USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)

The contract to build Carter was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 29 June 1996 and her keel was laid down on 5 December 1998. Original schedules called for Carter to be commissioned in late 2001 or early 2002, but on 10 December 1999 Electric Boat was awarded an US$887 million extension to the Carter contract to modify the boat for highly classified missions and testing of new submarine systems, missions previously carried out by Parche (SSN-683). Carter was christened on 5 June 2004 sponsored by Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter's wife.

Carter is roughly 100 feet (30 m) longer than the other two ships of her class. This is due to the insertion of a section known as the Multi-Mission Platform (MMP), which allows launch and recovery of ROVs and Navy SEAL forces. The plug features a fairing over a wasp-waist shaped passageway allowing crew to pass between the fore and aft sections of the hull while providing a space to store ROVs and special equipment that may need to launch and recover from the submarine.

According to figures published by Electric Boat, the MMP increased the Carter's displacement by about 33%, her navigation draft by over a foot (300 mm), and made her louder by two dB at 20 knots (37 km/h). It reduced her speed by two knots (4 km/h).

The Carter has additional maneuvering devices fitted fore and aft that will allow her to keep station over selected targets in odd currents. Past submarines that were so outfitted were used to place listening devices on undersea cables and listen on communications of foreign countries.

On 24 January 2004, Commander David Bartholomew, Jr., commanding officer of PCU (Pre-Commissioned Unit) Jimmy Carter was relieved of command because of a "loss of confidence" in his ability "pending further administrative or disciplinary action as appropriate."
Captain Robert D. Kelso, deputy chief of staff of Submarine Development Squadron 12 in New London, took temporary command of the PCU until a new commanding officer could be named. Captain Kelso will continue as CO of USS Jimmy Carter through her move to NB Kitsap in Bangor, Washington.

On 19 November 2004, Jimmy Carter completed alpha sea trials, her first voyage in the open seas. On 22 December, Electric Boat delivered Jimmy Carter to the Navy, and she was commissioned 19 February 2005 at the Navy submarine base in Groton. Jimmy Carter is the last submarine to be commissioned at Groton for the foreseeable future.

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