USS Hartford (SSN-768)

	Career
insert caption here
Awarded:	30 June 1988
Laid down:	22 February 1992
Launched:	4 December 1993
Commissioned:	10 December 1994
Fate:	Active, in commission
Homeport:	Groton, Connecticut
General Characteristics
Displacement:	6000 tons light, 6927 tons full, 927 tons dead
Length:	110.3 meters (362 feet)
Beam:	10 meters (33 feet)
Draft:	9.4 meters (31 feet)
Propulsion:	one S6G reactor
Complement:	12 officers, 98 men

USS Hartford (SSN-768), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Hartford, Connecticut. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 30 June 1988 and her keel was laid down on 22 February 1992. She was launched on 4 December 1993 sponsored by Laura O'Keefe, wife of former Secretary of the Navy Sean O'Keefe, and commissioned on 10 December 1994, with Commander George Kasten in command.

nine years of history go here

On 25 October 2003, while departing La Maddalena, Italy, on the surface, Hartford ran aground due to navigational error. Hartford returned to La Maddalena for temporary repairs, thence to the United States. During the transit, the boat was restricted in her speed and diving depth, which extended her return trip from two weeks to nearly a month. Most of her lower rudder was carried away in the grounding, and deep gouges were cut into the submarine's pressure hull, raising questions of structural integrity. The boat remains in the shipyard as of 23 December 2003.

Commander Christopher Van Metre, the submarine's commanding officer, and Captain Greg Parker, commodore of Submarine Squadron 22, were relieved of duty. Six crewmen on the navigation party were punished for dereliction of duty.

See USS Hartford for other ships of the same name.

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, United States Navy press releases, and various news articles.