USS Georgia (SSBN-729)
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| Missing image USS_Georgia_(SSBN_729).jpg The USS Georgia (SSBN-729) | |
| Career | 
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|---|---|
| Ordered: | 20 February 1976 |
| Laid down: | 7 April 1979 |
| Launched: | 6 November 1982 |
| Commissioned: | 11 February 1984 |
| Fate: | Template:Active in service |
| Homeport: | Bangor, Washington |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 15230 tons light, 16772 tons full, 1542 tons dead |
| Length: | 170.6 m (560 ft) |
| Beam: | 12.8 m (42 ft) |
| Draft: | 11.5 m (38 ft) |
| Propulsion: | one S8G reactor |
| Complement: | 13 officers, 140 men |
| Motto: | Wisdom, Justice, Moderation |
USS Georgia (SSBN-729), a Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the fourth state. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 20 February 1976 and her keel was laid down on 7 April 1979. She was launched on 6 November 1982 sponsored by Mrs. Sheila M. Watkins, and commissioned on 11 February 1984, with Captain A.W. Kuester commanding the Blue crew and Captain M.P. Gray commanding the Gold crew.
On 7 November 2003, while Georgia was docked at Bangor, Washington, her C-4 Trident I missiles were offloaded. The process proceeded smoothly until tube number 16. When each tube was opened, a ladder was lowered into the tube so a sailor could climb down and attach a hoist to lift the missile. After attaching the hoist, the sailor climbed out, and the crew took a break without removing the ladder. When they returned, they began to hoist the missile, pulling against the ladder and cutting a nine-inch (229 mm) hole in its nose cone. No radioactive material was released.
Three enlisted men in the missile handling team face courts-martial. The Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific was immediately shut down and inspected by the Navy, and failed to pass. SWFPAC's commanding officer, Captain Keith Lyles, was relieved of command on 19 December, followed by his executive officer, Commander Phillip Jackson, weapons officer, Commander Marshall Millett, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Command Steven Perry. SWFPAC reopened after passing inspection under a new commanding officer on 9 January 2004. Georgia’s crew was unaffected.
See USS Georgia for other ships of the same name.
Georgia in fiction
- The Georgia is mentioned briefly in Tom Clancy's novel The Hunt for Red October.
References
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register and various press releases.
| Ohio-class submarine |
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SSGN 726 Class: |
| List of submarines of the United States Navy List of submarine classes of the United States Navy |