USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709)

USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709)

USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Admiral Hyman G. Rickover and the only Los Angeles class submarine not named after a United States city. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 10 December 1973 and her keel was laid down on 24 July 1981. She was launched on 27 August 1983 sponsored by the Admiral's wife, Mrs. Eleonore Ann Bednowicz Rickover (whose first name is found in a wide variety of spellings, including Eleanore, Elenore, and Eleanor; Eleonore is used on the Admiral's gravestone). SSN-709 was commissioned on 21 July 1984 with Captain Fredrik Spruitenburg in command. A commemorative plaque honoring the ship's namesake was placed within the sub after commissioning with the poem "Admiral Rickover," an eight-line tribute by writer Ronald W. Bell. The poem appears below, provided by the author and with his permission:

ADMIRAL RICKOVER
Possessed of a purpose
He forged a path
Across a frontier
Untried and new
Clinging to his course
He met the task
Threescore and more
He served for you.