USS Boston (SSN-703)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Boston.

USS Boston (SSN-703)
Career
Name:	USS Boston
Awarded:	10 December 1973
Builder:	General Dynamics Corporation
Laid down:	11 August 1978
Launched:	19 April 1980
Commissioned:	30 January 1982
Decommissioned:	19 November 1999
Struck:	19 November 1999
Motto:	Freedom's Birthplace
Fate:	To be disposed of by submarine recycling
Badge:
General characteristics
Class & type:	Los Angeles class submarine
Displacement:	5,779 tons light, 6,150 tons full, 371 tons dead
Length:	110.3 m (361 ft 11 in)
Beam:	10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Draft:	9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)
Propulsion:	S6G nuclear reactor
Complement:	12 officers, 98 men
Armament:	4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes MK.48 ADCAP torpedoes Tomahawk Land Attack cruise missile (TLAM) MK60 mines MK67 SLMM mines

USS Boston (SSN-703), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the seventh ship of the United States Navy to be named for Boston, Massachusetts.

The contract to build Boston was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 10 December 1973 and her keel was laid down on 11 August 1978. She was launched on 19 April 1980 sponsored by Mrs. Edward Hidalgo, and commissioned on 30 January 1982, with Captain Jon M. Barr in command.

In 1998 Boston participated in a UNITAS South America deployment.

Decommissioning

Boston was decommissioned on 19 November 1999 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 19 November 1999. Ex-Boston entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, on 1 October 2001 and on 19 September 2002 ceased to exist. Her sail and upper rudder were preserved for display at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York.

The Sub Sail of the USS Boston at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park

Awards

Boston was a much-decorated ship. The crew distinguished themselves on numerous occasions by meritorious service and outstanding performance. Awards included the Arleigh Burke Fleet Award and the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award, both of which are presented to one ship in the Pacific and one ship in the Atlantic. Her other awards included:

• 1983: CINCLANTFLT Golden Anchor Award, Red "E" for Engineering Excellence, Meritorious Unit Commendation
• 1984: Battle Efficiency "E" Ribbon, Arleigh Burke Award Nominee for Greatest Improvements in Battle Efficiency, Meritorious Unit Commendation
• 1985: Battle Efficiency "E" Ribbon, Red "E" for Engineering Excellence, Green "C" for Communication Excellence, Silver Anchor Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation
• 1986: Green "C" for Communication Excellence, Red "E" for Engineering Excellence,
• 1987: Yellow "M" for Medical Excellence, CINCLANFLT Silver Anchor Award, CINCLANFLT Golden Anchor Award Runner-up
• 1988: CINCLANFLT Silver Anchor Award
• 1989: CINLANFLT Silver Anchor Award
• 1990: Green "C" for Communication Excellence
• 1991: Supply Blue "E" for Supply Excellence, Meritorious Unit Commendation
• 1993: White Tactical "T" for Tactical Efficiency
• 1995: Battle Efficiency "E" Ribbon, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Arleigh Burke Award for Greatest Improvements in Battle Efficiency
• 1996: Battle Efficiency "E" Ribbon, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for Most Battle-Ready Ship in Atlantic Fleet
• 1997: Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation, Red "DC" for Damage Control Excellence
• 1998: Red and Green "N" for Navigation Excellence

In fiction

Boston appears in the Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising, launching cruise missiles against military airfields inside the Soviet Union. While escorting her damaged sister Providence to safety she is sunk by torpedoes fired from an Alfa class submarine.

References

This article includes information collected from the public domain sources Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and Naval Vessel Register.