USS ALBUQUERQUE Submarine (SSN 706)

The 19th LOS ANGELES 688 Class Nuclear Powered, Fast Attack Submarine.

Albuquerque, the Ship The City of Albuquerque The Power Plant Auxiliaries Dolphins Communications Navgation Weapons Supply How a Submarine is Organized USS Albuquerque Statistics

The USS ALBUQUERQUE (SSN 706)

USS ALBUQUERQUE (SSN 706) is the second United States Warship to be named after Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first was USCGS ALBUQUERQUE (PF-7), a patrol frigate commissioned in December 1943.During World War II USCGS ALBUQUERQUE served on convoy escort duty in the Aleutian Islands and patrolled the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. In October of 1950 she again served on patrol and escort duty for the Coast Guard and received three Battle Stars for her service during the Korean War. She was decommissioned in February 1953.

The current USS ALBUQUERQUE (SSN 706), a nuclear powered fast attack submarine of the LOS ANGELES class, was constructed at Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on March 13, 1982, and commissioned on May 21, 1983. ALBUQUERQUE is the nineteenth ship in the class and carries a complement of 127 (12 officers, 115 enlisted), all highly trained professionals in their respective fields.

Since commissioning, USS ALBUQUERQUE has completed several deployments in both the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea and has been awarded two Meritorious Unit Commendations.

Submarines of the LOS ANGELES Class are the most advanced undersea vessels of their type in the world. While anti-submarine warfare is still their primary mission, the inherent characteristics of the submarine's stealth, mobility and endurance are used to meet the challenges of today's changing global geopolitical climate. USS ALBUQUERQUE is able to get on station quickly, stay for an extended period of time and carry out a variety of missions including the deployment of special forces, minelaying, precision strike land attack, or simply deterrence by her percieved presence while remaining undetected.

This 360 foot, 6,900-ton ship is well equipped to accomplish these tasks. Faster than her predecessors and possessing highly accurate sensors, weapons control systems and central computer complexes, ALBUQUERQUE is armed with sophisticated MK-48 Advanced Capability anti-submarine/ship torpedoes, Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles, and mines.

The City of Albuquerque

Albuquerque, the ship's namesake city, was founded in 1706 by Spanish explorers and named for the Duke of Alburquerque. Located in rich farmland in the Rio Grande Valley, Albuquerque lies at an elevation of nearly 5,000 feet and is surrounded by the Sandia mountains.

Today, Albuquerque is a commercial, military research, and finance center which boasts a population of nearly 400,000. In addition to high-technology industries such as Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base weapons research center, Albuquerque hosts over 700 firms which produce a wide variety of goods from processed foods to electrical machinery. The city also offers outstanding recreational areas for skiing, hiking and camping.

USS ALBUQUERQUE enjoys a unique, mutually supportive relationship with the City of Albuquerque. At the ship's commissioning on May 21, 1983, the Mayor of the City presented a set of keys for a new Rolls Royce to the Commanding Officer. The first skipper to pilot the submarine up the Rio Grande to Albuquerque for a port visit will win this prize. At each Change of Command these keys are turned over to the new Commanding Officer by the Mayor or his representative.

The Power Plant

The propulsion plant of a nuclear powered ship is based upon use of a nuclear reactor to provide heat via fission. Since the fissioning process also produces radiation, shields are placed around the reactor so that the crew is protected.

The nuclear propulsion plant in this ship uses a pressurized water reactor design which has two basic systems: the primary system and the secondary system. The primary system circulates ordinary water and consists of the reactor, piping loops, pumps and steam generators. The heat produced in the reactor is transferred to the water under high pressure so it does not boil. This water is pumped through the steam generators and back into the reactor for reheating.

In steam generators, the heat from the water in the primary system is transferred to the secondary system to create steam. The secondary system is isolated from the primary system so that the water in the two systems does not intermix.

In the secondary system, the steam flows from the steam generators to drive the turbine generators, which supply the ship with electricity, and to the main propulsion turbines, which drive the propeller. After passing through the turbines, the steam is condensed into water which is fed back to the steam generators by the feed pumps. Thus, both the primary and secondary systems are closed systems where water is recirculated and reused.

There is no step in the generation of this power which requires the presence of air or oxygen. This allows the ship to operate completely independent from the earth's atmosphere for extended periods of time.

Auxiliaries

The nuclear power plant gives the ALBUQUERQUE the ability to remain deployed and submerged for extended periods of time. To take advantage of this, the ship is outfitted with various auxiliary equipment to provide for the needs of the crew.

ALBUQUERQUE's atmosphere control equipment replenishes oxygen used by the crew, and removes carbon dioxide and other atmosphere contaminants.The ship's air is continuously monitored when submerged by an installed atmosphere analyzer.

The ship is equipped with two distilling plants which convert salt water to fresh water for drinking, washing and the propulsion plant. ALBUQUERQUE has its own laundry and its own ice cream machine.

Dolphins

The wearing of Dolphins is a longstanding naval tradition. Earning Dolphins is a significant event in a submariner's career; a special high point that instills tremendous personal pride and a sense of accomplishment.

The origin of the U.S. Navy's Submarine Service Insignia dates back to 1923. It was designed by Ensign William Crawford Eddy. Bill Eddy was medically retired in 1934, then returned to active duty in 1942 to command Radio Chicago, the Navy's highly secret and unusual radar training program during WWII.

On 13 June of that year, Captain Ernest J. King, USN, later to become Fleet Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations during World War II, and at that time Commander Submarine Division Three, suggested to the Secretary of the Navy, via the old Bureau of Navigation, that a distinguishing device for qualified submariners be adopted. The design chosen consisted of a bow view of a submarine proceeding on the surface, with bow planes rigged for diving, flanked by dolphins in horizontal positions with their heads resting on the upper edge of the bow planes.

The Officer Insignia was then and is now a gold plated metal pin, worn above the left breast pocket. Enlisted men wore the insignia, embroidered in silk, on the outside of the right sleeve, midway between the wrist and the elbow. In mid-1947 the embroidered device shifted from the sleeve of the enlisted man's jumper to above the left breast pocket. Subsequently, silver metal Dolphins were approved for enlisted men.

Dolphins are earned through a rigorous qualification process. Individuals must learn the location of equipment, operation of complex systems, damage control procedures and have a general knowledge of operational characteristics of their boat. Dolphin wearers qualify initially on one boat and must requalify on each boat to which they are subsequently assigned. Once Dolphins have been earned, they are awarded to the individual by the Commanding Officer in a special ceremony.

Communications

ALBUQUERQUE is completely outfitted with a wide variety of antennas, transmitters and receivers necessary to support accomplishment of her assigned tasks. Interior communication is possible on a wide range of circuits and sound powered phones which do not require electrical power and are reliable in battle situations. Various alarm and indicating circuits enable the Officer of the Deck and the Engineering Officer of the Watch to continuously monitor critical parameters and equipment located throughout the ship.

Navigation

Keeping track of the ship's position while submerged requires a complex navigational system. ALBUQUERQUE has the capability to use electronic, celestial, inertial and visual means to establish the ship's position.

Weapons

ALBUQUERQUE can carry and employ all of the tactical weapons available to the submarine force. These include the MK-48 ADCAP torpedo, Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles, and mines.

Supply

Sustained operation of the complex equipment and machinery on the ship requires the support of the supply department. The repair parts carried on board number in the hundreds of thousands, yet any one can be provided in a matter of minutes. The supply department also carries enough food to feed a crew of over one hundred for as long as 90 days.

How a Submarine is Organized

Few modern institutions can rival the nuclear submarine for complexity and absolute self-sufficiency. The often inhospitable environment of the vast sea only intensifies the need for coordination of each crewman's activities. The keystone of the submarine organization is the Commanding Officer, the Captain of the ship. The responsibility for each operation of the submarine, in fact, the responsibility of each individual aboard, converge at the command level and create the Commanding Officer's ultimate charge: to successfully carry out all assigned missions. The Commanding Officer is empowered to employ whatever measures are required in his judgement.

Second in command is the Executive Officer, always next senior in rank to the Captain and not far from attaining his own command. The XO, as he is informally called, offers his wide ranging experience to the submarine organization through direct coordination of the administrative and training activities of the ship. His knowledge and position extend his responsibilities and interests to every aspect of submarine operations.

The remainder of the ship's force is comprised of four departments: Navigation/Operations, Weapons, Engineering, and Supply. The first three are ordinarily led by the more senior officers of the ship who rank just below the Executive Officer. The more junior officers are assigned within these departments to act as division officers. Divisions are the smallest organizational units aboard, and consist of groups of enlisted specialists organized according to skills. Each division is led by a leading petty officer, normally a chief petty officer, who provides deck plate level leadership and possesses in-depth technical expertise gained through years of experience.

Every piece of material on the ship from the propeller to the paint job is assigned to a division and finally to an individual technician for its care. Each of these men is an expert not only in the technical functions to which his special training has been directed, but also in the demands of administration, leadership, and instruction of his shipmates.

Each crew member is a part of a second organization aboard the ship, the watch organization, which is designed to conduct and coordinate the actual operations of the ship around the clock. This organization is ordinarily divided into three similar groups called sections. At any given time on the submarine one of these sections has the watch. Each watch section is headed by the Officer of the Deck who carries out the Commanding Officer's orders during the hours of his watch. It is the Officer of the Deck who orders the ship's course, speed, and depth, and coordinates all shipboard evolutions. He is assisted by the Engineering Officer of the Watch, who controls the reactor plant and all engineering evolutions in the propulsion plant.

Each watch section consists of watchstanders throughout the ship who stand alertly by their equipment and stations for the duration of each watch. For example, helmsmen, who steer the ship; throttlemen, to control the steam turbines; sonar operators, who silently probe the environment; reactor operators, who control the ship's remarkable energy source; torpedomen, to service and launch ALBUQUERQUE's weapons; radio operators, who continually maintain an invisible link with command centers ashore; and electricians, who supply power from the reactor for virtually every service on the ship.

The tempo of the watch is the heartbeat of the ship and, since one third of a submariner's time is spent standing his watch, it is also the principal determinant of his day to day routine.

USS ALBUQUERQUE Statistics

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