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USS Santa Fe (SSN-763)
Encyclopedia
USS Santa Fe (SSN-763), a , was the second 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 Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
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 21 March 1986 and her keel was laid down on 9 July 1991. She was launched
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 12 December 1992 sponsored by Mrs. Joy Johnson, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 8 January 1994, with Commander Rodger P. Krull in command.
Operational history
Santa Fe deployed to the Western Pacific in September 2003 until March 2004. For this deployment she participated in ANNUALEX '03 with the Japanese Maritime Defense ForceJapan Maritime Self-Defense Force
The , or JMSDF, is the naval branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. It was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy after World War II....
. The ship made port calls in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, multiple times in Sasebo, Japan, and in Yokosuka, Japan in which she rode out a typhoon while in port. Santa Fe was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
, the second highest award given to a submarine, for actions completed on this deployment. She underwent a three-month Interim Drydocking in October 2004.
After the ship completed sea trials and other various workups she then completed a two-month Eastern Pacific Deployment that started in May 2005. After returning to her homeport of Pearl Harbor in June 2005, she again deployed to the Western Pacific on 9 August 2005. During this deployment she participated in Exercise Malabar
Malabar 2007
Exercise Malabar is a multilateral naval exercise involving the United States, India, Japan, Australia, and Singapore. The annual MALABAR series began in 1992, and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers, through Maritime Interdiction Operations...
with the Indian Navy. Santa Fe was the second U.S. nuclear submarine to participate in the exercise and also to port in Goa, India
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. After Malabar, the ship made a brief stop in Phuket, Thailand
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
. She was the first U.S. submarine to visit Phuket since 2001. The ship returned to Pearl Harbor in February 2006. She made the transit to the East Coast in July 2006, surfacing near the North Pole on the way.
USS Santa Fe completed a major repair period lasting 18 months at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...
in Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
. After undergoing sea trials at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is a base of the United States Navy located adjacent to the town of St. Marys in Camden County, Georgia, in southeastern Georgia, and not far from Jacksonville, Florida. The Submarine Base is the U.S. Atlantic Fleet's home port for U.S. Navy Fleet ballistic missile...
, Georgia and transiting through the Panama Canal, she has returned to her homeport of Pearl Harbor, HI.
After shipyard she completed a six month Western Pacific deployment from May-November 2009, after stops in Singapore, Saipan, Guam, Okinawa, JP, and Yokosuka, JP. She received the Battle "E" Award in January of 2010.
Santa Fe returned August 24, 2011 to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after successfully completing a six-month deployment to the western Pacific region. Port calls included Sasebo, Japan (x3), Chinhae, South Korea; Yokosuka, Japan; Guam, and Subic Bay, Philippines.
Awards
- In 2000 she won the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy for most improved ship in the Fleet.
- In 2001 she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund AwardMarjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund AwardThe Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award is presented annually by the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations to one ship in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and one in the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. - In 2005 she was awarded the Naval Unit Commendation which is the second highest award that can be given to a Naval vessel.
- In 2006 Santa Fe was awarded a Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.
- In 2001, 2004, and 2009 she won the COMSUBRON 7 Battle Efficiency "E" Award.