is able to reach speeds of over 30 knots submerged. It is driven by a single, siebenblättrigen screw; over a wave effect around 35,000 hp, which are supplied by a pressurized water reactor.
The Hartford is part of the Flight III, which is the third modification level of the Los Angeles-class. Therefore, the hydroplanes are no longer on the tower, as in previous boats of the class, but directly in front of the tower on the fuselage and retractable to facilitate the emergence of surface ice through.
The boat has four Bugtorpedorohre, UGM -84 Harpoon and Tomahawk UGM - 109F and Mines can be ejected through the Mark -48 heavyweight torpedoes, but also missiles of the models. Addition, there is the tower twelve vertical launch tubes for Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can be reloaded but while driving.
History
The Hartford was left at the shipyard of Electric Boat on 4 December 1993 by the stack. She was christened by the wife of Sean O'Keefe after the city of Hartford in Connecticut. Commissioned into the U.S. Navy on 10 December 1994 its first commander was Commander George box.
2000 and 2001 moved the Hartford each in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean respectively a later ran into the Persian Gulf.
In October 2003, the Hartford ran out towards the Mediterranean, on 20 October she reached the naval base at La Maddalena in Sardinia. There they tied up at the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS -39), where she lay outboard next to the USS Springfield ( SSN -761 ). The performance of the crew during startup was average (German: mediocre ) evaluated several errors in the navigation were noted.
On October 24, the Hartford should leave the port, but there were problems with their sonar, the proposed patrol was postponed. A day later left Springfield the harbor and took off from the tender, the USS Miami ( SSN -755 ) should take its place, because it needed repairs on the inner mooring site was needed. For the maneuver the Hartford should leave the port.
While leaving the harbor multiple devices fell out, among other things, the ring laser, which serves as a gyroscope and the electronic Navigationsplotter. A short time later, a waypoint, which is important for navigating the narrow channel, incorrectly entered into the Global Positioning System. The commander on the bridge got nothing to do with the erroneous position and signaled the tractor, in Hartford could now go on alone. When the pilots found on the ship that the necessary change of course to the north did not take place, they tried to reach Hartford by radio and a short time later by mobile phone, but without success. So it was with about ten knots to a hard grounding. Thus, the Hartford is not firmly drove the commandant ordered higher speed; after two more groundings, the last of which the boat 10 to 12 ° rolled and lifted out of the water, they finally came free.
Divers of the tender examined on October 26, the shell of the Hartford and found several places that were scratched up on metal. In addition, in three places hydrophones were damaged. The worst damage, however, were found at the helm, have been torn from the whole parts. After initial repairs, the ship sailed under its own power back to Norfolk, where she spent two months in the dry dock of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The Italian press were then fears that it could be radioactive leak, especially since the incident became public in mid-November only. This, however, did not confirm itself. The commander and the Commodore of the squadron were relieved of their command, cautioned six crew members.
2007 Hartford was modernized in 2008, the Hartford moved to the side of the USS Iwo Jima (LHD -7 ), 2009 then with the USS Boxer ( LHD -4) in the Persian Gulf. During this trip, the Hartford collided diving in shallow waters on 20 March 2009 in the Strait of Hormuz with the USS New Orleans ( LPD 18). 15 crew members of the Hartford were slightly injured. The Hartford has been damaged the tower and a hydroplane and was under its own power, but on the surface, continue. In the New Orleans three sections were flooded and ripped a diesel tank, approximately 95,000 liters of fuel poured into the sea. Both ships arrived to investigate the damage to the Mina Salman Port in Bahrain. About four weeks later the commander of the Hartford his command was given birth, and later the Chief of the Boat. In an investigative report, the U.S. Navy denounces several errors and violations of the team. Thus, several sailors dozed regularly during their guard, two of them had during the collision guard. In the wireless room speakers have been misused for listening to music.
The end of April began the submarine after the first service under its own power and at the water surface transit back to the United States. A month later, the Hartford reached the U.S. coast, where they docked at Electric Boat and is fully restored. The cost of this will be about $ 100 million.