USS Atlanta (SSN-712)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Atlanta.

USS Atlanta underway
History
United States
Name	USS Atlanta
Namesake	Atlanta, Georgia
Awarded	1 August 1975
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding
Laid down	17 August 1978
Launched	16 August 1980
Commissioned	6 March 1982
Decommissioned	16 December 1999
Stricken	16 December 1999
Motto	Resurgens (Latin: "Rise Again")
Fate	To be disposed of by submarine recycling
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Los Angeles-class submarine
Displacement	5,732 tons light, 6,160 tons full, 428 tons dead
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
Speed	Surfaced:20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) Submerged: +20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) (official)
Complement	12 officers, 115 ratings
Sensors and processing systems	BQQ-5 passive sonar, BQS-15 detecting and ranging sonar, WLR-8V(2) ESM receiver, WLR-9 acoustic receiver for detection of active search sonar and acoustic homing torpedoes, BRD-7 radio direction finder, BPS-15 radar
Armament	4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes Mark 48 torpedo Harpoon missiles Tomahawk cruise missile

USS Atlanta (SSN-712), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Atlanta, Georgia. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, on 1 August 1975 and her keel was laid down on 17 August 1978. She was launched on 16 August 1980 sponsored by Mrs. Sam Nunn, and commissioned on 6 March 1982, with Commander Robin J. White in command.

On 29 April 1986 Atlanta ran aground in the Strait of Gibraltar, damaging her sonar gear and puncturing a ballast tank in the bow section. The boat proceeded to Gibraltar under her own power. After a week, the Atlanta returned to Norfolk, VA under its own power, and was repaired in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia.

During Atlanta's brief career, she completed six deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and three deployments to the western Atlantic. She was the first submarine certified to employ the Mark 48 torpedo and both Harpoon missiles and Tomahawk missiles. She was also the first nuclear-powered submarine assigned to directly support an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG).

Atlanta was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 16 December 1999. She was berthed at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, awaiting entry into the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington.

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register as well as various press releases and news stories.