USS Honolulu (SSN-718)

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Career	Image:Naval Jack of the United States.svg
Image:Polar bears near north pole.jpg
Awarded:	15 September 1977
Laid down:	10 November 1981
Launched:	24 September 1983
Commissioned:	6 July 1985
Decommissioned:	1 November 2006
Fate:	To be disposed of by submarine recycling; forward section will be used on USS San Francisco (SSN-711)
Homeport:	Pearl Harbor
General Characteristics
Displacement:	5700 tons light, 6068 tons full, 368 tons dead
Length:	110.3 meters (362 feet)
Beam:	10 meters (33 feet)
Draft:	9.4 meters (31 feet)
Propulsion:	one S6G reactor
Complement:	12 officers, 98 men
Motto	Maka `Ala Mau ("Always Vigilant")
Image:SSN718crest.gif

USS Honolulu (SSN-718), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Honolulu, Hawaii. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 15 September 1977 and her keel was laid down on 10 November 1981. She was launched on 24 September 1983 sponsored by Mrs. Joan B. Clark, and commissioned on 6 July 1985, with Capt. Robert M. Mitchell in command.

Honolulu’s patrols are commemorated by ten surfboards signed by the crews aboard her at the time. The latest three are kept on board the submarine; the other seven are stored at Pearl Harbor, her homeport[1].

Honolulu held a farewell ceremony in Pearl Harbor on April 15, 2006, that included remarks by Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Lieutenant Governor James Aiona, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Gary Roughead and former Honolulu commanding officer Vice Adm. Jonathan Greenert. Honolulu put to sea in early May 2006 for her final patrol. Before her decommissioning, however, she took part in Exercise Valiant Shield, the largest Pacific Fleet war games exercise since the Vietnam War. Her last patrol will end at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in October 2006 where she will be decommissioned. A piece of her will live on however, as her forward compartment will replace that of USS San Francisco (SSN-711), which was badly damaged when she struck an underwater seamount in 2005[2].