USS Indianapolis (SSN-697)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | USS Indianapolis |
| Awarded: | 24 January 1972 |
| Builder: | General Dynamics Corporation |
| Laid down: | 19 October 1974 |
| Launched: | 30 July 1977 |
| Commissioned: | 5 January 1980 |
| Decommissioned: | 22 December 1998 |
| Struck: | 22 December 1998 |
| Fate: | To be disposed of by submarine recycling |
| Badge: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Los Angeles class submarine |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 110.3 m (361 ft 11 in) |
| Beam: | 10 m (32 ft 10 in) |
| Draft: | 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion: | S6G nuclear reactor with D1G Core 2 Reactor, 148 MW |
| Complement: | 12 officers, 98 men |
| Armament: | 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
The third USS Indianapolis (SSN-697), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Indianapolis, Indiana. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 24 January 1972 and her keel was laid down on 19 October 1974. She was launched on 30 July 1977 sponsored by Mrs. William G. Bray, and commissioned on 5 January 1980, with Commander Harry P. Salmon, Jr., in command.
When the submarine Indianapolis was commissioned, many survivors of the cruiser Indianapolis were present for the official ceremony. The submarine's home port was shifted to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1981, operating out of Pearl Harbor for the remainder of its active service.
The commanding officers of USS Indianapolis include:
- CDR Harry P. Salmon
- CDR Gordon W. Hutt
- CDR Harry P. Salmon (who took command a second time following a medical emergency at sea with CDR Hutt)
- CDR Steven V. Gray
- CDR R. S. Holbrook
- CDR Harry L. Sheffield
- CDR Thomas F. Gorman
- CDR David A Zacharias
- CDR Douglas P. Johnson
- CDR William J. Toti
As a result of the ship's final deployment from April to October 1997, under the command of CDR William Toti, the ship was awarded the Battle Efficiency E and a Navy Unit Commendation. Both were the first time the ship had received such awards in its 18-year history. During CDR Toti's tenure as commanding officer the ship also received several other awards, even including the Ney Award.
As a result of the ending of the Cold War and the so-called "Peace Dividend," the ship was inactivated in 1998 only 18 years into its 30-year life.
A small group of the survivors of the World War II Portland-class cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35) were present during the inactivation ceremony of the submarine Indianapolis in February 1998 at Submarine Base Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 22 December 1998 and stored in Bremerton Naval Shipyard in Washington State until disposed of by submarine recycling. The last captain of the submarine Indianapolis, CDR Toti, USN, also wrote the forward and afterward to Thomas Helm's Ordeal by the Sea : The Tragedy of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Because of Captain's Toti willingness to defend Captain Charles Butler McVay III, who had been court-martialed for the sinking of the World War II cruiser Indianapolis in 1945, Captain Toti has been held in high esteem by the survivors of the 1945 sinking. Captain Toti served previously on the submarine Indianapolis as Weapons Officer, Operations Officer, and finally Commanding Officer. He later went on to serve as commodore of Submarine Squadron 3 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. TMC(SS) John Trusello gives Captain Toti the highest of praise, quoting, "I knew Captain Toti as a lieutenant commander then commander, as he was leaving the U.S.S. Indianapolis. He was without question one of the finest officers in the Navy. He was brilliant, very easy going, and could manage under the most extreme conditions. He was certainly a great choice to be the last Captain."
References
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register and various press releases.