USS Toledo (SSN-769)

2025-08-09T22:05:48Z

205.56.181.194:

{{short description|Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the US Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Toledo}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
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|Ship image= [[File:USS Toledo SSN-769.jpg|300px|USS ''Toledo'' (SSN-769)]]
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag}}
|Ship name=USS ''Toledo''
|Ship namesake= The City of [[Toledo, Ohio]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded= 10 June 1988
|Ship builder= [[Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding|Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]]
|Ship original cost=
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|Ship laid down= 6 May 1991
|Ship launched= 28 August 1993
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Sabra Smith
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 24 February 1995
|Ship decommissioned=
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|Ship homeport= [[Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham]]
|Ship identification=*{{MMSI Number|369970226}}
* [[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: NTOH
|Ship motto= "Fear the Walleye"
|Ship nickname=Sword of Freedom
|Ship honors=Naval Unit Commendation
|Ship captured=
|Ship status=In active service
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=[[File:769insig.png|150px]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class= {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|6000|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} light
* {{convert|6927|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
* {{convert|927|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} [[Deadweight tonnage|dead]]
|Ship length={{convert|110.3|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|10|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft={{convert|9.4|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion={{Los Angeles-class submarine Flight II/III propulsion}}
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|Ship complement=12 officers, 98 men
|Ship time to activate=
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|Ship armament=*4 × {{convert|21|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes
* 12 × vertical launch [[BGM-109 Tomahawk|Tomahawk]] missiles
|Ship armor=
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'''USS ''Toledo'' (SSN-769)''', is a [[United States Navy]], {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine|0}}, [[Nuclear propulsion|nuclear-powered]], [[attack submarine]] and the third U.S. Naval vessel to be named for the city of [[Toledo, Ohio]]. The contract to build her was awarded to [[Newport News Shipbuilding|Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company]] in [[Newport News, Virginia]], on 10 June 1988, and her keel was laid down on 6 May 1991. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 28 August 1993, sponsored by Mrs. Sabra Smith, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 24 February 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.public.navy.mil/subfor/hq/Pages/USSToledo(SSN769).aspx|title=USS Toledo (SSN 769)|website=public.navy.mil|access-date=27 July 2020|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727094503/https://www.public.navy.mil/subfor/hq/Pages/USSToledo(SSN769).aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History==

Her first deployment was to the [[Mediterranean]] with the {{USS|George Washington|CVN-73|2}} [[Carrier Strike Group]] in 1997–1998, followed by a six-month tour of the [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic]].<ref name= "Toledo">{{cite news|url=http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2014/05/18/Toledo-s-namesake-submarine-at-work-after-midlife-rebuild.html|title=''Toledo's'' namesake submarine at work after midlife rebuild.|newspaper=The Blade |publisher=toledoblade.com|date=18 May 2014|access-date=17 January 2018}}</ref>

===''Kursk'' incident===
{{further|Kursk submarine disaster}}
''Toledo'' and {{USS|Memphis|SSN-691|2}} were observing Russian naval exercises in August 2000. There, Russian cruise missile submarine ''Kursk'' suffered a catastrophic incident and sank. Russian Navy officials initially made numerous claims that the sinking of ''Kursk'' was caused by a collision with one of the US submarines, though evidence clearly disproved such a theory; the underwater seismic signals recorded matched those of an explosion and not a collision with another vessel,<ref>{{cite web|last=Reed|first=Christina|title=Sinking the Kursk|url=http://www.geotimes.org/feb01/kursk.html|work=GeoTimes|publisher=American Geological Institute|access-date=2 February 2014|date=February 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225033024/http://www.geotimes.org/feb01/kursk.html|archive-date=25 February 2014}}</ref> and the US submarines were fully operational after the incident (the claim being ''Toledo'' would have been severely damaged or sunk by a hypothetical collision, being less than half of ''Kursk's'' displacement).<ref name=cohen>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1821|title=Cohen Press conference at the U.S. Embassy, Tokyo |work=defenselink.mil |archive-date=16 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416193239/http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1821}}</ref> The loss of ''Kursk'' was officially attributed to a faulty dummy torpedo leaking highly volatile [[high-test peroxide]], setting off a chain reaction that detonated five to seven combat-ready torpedo warheads.<ref>{{cite web|title=AWE Blacknest|url=http://www.blacknest.gov.uk/|access-date=19 February 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226153404/http://www.blacknest.gov.uk/|archive-date=26 February 2014}}{{registration required}}</ref>

[[File:Kurskvstoledo.png|thumb|Size and mass comparison of ''Kursk'' and USS ''Toledo'', which is less than half of ''Kursk''{{'}}s displacement]]

===2001-2006 deployments===
''Toledo'' deployed to the Mediterranean again in late 2001-early 2002 in support of [[Operation Enduring Freedom]].<ref name= Toledo />

''Toledo'' returned to the [[Naval Submarine Base New London]] in mid-April 2003 after having taken part in the Iraq War.

On 7 December 2004, ''Toledo'' returned to [[Groton, Connecticut]], after a six-month deployment in the [[Persian Gulf]] with the {{USS|John F. Kennedy|CV-67|2}} [[Carrier Strike Group]] that included port calls in [[Crete]], [[Dubai]], and [[Bahrain]]. Her route home from Bahrain was unusual, rounding the [[Cape of Good Hope]] rather than using the [[Suez Canal]]. Once back in the North Atlantic, she was diverted for a classified drug interdiction mission with the [[Joint Interagency Task Force]]–South in the [[Caribbean Sea]].

On 31 January 2006, ''Toledo'' again departed for a six-month deployment to CENTCOM. Ports of call included [[Augusta Bay, Sicily]], Dubai, the British Indian Ocean Territory of [[Diego Garcia]], and [[La Maddalena]]. She returned from this deployment on 31 July 2006.

===Maintenance 2006–2009===
[[Northrop Grumman]] Corporation was awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy for maintenance work, known as a depot modernization period, on ''Toledo''. The initial planning contract was valued at about $34.7 million. The final value, including the actual execution, was $178.5 million. She arrived in December 2006 to Newport News, and the work was completed in March 2009. The project was delayed for eight months because of about 2,000 project changes. This was a competitive award under a Naval Sea Systems Command multiple award contract.

In July 2009, two hull cracks, including one in her pressure hull, were discovered during a routine inspection. Although the Navy and Northrop Grumman launched two investigations into welding practices at the yard while ''Toledo'' was under maintenance, the cracks did not appear to be related to welds.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Newport News, Va., Daily Press|title=Cracks found in USS Toledo|author=Peter Frost|date=21 July 2009|url=http://www.dailypress.com/business/dp-biz_toledo-submarine_0722jul22,0,3033376.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723185507/http://www.dailypress.com/business/dp-biz_toledo-submarine_0722jul22,0,3033376.story|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 July 2009}}</ref>

===Return to service===
''Toledo'' left for another six-month deployment on 23 July 2010. In December 2010, she made a port call in [[Haifa]], Israel. Commander Reckamp was received by the Haifa City Mayor [[Yona Yahav]] in the City Hall as is customary for visiting commanders of warships making port calls in Haifa.

On 20 January 2011, ''Toledo'' returned to Groton, Connecticut, after a six-month deployment that included port calls in [[Cyprus]], Bahrain, and Haifa.

On 12 September 2019, Toledo completed an eight-month EUCOM deployment that included port calls in Faslane, Scotland and Haakonsvern, Norway.

In early 2020, [[YouTuber]] and [[science communicator]] [[Destin Sandlin]] travelled aboard ''Toledo'' for 24 hours as part of a video series profiling different features and functions of the submarine.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rogoway|first=Tyler|title=This Explainer on How Wonderfully Complex Submarine Torpedo Tubes Are Is A Must Watch|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/35794/this-explainer-on-how-wonderfully-complex-submarine-torpedo-tubes-are-is-a-must-watch|access-date=2020-10-21|website=The Drive|date=17 August 2020 }}</ref>

In May 2020, the crew of ''Toledo'' was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for an eight-month intelligence-collection deployment.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S.S. Toledo received Navy Unit Commendation |url=https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2020/05/24/U-S-S-Toledo-received-Navy-Unit-Commendation/stories/20200522139 |website=Toledo Blade |access-date=25 May 2020}}</ref>

Toledo underwent an engineered overhaul  at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, which was completed in April 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Navy USS Toledo Los Angeles-Class Submarine Rejoins Fleet After Modernization to Sustain U.S. Undersea Power |url=https://global.tendernews.com/newsdetails.aspx?s=5315&t=U.S.-Navy-USS-Toledo-Los-Angeles-Class-Submarine-Rejoins-Fleet-After-Modernization-to-Sustain-U.S.-Undersea-Power |website=Global Tender News |date=April 22, 2025 |access-date=April 23, 2025}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Naval Vessel Register}}

{{Commons category|USS Toledo (SSN-769)|position=left}}

{{Los_Angeles_class_submarines}}

{{coord missing|Arctic Ocean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toledo (SSN-769)}}
[[Category:Kursk submarine disaster]]
[[Category:Los Angeles-class submarines]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:1993 ships]]
[[Category:Submarines of the United States]]

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USS Toledo (SSN-769)