Master and Commander
Posts: 1893
Location: Patterson, New York | Subject: USS Hartford Gets New Commander
The USS Hartford in back in Groton and will go to EB for repairs.
It took a month to cross on the surface. Based on being on the surface, for an extended period, in the Irish Sea in a Polaris boat - this was not a smooth ride.
I was not aware that this boat had trouble before; it can make one wonder if it has a jinix.
Courant.com
NAVY
USS Hartford Gets New Commander
By EDMUND H. MAHONY
The Hartford Courant
May 28, 2009
GROTON —
The U.S. Navy has appointed a Naval Academy graduate from Arkansas to command the Los Angeles class, fast-attack submarine USS Hartford, replacing the previous commander, who was relieved following a collision between the submarine and another naval vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on March 20.
Cmdr. Robert Dunn took command of the Hartford, named after Connecticut's capital, during a ceremony Saturday at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base, the Navy said. Dunn graduated from the academy in 1991 and has bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering.
He served previously as engineer aboard the Hartford and executive officer aboard the ballistic missile submarine USS Ohio. Most recently, Dunn served on the staff of the commander of U.S. Submarine Force Pacific Fleet.
Dunn replaces Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart, who was in command of the nuclear-powered Hartford when it collided with the amphibious ship USS New Orleans in the congested waterway between Iran and the Arabian peninsula. Both ships were damaged but able to reach port under their own power. Fifteen sailors aboard the Hartford were slightly injured but were able to return to duty.
The Navy said the Hartford was submerged at the time of collision and both ships were headed in the same direction.
The Hartford was built by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in Groton and launched in 1993. It is berthed at the submarine base in Groton.
In October 2003, the Hartford ran aground near La Maddalena on Sardinia with sufficient force to substantially damage its rudders, sonar and electronics.
The submarine is the second ship to be named after Hartford. The first was a sail- and steam-powered sloop of war commissioned in 1859. The first Hartford served initially as the flagship of the U.S. Navy's East India Squadron. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, the original Hartford became Adm. David Farragut's flagship in the Western Gulf of Mexico Blockading Squadron. It entered history during the Civil War battle of Mobile Bay when Farragut issued the order now remembered as the battle cry "Damn the torpedoes ... full speed ahead."
Cmdr. Chris Harkins briefly preceded Dunn as interim commander of the Hartford. The Navy said Harkins will return to duties as deputy commander, Submarine Squadron 8, in Norfolk, Va.
Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant
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USS Hartford Gets New Commander
