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Further Reading

SSN 709 Hyman G. Rickover

USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) was the only Los Angeles class submarine not named for a city. After 22 years of service, USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) was inactivated in a ceremony Dec. 14 at Norfolk Naval Station Pier 3. As of 01 March 2007 Rickover was in Commission, in Reserve (Stand Down), commencement of inactivation availability.

The widow of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, retired Cmdr. Eleonore Rickover, who also served as the ship's sponsor, attended the submarine's final ceremony and was able to recount vividly the day Rickover was brought to life. She also recounted the significant impact the sub had on her life. "This submarine has been very special to me the last 22 years. When my husband died it was like, through the submarine, he was still alive," said Rickover.

Rickover, whose name was memorialized with the attack submarine, as well as Rickover Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy, retired from the United States Navy on January 31, 1982, after 63 years of service to his country and to 13 different presidents.

During the ceremony Adm. Kirkland Donald, director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion, talked about some of Rickover's philosophy and traits and the life accomplishments which had a large impact on today's Navy. "Adm. Rickover believed that hard work and heavy sweat was the only way to work and he often reminded his students of that. We are his students and we share one thing in common, we strive for excellence, because he taught us how," said Donald.

Donald went on to say that it was a sad day, but also a time to celebrate the accomplishments of Rickover and its crew. During Rickover's 22 years of service she had completed 14 deployments and earned four Battle Efficiency "E" awards, pending the announcement of the 2006 results.

Rickover returned from its final six-month deployment to the North Atlantic where she made port visits to Haakonsvern, Norway; Faslane, Scotland; and Rota, Spain. Submarines like Rickover have comprised the front line of defense for decades. During deployment the crew demonstrated the flexibility of the fast-attack submarine by conducting stealth endurance and agility operations in support of the global war on terrorism and maritime security operations.

When first commissioned, Rickover surpassed the underwater capabilities of any class of ship that had come before. With stealth, persistence, agility and firepower, fast-attack submarines like Rickover are multi-mission capable -- able to deploy and support special forces operations, disrupt and destroy an adversary's military and economic operations at sea, provide early strike from close proximity, and ensure undersea superiority. Rickover is 360 feet long, displaces 6,900 tons of water, and can travel in excess of 25 knots.

Hyman G. Rickover

Hyman G. Rickover was born in Poland on 27 January 1900, just a few months before the American submarine force came into existence. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1922 and served on board USS LaVallette and USS Nevada until he returned to the Academy for postgraduate education in electrical engineering. Rickover underwent submarine training between January and June 1930. His service as head of the Electrical Section in the Bureau of Ships during World War II brought him a Legion of Merit and gave him experience in directing large development programs, choosing talented technical people, and working closely with private industry.

Assigned to the Bureau of Ships in September 1947, Rickover received training in nuclear power at Oak Ridge Tennessee and worked with the bureau to explore the possibility of nuclear ship propulsion. In February 1949 he received an assignment to the Division of Reactor Development, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and then assumed control of the Navy's effort as Director of the Naval Reactors Branch in the Bureau of Ships. This twin role enabled him to lead the effort to develop the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus (SSN-571). The latter joined the fleet in January 1955. Promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral by 1958, Rickover exerted tremendous personal influence over the nuclear Navy in both an engineering and cultural sense. His views touched matters of design, propulsion, education, personnel, and professional standards. In every sense, he played the role of father to the nuclear fleet, its officers, and its men. After sixty-four years of service, Rickover retired from the Navy as a full admiral on 19 January 1982. He died on July 8, 1986.