USS Groton (SSN-694), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Groton, Connecticut. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 31 January 1971 and her keel was laid down on 3 August 1973. She was launched on 9 October 1976 sponsored by Mrs. Elliot L. Richardson, and commissioned on 8 July 1978, with Commander R. William Vogel, III in command.
Groton departed on its first overseas deployment in March 1980 to the Indian Ocean. The submarine made its way back to the homeport of Groton, CT by way of the Panama Canal. Groton completed the Around-the-World Cruise in October 1980.
Groton was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 7 November 1997. Ex-Groton is scheduled to enter the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington.