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USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)
Encyclopedia
USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), the third and last Seawolf-class submarine
, is the first ship of the United States Navy
to be named for former President
Jimmy Carter
, who served in the United States Navy
as a Communications Officer, Sonar Officer, Electronics Officer, Weapons Officer, and Supply Officer while on board the . Jimmy Carter is one of the few ships of the United States Navy
(and only the third submarine) to have been named for a person who was alive at the time of the ship's naming, and the first submarine to be named for a living former president; Jimmy Carter is the only U.S. President to qualify in submarines
.
Division of General Dynamics
Corporation in Groton, Connecticut
, on 29 June 1996, and her keel was laid on 5 December 1998. Original schedules called for Carter to be commissioned in late 2001 or early 2002, but on 10 December 1999, Electric Boat was awarded a US$887 million extension to the Carter contract to modify the boat for highly classified
missions and testing of new submarine
systems, missions previously carried out by . Jimmy Carter was christened
on 5 June 2004. The ship sponsor
was former First Lady
Rosalynn Carter
.
Carter is roughly 100 feet (30 m) longer than the other two ships of her class. This is due to the insertion of a plug (additional section) known as the Multi-Mission Platform (MMP), which allows launch and recovery of ROVs
and Navy SEAL
forces. The plug features a fairing over a wasp-waist shaped passageway allowing crew to pass between the fore and aft sections of the hull while providing a space to store ROVs and special equipment that may need to launch and recover from the submarine. According to figures published by Electric Boat, the MMP increased Carters displacement by about 33%, her navigation draft by over a foot (300 mm), and made her louder by two dB
at 20 knots (37 km/h). It reduced her speed by two knots (4 km/h).
Carter has additional maneuvering devices fitted fore and aft that will allow her to keep station over selected targets in odd currents. Past submarines outfitted this way were used to tap undersea cables
, to intercept communications of foreign countries. Intelligence experts speculate that the MMP may find use in similar missions as an underwater splicing
chamber for fiber optic cables.
On 24 January 2004, Commander David Bartholomew, Jr., commanding officer of PCU (Pre-Commissioned Unit) Jimmy Carter was relieved of command because of a "loss of confidence" in his ability "pending further administrative or disciplinary action as appropriate."
Captain Robert D. Kelso, deputy chief of staff of Submarine Development Squadron 12 at Naval Submarine Base New London
, took temporary command of the PCU
until a new commanding officer could be named.
On 19 November 2004, Jimmy Carter completed alpha sea trials, her first voyage in the open seas. On 22 December, Electric Boat delivered Jimmy Carter to the Navy, and she was commissioned 19 February 2005 at NSB New London.
Jimmy Carter began a transit from NSB New London to its new homeport at the Bangor Annex of Naval Base Kitsap
, Washington on 14 October 2005 but was forced to return when an unusually high wave caused damage while the submarine was running on the surface. The damage was repaired and Carter left New London the following day, arriving at Bangor the afternoon of 9 November 2005.
On 16 June 2006, Commander David Honabach took command from Captain Kelso.
On 17 January 2008 Jimmy Carter was awarded the 2007 Battle Efficiency Award
, commonly known as a "Battle E".
In June 2009, Commander Brian Davies took command from Commander David Honabach.
Seawolf class submarine
The Seawolf class is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy. The class was the intended successor to the , ordered at the end of the Cold War in 1989. At one time, an intended fleet of 29 submarines was to be built over a ten-year period, later...
, is the first ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for former President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, who served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as a Communications Officer, Sonar Officer, Electronics Officer, Weapons Officer, and Supply Officer while on board the . Jimmy Carter is one of the few ships of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
(and only the third submarine) to have been named for a person who was alive at the time of the ship's naming, and the first submarine to be named for a living former president; Jimmy Carter is the only U.S. President to qualify in submarines
Submarine Warfare insignia
The Submarine Warfare Insignia is a uniform breast pin worn by enlisted men and officers of the United States Navy to indicate that they are qualified in submarines. The Submarine Warfare Insignia is considered one of the Navy's three major warfare pins along with the Surface Warfare Badge and...
.
Ship history
The contract to build Carter was awarded to the Electric BoatElectric Boat Corporation
The General Dynamics Electric Boat is a division of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for over 100 years....
Division of General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
Corporation in Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
, on 29 June 1996, and her keel was laid on 5 December 1998. Original schedules called for Carter to be commissioned in late 2001 or early 2002, but on 10 December 1999, Electric Boat was awarded a US$887 million extension to the Carter contract to modify the boat for highly classified
Classified information in the United States
The United States government classification system is currently established under Executive Order 13526, the latest in a long series of executive orders on the topic. Issued by President Barack Obama in 2009, Executive Order 13526 replaced earlier executive orders on the topic and modified the...
missions and testing of new submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
systems, missions previously carried out by . Jimmy Carter was christened
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 5 June 2004. The ship sponsor
Ship Sponsor
A ship sponsor, by tradition, is a female civilian who is invited to "sponsor" a vessel, presumably to bestow good luck and divine protection over the seagoing vessel and all that sail aboard...
was former First Lady
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Rosalynn Carter
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter is the wife of the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and in that capacity served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As First Lady and after, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental...
.
Carter is roughly 100 feet (30 m) longer than the other two ships of her class. This is due to the insertion of a plug (additional section) known as the Multi-Mission Platform (MMP), which allows launch and recovery of ROVs
Remotely operated vehicle
A remotely operated vehicle is a tethered underwater vehicle. They are common in deepwater industries such as offshore hydrocarbon extraction. An ROV may sometimes be called a remotely operated underwater vehicle to distinguish it from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the air. ROVs...
and Navy SEAL
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
forces. The plug features a fairing over a wasp-waist shaped passageway allowing crew to pass between the fore and aft sections of the hull while providing a space to store ROVs and special equipment that may need to launch and recover from the submarine. According to figures published by Electric Boat, the MMP increased Carters displacement by about 33%, her navigation draft by over a foot (300 mm), and made her louder by two dB
Decibel
The decibel is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities...
at 20 knots (37 km/h). It reduced her speed by two knots (4 km/h).
Carter has additional maneuvering devices fitted fore and aft that will allow her to keep station over selected targets in odd currents. Past submarines outfitted this way were used to tap undersea cables
Submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
, to intercept communications of foreign countries. Intelligence experts speculate that the MMP may find use in similar missions as an underwater splicing
Fusion splicing
Fusion splicing is the act of joining two optical fibers end-to-end using heat. The goal is to fuse the two fibers together in such a way that light passing through the fibers is not scattered or reflected back by the splice, and so that the splice and the region surrounding it are almost as...
chamber for fiber optic cables.
On 24 January 2004, Commander David Bartholomew, Jr., commanding officer of PCU (Pre-Commissioned Unit) Jimmy Carter was relieved of command because of a "loss of confidence" in his ability "pending further administrative or disciplinary action as appropriate."
Captain Robert D. Kelso, deputy chief of staff of Submarine Development Squadron 12 at Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
, took temporary command of the PCU
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
until a new commanding officer could be named.
On 19 November 2004, Jimmy Carter completed alpha sea trials, her first voyage in the open seas. On 22 December, Electric Boat delivered Jimmy Carter to the Navy, and she was commissioned 19 February 2005 at NSB New London.
Jimmy Carter began a transit from NSB New London to its new homeport at the Bangor Annex of Naval Base Kitsap
Naval Base Kitsap
Naval Base Kitsap is a U.S. Navy base located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state. It was created in 2004 by merging the former Naval Station Bremerton with Naval Submarine Base Bangor...
, Washington on 14 October 2005 but was forced to return when an unusually high wave caused damage while the submarine was running on the surface. The damage was repaired and Carter left New London the following day, arriving at Bangor the afternoon of 9 November 2005.
On 16 June 2006, Commander David Honabach took command from Captain Kelso.
On 17 January 2008 Jimmy Carter was awarded the 2007 Battle Efficiency Award
Battle Efficiency Award
The Battle Effectiveness Award , commonly known as the Battle "E", is awarded annually to the small number of U.S...
, commonly known as a "Battle E".
In June 2009, Commander Brian Davies took command from Commander David Honabach.
External links
- Naval Vessel Register entry for USS Jimmy Carter
- USS Jimmy Carter Commissioned, from the Navy's Commander Submarine Group Two website
- USS Jimmy Carter: Expanding Future SSN Missions
- submarinehistory.com: USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)
- submarinehistory.com: James Earl "Jimmy" Carter
- submarinehistory.com: Submarines in the 21st century
- oralhistoryproject.com: World War II Submarine Veterans History Project
- navysite.de: USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)
- NavSource Online: USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)
- USS Jimmy Carter Multi-Mission Platform, in PDF formatPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
- James BamfordJames BamfordV. James Bamford is an American bestselling author and journalist who writes about United States intelligence agencies, most notably the National Security Agency.-Biography:...
Inside the National Security Agency (Lecture) American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
KUOW-FMKUOW-FMKUOW-FM 94.9 is a National Public Radio affiliate radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is a top-ranked radio station in the Seattle/Tacoma media market...
PRXPublic Radio ExchangeThe Public Radio Exchange is a nonprofit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization claims to be the largest on-demand catalog of public radio programs available for broadcast and Internet use.-Mission:According to PRX's site, its mission...
NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
24 February 2007 (53: minutes) - Big Brother Is Listening by James BamfordJames BamfordV. James Bamford is an American bestselling author and journalist who writes about United States intelligence agencies, most notably the National Security Agency.-Biography:...
The Atlantic April 2006
See also
- National Security AgencyNational Security AgencyThe National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...