USS ''La Jolla'' (SSN-701/MTS-701), a , is named for the

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

community in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. The contract to build her was awarded to the

Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power ...

Division of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

Corporation in

Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...

on 10 December 1973 and her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid down on 16 October 1976. She was launched on 11 August 1979 sponsored by Mrs. Jean Bryant Wilson, wife of Congressman

Bob Wilson Bob Wilson may refer to: Association footballers *Bob Wilson (footballer, born 1867) (1867–?), Irish international footballer of the 1880s *Bob Wilson (footballer, born September 1898) 1920s, Scottish footballer with Third Lanark and Fall Ri ...

, and commissioned on 24 October 1981. In 2017, ''La Jolla'' was converted to a Moored Training Ship and is currently stationed at NPTU Charleston in

Goose Creek, SC Goose Creek is the most populous city in Berkeley County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 45,946 at the 2020 census, making it the 7th-most populous city in the state. Most of the Naval Weapons Station Charleston is in ...

Service history

During the sea trials for ''La Jolla'', an unexpected depth excursion occurred during a propulsion plant "crash back" test at the direction of Admiral

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (27 January 1900 – 8 July 1986) was an admiral in the United States Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reacto ...

. In late 1982, about 30 miles out of San Francisco, ''La Jolla'', while at

periscope depth A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

, collided with the submarine , operating on the surface. ''La Jolla'' suffered minor rudder damage, while putting a scrape in the paint on ''Permit''s keel. ''La Jolla'' was the first to successfully test fire a

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. Etymology The name comes from Powhatan langu ...

cruise missile while submerged at the

Pacific Missile Test Center Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC) is the former name of the current Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division. The name of the center was the Naval Air Missile Test Center prior to PMTC. It is located at Naval Base Ventura County/ Naval Air St ...

on 29 April 1983. The first West Pacific (West-Pac) cruise was between August 1984 and February 1985, in which ''La Jolla'' visited ports in Olongapo Philippines, Hong Kong, Chinhae Korea, and Yokosuka, Japan. All crew members participating in the second half of the 1984–85 West-Pac cruise received the

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded to t ...

for operations in the Sea of Japan. On 11 February 1998, about 9 miles out of

Chinhae Jinhae District () is a district of Changwon, South Korea. This region is served by the Korean National Railroad, and is famous for its annual cherry blossom festival every spring. The city front is on a sheltered, island-studded bay, and is alm ...

, South Korea, ''La Jolla'' accidentally ran into and sank a 27-ton fishing trawler. The five crewmembers of the trawler were rescued by the crew of ''La Jolla''. In 2000, ''La Jolla'' was modified to carry a

Dry Deck Shelter A dry deck shelter (DDS) is a removable module that can be attached to a submarine to allow divers easy exit and entrance while the boat is submerged. The host submarine must be specially modified to accommodate the DDS, with the appropriate matin ...

(DDS). On 23 August 2004, ''La Jolla'' returned to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

after a six-month deployment in the Pacific Ocean. She conducted port visits in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, Japan, Singapore,

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, and

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, and participated in five international exercises, including Pacific Reach 2004.

Post stand-down conversion to training ship

''La Jolla'' was converted to a Moored Training Ship (MTS) in August 2017 and decommissioned and stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 15 November 2019. The conversion to a MTS began in February 2015 and completed in late 2019. After a "Fast Cruise" period in the spring of 2020, ''La Jolla'' was certified and cleared for student training. The conversion to a MTS was expected to take 32 months according to the commanding officer, however it took much longer. During her time in shipyard, the submarine was cut into three pieces, and a portion of the hull taken out. Three new hull sections from General Dynamics Electric Boat were added to accommodate the sub's new mission. A newly fabricated hull section was welded in place, and the new compartment (OPS, or Operations) contains training spaces, office spaces, and an emergency safeguard system. ''La Jolla'' is permanently moored at Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) at

Naval Support Activity Charleston Naval Support Activity Charleston, originally designated Naval Weapons Station Charleston, is a base of the United States Navy located on the west bank of the Cooper River, in the cities of Goose Creek and Hanahan South Carolina.17,000 acres, ...

in South Carolina.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:La Jolla (Ssn-701) Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Los Angeles-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1979 ships Submarines of the United States