Carter submarine joins Navy fleet in Conn. ceremony

Last of Seawolf vessels honors former president

February 20, 2005|Associated Press

GROTON, Conn. -- The USS Jimmy Carter, the most heavily armed attack submarine built, officially entered the Navy's fleet at a commissioning ceremony yesterday.

Even as the Navy welcomed the $3.2 billion submarine, the first named after a living ex-president, it marked the end of an era. The Jimmy Carter is the last of the Seawolf class, which comprise three huge, deep-diving boats the Pentagon ordered as the Cold War neared its end in the early 1990s.

President Carter, a graduate of the US Naval Academy and the only president to serve on a submarine, handed the submarine's long glass to the navigator to symbolize the passing of the nation's maritime tradition to a new vessel.

"The most deeply appreciated and emotional honor I've ever had is to have this great ship bear my name," Carter said in prepared remarks during the ceremony at the Naval Submarine Base New London.

Carter added that he expects the crew will use the submarine's "extraordinary capabilities, many top secret, to preserve peace, to protect our country, and to keep high the banner of human rights around the world."

Carter's wife, Rosalynn, christened the boat last June at a ceremony attended by the 39th president. She attended yesterday's ceremony with Stansfield Turner, CIA director in the Carter administration. Turner and Carter shared an emotional embrace when the ceremonies were over.

Former vice president Walter Mondale and his wife, Joan, were also in attendance.

At 453 feet and 12,000 tons, the USS Jimmy Carter is the biggest Seawolf. Unlike the others, it was built to perform reconnaissance and surveillance missions. Intelligence experts say the nuclear-powered sub will be able to tap undersea cables and eavesdrop on communications passing through them.

The Jimmy Carter can reach speeds of more than 45 knots and carry Tomahawk cruise missiles and antisubmarine torpedoes.

It is engineered to be quieter than the other Seawolves, making it better for surveillance.

The first boat in the class, the USS Seawolf, was commissioned in 1997. The USS Connecticut was commissioned the following year.

The Seawolves were built and launched by Electric Boat in Groton. Electric Boat and Newport News in Virginia are working jointly on the Virginia class submarines, which are to be commissioned elsewhere.

The USS Jimmy Carter has been in production for nearly a decade. The Pentagon delayed construction to install a 100-foot hull extension that military analysts say equips it to replace the USS Parche, one of the fleet's premier spy subs.

The Parche was decommissioned in October. The Jimmy Carter will operate out of the Parche's former home, the Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state.

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