| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Awarded: | 28 November 1983 |
| Laid down: | 13 May 1986 |
| Launched: | 23 January 1988 |
| Commissioned: | 21 October 1989 |
| Fate: | Active, in commission |
| Homeport: | San Diego, California |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 5726 tons light, 6131 tons full, 405 tons dead |
| Length: | 110.3 meters (362 feet) |
| Beam: | 10 meters (33 feet) |
| Draft: | 9.4 meters (31 feet) |
| Depth: | 400 meters (1200 feet) |
| Propulsion: | one S6G reactor |
| Complement: | 12 officers, 98 men |
| Motto: | Defender of the Heartland |
USS Topeka (SSN-754), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Topeka, Kansas. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, ConnecticutGroton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,907. Groton is the home of the Electric Boat Corporation, the major contractor for submarine work for the US Navy, on 28 November 1983 and her keel was laid down on 13 May 1986. She was launchedThe ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old. A Babylonian narrative dating from the 3rd millennium BC describes the completion of a ship: :Openings to the water I stopped; :I searched for crac on 23 January 1988 sponsored by Elizabeth DoleElizabeth Hanford "Liddy" Dole (born July 29, 1936) was elected to the United States Senate in 2002, to represent North Carolina in a term ending in 2009. Born Elizabeth Hanford in Salisbury, North Carolina, she attended Duke University, graduating in 195, who was later elected Senator from North Carolina, and commissioned on 21 October 1989, with Commander T. Reichert in command.
After Cmdr. Reichert, Cmdr. Wilbur O. Cooke served as commanding officer. Several years later, Cmdr. Ed Jablonski took command and guided the boat to her first Westpac deployment which began August 3, 1992.
In October 2002, after completing a Modernization Period in Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard , Topeka shifted homeport to San Diego, California, from Pearl Harbor.
In August 2004, Topeka returned to San Diego after six months of operations with the Seventh Fleet, including three missions significant to national security that earned the boat the Naval Expeditionary Medal .
See USS Topeka for other ships of the same name.