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Vessel · Undersea

Los Angeles-class submarine

Nuclear-powered attack submarine class built by Electric Boat and Newport News; includes USS Santa Fe.

by General Dynamics Electric Boat · First fielded 1976

FieldedVesselUnderseaFieldedNov 13, 1976
navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169558/attack-submarines-ssn
USS Los Angeles (SSN 688) maneuvering to its berth at Pearl Harbor

Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Steven A. Zurell · Public domain (PD-USGov-Military-Navy) · Resized and reencoded as WebP; no additional crop.

Milestones19711976
  1. MilestoneLead 688-class submarine named Los Angeles, confirmed
  2. MilestoneEarliest documented public appearance: lead submarine launch, confirmed
  3. FieldedLead boat USS Los Angeles commissioned, confirmed

Timeline3

  1. MilestoneConfirmed

    Lead 688-class submarine named Los Angeles

    The Navy’s ship-naming report, printed p. 14, dates Secretary Chafee’s naming of the first 688-class submarine. The surviving report establishes the naming decision, but does not establish the date of the first public class announcement.

    SourcesDepartment of the Navy (document mirrored by The Black Vault)

  2. MilestoneConfirmed

    Earliest documented public appearance: lead submarine launch

    Earliest supported public appearance found in the sources reviewed for this research; not a claim of the first-ever announcement or original unveiling. Earlier evidence may revise this date. DANFS records the sponsored launch of the named lead submarine. The earlier 1971 naming decision remains separately recorded; the reviewed naming report does not establish when it became public. No builder/location claim is imported from the DANFS entry.

    SourcesNaval History and Heritage Command

  3. FieldedConfirmed

    Lead boat USS Los Angeles commissioned

    SourcesAttack Submarines - SSN > United States Navy > Display-FactFiles

Solid entries are confirmed, outlined reported, dashed estimated or still to come; dotted italic entries are speculative. Dates show only the precision the sources give.

Operators1

  • USUnited States
First fielded
1976

Sources4

  1. 1.
    Other24 Hours Onboard a Nuclear Submarine in the Arctic

    Sam Eckholm · Sep 5, 2026 · Supports: System · name

    “Los Angeles-Class”
  2. 2.
    Government recordA Report on Policies and Practices of the U.S. Navy for Naming the Vessels of the Navy, p. 14

    Department of the Navy (document mirrored by The Black Vault) · Supports: System milestone

    “on 5 May 1971, Secretary Chafee named the first ship of the 688‐class”
  3. 3.
    Government recordLos Angeles IV (SSN-688)

    Naval History and Heritage Command · Supports: System milestone

    “launched on 6 April 1974; sponsored by Mrs. Anne L. Armstrong”
  4. 4.
    Government recordAttack Submarines - SSN > United States Navy > Display-FactFiles

    Supports: System, System · first fielded year, System · operator countries, System milestone

    “Los Angeles-class (SSN 688) submarines have been the backbone of the submarine force”

Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.