USS Wyoming (SSBN-742)
USS Wyoming (SSBN-742)
USS Wyoming (SSBN-742) approaches Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay on 9 January 2009.
History
United States
NamesakeState of Wyoming
Ordered18 October 1989
BuilderGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut
Laid down8 August 1991
Launched15 July 1995
Sponsored byMrs. Monika B. Owens
Commissioned13 July 1996
HomeportKings Bay, GA
Motto
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeOhio-class ballistic missile submarine
Displacement
  • 16,764 long tons (17,033 t) surfaced[2][3]
  • 18,750 long tons (19,050 t) submerged[2]
Length560 ft (170 m)
Beam42 ft (13 m)[2]
Draft38 ft (12 m)
Propulsion
SpeedGreater than 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)[6]
Test depthGreater than 800 feet (240 m)[6]
Complement
Armament

USS Wyoming (SSBN-742) is a United States Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine which has been in commission since 1996. She is the fourth US Navy ship to be named USS Wyoming, although it was only the third named after the state of Wyoming.[a]

The contract to build Wyoming was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 18 October 1989 and her keel was laid down there on 8 August 1991. She was launched on 15 July 1995, sponsored by Mrs. Monika B. Owens, and commissioned on 13 July 1996.

Service history

A captain's mast aboard USS Wyoming during the early 2000s.
Wyoming transits the Intracoastal Waterway; 11 February 2009

1990s

On 26 July 1996, Wyoming arrived at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, Georgia, becoming the ninth submarine to be home-ported there.

2010s

On 6 June 2012, Wyoming participated in a historic medevac exercise with a Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey making a 12,000 nautical mile flight to collect a stretcher from the submarine.[7]

On 7 January 2018, she arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard to begin a 27-month overhaul to include midlife refueling, technological upgrades, and new berthing spaces for enlisted women.[8]

Shower video scandal

In 2011, Wyoming became one of the first four submarines to take on female officers. During patrols from August to November 2013 and March to June 2014, four women were secretly recorded in the shower changing room, including midshipmen and officers assigned to the boat. Up to twelve male sailors, all petty officers, were implicated, though it is believed that only one of them made the recordings with a smartphone, and then shared them. Of the twelve sailors that were investigated, ten were prosecuted and convicted, with sentences ranging from prison time to reductions in pay.[9][10]

2020s

On 9 October 2020, she completed her 27-month overhaul and returned to Kings Bay, GA.[11]

On 17 September 2021, Wyoming conducted a successful, two-missile test flight of unarmed life-extended Trident II (D5LE) missiles on the Eastern Test Range off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida.[12]

Wyoming conducted an exchange of command at sea in January 2022. "This regularly scheduled exchange of command at sea demonstrates the continuity and operational flexibility of our sea-based nuclear deterrence operations and our ready, reliable ballistic-submarine force," said a Navy spokesperson.[13]

On 24 March 2022 Wyoming became the first ballistic submarine in US Navy history to complete a deterrent patrol with enlisted females as part of the crew.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ The first Wyoming, USS Wyoming (1859), was named in honor of the Wyoming Valley in eastern Pennsylvania, nine years before the creation of the Wyoming Territory, which later became the state.

References

  1. ^ Boat Pages – USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) Archived 16 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "SSBN-726 Ohio-Class FBM Submarines". Federation of American Scientists. 9 February 2000. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Frost, Peter. "Newport News contract awarded". Daily Press. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  4. ^ "US study of reactor and fuel types to enable naval reactors to shift from HEU fuel". Fissile Materials. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  5. ^ Brendan Patrick Hanlon (July 2015). Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors (PDF) (Master thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Submarine Frequently Asked Questions". Chief of Naval Operations Submarine Warfare Division. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  7. ^ Kington, Tom. "‘Handful’ of Foreign Countries Eyeing V-22 Purchases, Program Manager Says." Defense News, 9 July 2012.
  8. ^ Vergakis, Brock (2 February 2018). "Ballistic-missile submarine USS Wyoming's life being extended in Portsmouth". Pilot Online. The Virginia Pilot. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  9. ^ "12 sailors implicated in submarine shower scandal". navytimes.com. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Navy Women Were Secretly Filmed Showering for Almost a Year Before Someone Said Something". gawker.com. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Submarine USS Wyoming returns after 27-month overhaul". UPI. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  12. ^ "USS Wyoming Successfully Tests Trident II D5LE Missiles". United States Navy. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  13. ^ "USS Wyoming exchanges command, crew at sea". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  14. ^ Berumen, Ashley. "USS Wyoming women make history during ballistic-missile submarine patrol". U.S. Strategic Command. United States Navy. Retrieved 8 December 2022.

External links

Eight hours of interviews and footage captured by C-SPAN cameras during 24 hours spent on Wyoming:

Ohio-class submarines
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