SSN 724 Louisville

USS LOUISVILLE (SSN 724) was commissioned on 8 November 1986 at the Naval Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut. The 35th nuclear powered fast attack submarine of the LOS ANGELES (SSN 688) class design, LOUISVILLE is one of the most advanced attack submarines in the world.

LOUISVILLE'S mission is to seek out and destroy enemy ships and submarines, and to protect our naval interest. This 360 ft, 6900 ton ship is well equipped to accomplish this task. Faster than her predecessors and equipped with highly accurate sensors and weapons systems, LOUISVILLE is armed with sophisticated MK48 torpedoed, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and Tomahawk cruise missiles which can be vertically launched from twelve missile tubes located in the bow.

The USS LOUISVILLE (SSN 724) , NAMED FOR THE CITY OF Louisville Kentucky, is the fourth United States ship to bear the name of Louisville.

Commissioned on 16 January 1862, the first LOUISVILLE, an ironclad centerwheel steamer served continuously with the War Department flotilla on the western rivers. She participated in the successful siege which forced the surrender of Vicksburg on 4 July 1963.

The second LOUISVILLE was originally the American Line steamship, ST. LOUIS. On 26 April 1918, the steamship was renamed LOUISVILLE and served as a troop transport for several trip voyages to Europe.

The third LOUISVILLE (CA28) was launched 1 September 1930 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington and commissioned 15 January 1931. During World War II, she participated in several of the great naval campaigns in the Pacific theater. In her most significant engagement, LOUISVILLE participated in the battle of Leyte Gulf which resulted in the virtual destruction of the Japanese naval forces. On 5 and 6 January 1945, two kamikazes scored direct hits on LOUISVILLE which resulted in extensive damage. She was repaired and returned to sea only to be struck by another kamikaze on 5 June 1945. LOUISVILLE was awarded 13 battle stars for her service during World War II.

During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm the fourth LOUISVILLE (SSN 724) made naval history by firing the first submarine launched Tomahawk cruise missile in war. To accomplish this LOUISVILLE conducted a 14,000 mile submerged, high speed transit across the Pacific and Indian Oceans to the Red Sea and fired shortly after noon on 19 January 1991. For exceptionally meritorious service from 17 January 1991 to 28 February 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, LOUISVILLE was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation.

LOUISVILLE was awarded the COMSUBRON Eleven Battle Efficiency "E" for 1992, and both the Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for operations in support of the Kitty Hawk Battle Group during LOUISVILLE'S third major deployment to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf.

USS Louisville (SSN 724) returned to her homeport at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on May 13, 2003 following a deployment spanning over eight months in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Louisville's availability following its deployment had one of the largest overall work packages (55,000 man-days) and lowest overtime rates (21 percent) among submarine SRAs completed in recent years at Pearl Harbor. The start of the SRA was delayed two months because Louisville was deployed for over eight months, which contributed to higher maintenance requirements upon her return. In addition, a very large modernization package was done during the SRA. In spite of all this work, the project finished on time Jan. 10, 2004 according to the revised schedule.