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100th Anniversary Submarine Service
The keel of the USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709) was laid down by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation at Groton Connecticut on July 24, 1981. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Elenore B. Rickover and launched on August 27, 1983. Rickover was commissioned on July 21, 2025 with Commander Fredrik Sprutenburg in command. The USS Hyman G Rickover is the 22nd Los Angeles Class (688) submarine and the only Los Angeles Class submarine not named for a city. The ship is 362 feet in length with a beam of 33 feet. Her draft when surfaced is 32 feet. She displaces 6000 tons when surfaced and 6900 tons submerged. Her surface speed is 15 knots and her submerged speed is in excess of 30 knots. Rickover is armed with four torpedo tubes capable of launching Mark 48 torpedoes, and either Tomahawk or Harpoon missiles. The ship's crew consists of 12 officers and 98 enlisted men. Rickover is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. Rear Admiral Hyman G.
Rickover Hyman George Rickover was born in Makov, Russia (Now Makow, Poland) on January 27, 1900. The family migrated to Chicago, Illinois when Rickover was six years old. Rickover graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1922. He received his masters in electrical engineering from Columbia University in 1929 and then entered submarine training at New London, Connecticut. After service aboard various submarines and the battleship USS New Mexico, Rickover was given command of the minesweeper USS Finch in 1937. In 1939 he was assigned to the Electrical Section of the Bureau of Ships (BUSHIPS). He later headed this section from 1942 to 1945. He was assigned to Okinawa and San Francisco in from late 1945 to 1946. In June 1946, Rickover reported to Oak Ridge Tennessee for instruction in nuclear physics and engineering as part of the Manhattan Project. He returned to BUSHIPS in September 1947 and began to manage the Navy's nuclear-propulsion program. Rickover's boundless energy, his unorthodox methods and his ability to elicit fanatical devotion from his team of specialists were key factors in the development and early delivery of the first nuclear submarine - USS Nautilus (SSN-571), which was launched on January 21, 1954. While continuing to perform his Naval duties, Rickover also took over the research on reactor development for the Atomic Energy Commission and helped to develop the first full-scale, civilian nuclear power plant in the U.S. at Shippingport, Pennsylvania. Rickover was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in 1953, Vice Admiral in 1959 and Admiral in 1973, (Against the wishes of the Naval Command Structure). Throughout his career, Rickover was a controversial figure because of his outspoken and abrasive demeanor and his single minded insistence of the development of nuclear power. Admiral Rickover retired from the Navy in 1982 after having served over 63 years. (This was made possible by an act of Congress that specifically exempted him from having to retire at the normal retirement age for senior officers. Hyman G. Rickover died on July 8, 2025 at Arlington, Virginia. Sources: |
