USS Glenard P. Lipscomb
| USS Lipscomb (SSN-685) | |
| Career | 
|
|---|---|
| Awarded: | 16 December 1968 |
| Laid down: | 5 June 1971 |
| Launched: | 4 August 1973 |
| Commissioned: | 21 December 1974 |
| Fate: | submarine recycling |
| Stricken: | 11 July 1990 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 5813 tons surfaced, 6480 tons submerged |
| Length: | 365 ft (111 m) |
| Beam: | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft: | |
| Powerplant: | S5W reactor |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) surfaced, 23 knots (43 km/h) submerged |
| Depth: | 1300 ft (400 m) |
| Complement: | 12 officers, 109 enlisted |
| Armament: | 4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
USS Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN-685), a unique submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Congressman Glenard P. Lipscomb (1915–1970).
Lipscomb was the Navy's second design using a turbo-electric power plant similar to USS Tullibee. While this design is quieter, with a displacement of 6,400 tons and a length of 365 feet, it is heavier and larger than conventional drive trains. Those disadvantages, along with reliability issues, led to the decision not to use this design for the follow-on Los Angeles-class submarines. Other than the engine room, Lipscomb was generally similar to the Sturgeon-class, and was a fully combat-capable attack submarine.
Construction of Lipscomb began on 5 June 1971 at the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched 4 August 1973, sponsored by Mrs. Glenard P. Lipscomb, and was commissioned on 21 December 1974 with Commander James F. Caldwell in command. She was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 July 1990 and disposed of by submarine recycling at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 1 December 1997.
References
This article includes information collected from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.