View source for USS Memphis (SSN-691)

{{short description|Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the US Navy}}
{{Other ships|USS Memphis}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2015}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:USS Memphis (SSN-691).jpg
|Ship image size=300
|Ship caption=USS Memphis
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|2011}}
|Ship name=  ''Memphis''
|Ship namesake= The City of [[Memphis, Tennessee]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded= 4 February 1971<ref name="NVR">{{cite web |url= {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=SSN691}} |title=USS Memphis |publisher=Naval Vessel Register |access-date=17 May 2011}}</ref>
|Ship builder=[[Newport News Shipbuilding]]<ref name="NVR"/>
|Ship original cost=
|Ship laid down=23 June 1973<ref name="NVR"/>
|Ship launched=3 April 1976<ref name="NVR"/>
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Cathy Beard
|Ship christened=
|Ship commissioned= 17 December 1977<ref name="NVR"/>
|Ship decommissioned= 1 April 2011
|Ship struck= 1 April 2011 
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate= 
|Ship status=Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
|Ship notes= 
|Ship badge= [[File:691insig.png|150px]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}}
|Ship displacement=*5,716 tons light
*6,087 tons full
*371 tons dead
|Ship length=  {{convert|110.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam=  {{convert|10|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft= {{convert|9.4|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=[[S6G reactor|S6G nuclear reactor]], 2 turbines, 35,000 hp (26 MW), 1 auxiliary motor 325 hp (242 kW), 1 shaft
|Ship speed=*{{convert|15|kn|km/h}} surfaced
*{{convert|32|kn|km/h}} submerged
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth={{convert|290|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=12 Officers; 98 Enlisted
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament= 4 × 21 in (533 mm) bow tubes
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Memphis'' (SSN-691)''', a {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine}}, was the sixth ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for [[Memphis, Tennessee]]. The contract to build her was awarded to [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company]] in [[Newport News, Virginia]], on 4&nbsp;February 1971, and her keel was laid down on 23&nbsp;June 1973.  She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 3&nbsp;April 1976 sponsored by Mrs. Cathy Beard (née Rieniets), wife of Congressman [[Robin Beard|Robin L. Beard, Jr.]], and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 17&nbsp;December 1977, with Commander G. Dennis Hicks in command.

In March 1981, ''Memphis'' completed an around-the-world cruise via the [[Panama Canal]], including operations with both the [[US 6th Fleet|Sixth]] and [[US 7th Fleet|Seventh]] Fleets.

''Memphis'' was redesignated an experimental submarine during 1989 to test composite hull structures, unmanned underwater vehicles, advanced sonars, hull friction-reduction, and other advanced technologies for the ''Los Angeles'' and {{sclass|Seawolf|submarine|5}} classes, but remained combat-capable.

During a mid-1990s refit, ''Memphis'' received numerous modifications, which added about 50&nbsp;tons to her displacement, most of it aft. they are:
* Glass-reinforced plastic turtleback abaft the sail to accommodate remotely operated vehicles
* Towing winch and drum for experimental towed sonar arrays
* Added 4.27 m-high by 1.37 m-wide vertical surfaces at the ends of the stern stabilizers to accommodate sonar transducer arrays
* A 54&nbsp;mm towed array dispenser in the port fin leading to the new winch abaft the sail
* Supports for the stern stabilizers
* new hydraulic systems
* Fiber-optic data bus
* Some 58 standardized equipment racks to accommodate electronic test gear

In February 1993 ''Memphis'' ran aground offshore of [[Dania Beach, Florida]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/archives/command-operation-reports/ship-command-operation-reports/m/memphis-ssn-691-vi/pdf/1993.pdf|title=COMMAND HISTORY FOR USS MEMPHIS (SSN 691)|date=Jun 1994|website=Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref> The grounding caused physical damage to the reef substrate and biological damage to the coral community, which was of the [[Holocene]] era and with no recent framework growth over 6,000 years. The State of Florida sued the U.S. Navy for $2.4 million, and was awarded $750,000 for mitigation and repairs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Banks|first1=Kenneth|last2=Dodge|first2=Richard|last3=Fisher|first3=Louis|last4=Stout|first4=David|last5=Jaap|first5=Walter|date=1999-01-01|title=Grounding of the Nuclear Submarine, USS Memphis, on a Southeast Florida Coral Reef: Impact Assessment and Proposed Restoration|url=https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facpresentations/17|journal=Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures}}</ref>

In January 1994, ''Memphis'' entered [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]] for [[Refueling and Overhaul|refueling, overhaul]], and modifications to support her research-and-development role. Upon completion of the shipyard availability, she was assigned to Submarine Development Squadron 12 in Groton, Connecticut.<ref name="NNS110211-12">{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=58565 |title=USS Memphis to Decommission |date=11 February 2011 |publisher=Navy News Service |access-date=17 May 2011 |archive-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025184904/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=58565 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1998 ''Memphis'' tested the [[Lockheed Martin]] Undersea Systems Universal Gravity Module  passive-bottom profiler navigational system.

On 3 May 2005, ''Memphis'' deployed and conducted two polar transits, returning to New London on 3&nbsp;November 2005.

''Memphis'' won the coveted [[Battenberg Cup]] in 2005, as well as the Squadron 12 [[Battle E]].

On 6 May 2006, ''Memphis'' deployed against [[Iraqi insurgency (Iraq War)|Iraqi insurgency]], returning to New London, Connecticut, on 7&nbsp;August.

On 27 June 2007, ''Memphis'' returned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, for a preinactivation restricted availability. She returned to Groton on 8&nbsp;May 2008.

After 33 years of service, ''Memphis'' was removed in a decommissioning ceremony at the Shepherd of the Sea Chapel located at the US Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut, on 1&nbsp;April 2011. ''Memphis'' went to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to begin the inactivation process.<ref name="theday">{{cite news |last=McDermott |first=Jennifer |url=http://www.theday.com/article/20110401/NWS09/110409966/1017 |title='Mighty Memphis' retires |access-date=17 May 2011 |newspaper=The Day |date=1 April 2011 |archive-date=23 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323044729/http://www.theday.com/article/20110401/NWS09/110409966/1017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[[Associated Press]], "Retired Submarine USS Memphis Arrives", ''[[Boston Globe]]'', 9 April 2011.</ref>

Parts from the decommissioned ''Memphis'' were to be used to repair the damaged {{USS|Miami|SSN-755|6}},<ref>[http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/South-Beached-Fire-and-Fixes-aboard-USS-Miami-07539/ Memphis parts to Miami] – Defenseindustrydaily.com, 2 October 2012</ref> until the decision to cease work on ''Miami'' was made in August 2013.

==Cheating controversy==
In November 2010, Navy investigators discovered rampant cheating taking place on training examinations among the submarine's crew; the skipper, Commander Charles Maher, was removed.  Thirteen other crewmembers were also removed.  Navy officers interviewed by the [[Associated Press]] stated that training exam cheating was widespread within the Navy's submarine force.<ref>Melia, Michael, "[https://news.yahoo.com/ap-enterprise-exam-cheating-scandal-hits-navy-sub-200819130.html AP Enterprise: Exam-cheating scandal hits navy sub]", ''[[Yahoo! News]]'', 16 August 2011.</ref>

== See also ==
* {{USS|Toledo|SSN-769}}
* {{HMS|Splendid|S106}}
*[[Kursk submarine disaster|''Kursk'' submarine disaster]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/01/world/russia-identifies-us-sub.html|title = Russia Identifies U.S. Sub|newspaper = The New York Times|date = September 2000}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Los Angeles class submarines}}

{{coord missing|Arctic Ocean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Memphis}}
[[Category:Los Angeles-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Kursk submarine disaster]]
[[Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:1976 ships]]