USS Baton Rouge ( SSN - 689 ) USS " Baton Rouge " ( SSN - 689 ) is a " Los Angeles " - class nuclear - powered submarine which served with the United States Navy . With her keel laid down on 18 November 1972 , " Baton Rouge " was launched on 26 April 1975 . She became the second " Los Angeles " class submarine to be commissioned , on 25 June 1977 . In 1995 , she was the first of her class to be decommissioned . " Baton Rouge " was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Baton Rouge , Louisiana . Design . " Baton Rouge " was a nuclear attack submarine and , as such , was optimized for anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) and strike operations . To this end , she carried a complement of 26 weapons , including the Mark 48 ADCAP torpedoes – the main weapon of U . S . Navy submarines , Harpoon anti - ship missile s and subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile s . The latter has a range of either 280 or 1 , 600 miles ( 450 or 2 , 500 km ) , depending on whether it is anti - ship or strike variant , and is nuclear - compatible , although this capability is deployed on " Los Angeles " class submarines . Since the boat did not incorporate the vertical launching system found on later " Los Angeles " class submarines , the Harpoons and Tomahawks were torpedo tube - launched . " Baton Rouge " can also lay Mobile Mark 67 and Mark 60 CAPTOR mines . The boat ' s propulsion system comprised a S6G pressurized - water reactor based on the D2G reactor of the " Bainbridge " and " Truxtun " classes of cruiser . Heat produced from the S6G reactor converted water into steam , powering two turbines , and thus the propeller shaft ( see " Nuclear marine propulsion " ) . Although the U . S . Navy discloses the boat ' s submerged speed to be " 25 + knots ( 28 + miles per hour ; 46 . 3 + km / h ) , " non - military sources have claimed that " Los Angeles " class submarines ' top speed to be in excess of . The nuclear reactor had a lifespan of ten years . A crucial component in the " Baton Rouge " s ability to perform its mission were its comprehensive defensive , navigational and sonar systems . Among her several sonar sets were the TB - 23 / 29 thin line passive towed array sonar , the Ametek BQS 15 close range high frequency active sonar and the Raytheon SADS - TG active detection sonar . These system collaborated to give " Baton Rouge " good situational awareness . The boat ' s electronic support measures included a direction finding system , interceptor and a radar warner . Construction and commissioning . The contract to build " Baton Rouge " was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding of Newport News , Virginia , on 8 January 1971 , and her keel was laid down on 18 November 1972 . Launched on 26 April 1975 in the presence of sponsor Mrs . Felix Edward Hebert , wife of the United States Representative from the First District and the former Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee , " Baton Rouge " was commissioned on 25 June 1977 , with Commander Thomas C . Maloney as her first captain . Based at Norfolk and assigned to Submarine Squadron 1 , " Baton Rouge " s immediate history following the commissioning was characterized by shakedown training in New London , Connecticut , among other tests . During 5 – 29 July , she performed drills off the New England coast , returning to Norfolk for a month - long post - shakedown upkeep . From September 1977 to August 1978 , she participated in numerous other tests , such as acoustic trials in Exuma Sound , The Bahamas , and weapons tests off Port Everglades , Florida . During this time , she returned periodically to Norfolk , and docked alongside USS " L . Y . Spear " , for upkeep , the longest of which spanned from February to August . Operational history . In preparations for her first overseas assignment , " Baton Rouge " was deployed to New London in September for training before returning to Norfolk for last - minute checks prior to the deployment . She left port on 19 October 1978 , and raised her first port of call in La Maddalena , Sardinia , on 1 November . " Baton Rouge " also visited La Spezia and took part in a variety of ASW exercises through the winter of 1978 and 1979 . The submarine returned to Norfolk from her first overseas assignment in March 1979 . After post - deployment stand - down , " Baton Rouge " resumed normal operations later that year . These included participation in two major ASW exercises and visits to such widely - separated places as Fort Lauderdale , Florida , and Halifax , Nova Scotia . In July , she was assigned to Submarine Squadron 8 but continued to use Norfolk as her base of operations . During September – October , " Baton Rouge " participated in a major NATO exercise – Operation Ocean Safari – which took her across the $ 3 once more and included a call at Rotterdam , the Netherlands . She returned to Norfolk from that mission during the latter part of October and spent the remainder of 1979 in a restricted availability . In 1980 , she was deployed to the Indian Ocean and circumnavigated the earth , passing through the International Date Line and the Panama Canal . For the deployment , she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation when she arrived in Norfolk . As was the case in the Indian Pacific in 1980 , in 1981 " Baton Rouge " again came under the command of Commander in Chief , Atlantic Fleet ( CINCLANTFLT ) , after which she received the Meritorious Unit Commendation . For the third time , " Baton Rouge " came under the command of CINCPACFLT when she made her second deployment to the Mediterranean Sea . In the mid - 1980s , the boat underwent an eighteen - month overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard . The overhaul , which ended in spring 1986 , saw the addition to " Baton Rouge " the AN / BQQ - 5C sonar system , the CCS Mk - 1 digital fire - control system , and the ESGN navigation system . She made her third deployment to the Mediterranean in November , and her fourth in January 1990 . Between these two assignment , " Baton Rouge " conducted a deployment to the North Atlantic , and was awarded her second Meritorious Unit Commendation . Collision incident . At 20 : 16 local time on 11 February 1992 , while on patrol off Kildin Island near Severomorsk , " Baton Rouge " under command of Cdr . Gordon Cremer collided with the Russian Sierra - class attack submarine K - 276 " Kostroma " . The United States Navy stated that the collision occurred more than 12 miles ( 22 km ) from the shore , in international waters . Initially the U . S . Navy denied any damage suffered by " Baton Rouge " , but it was later disclosed that the boat suffered two cuts , as well as dents and scrapes . The " Kostroma " was fully repaired by 29 June 1992 . Decommissioning . Less than two years later , on 1 November 1993 , " Baton Rouge " was placed in commission in reserve . On 13 January 1995 , she became the first " Los Angeles " - class submarine to be decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register , after only 17½ years in commission . After having been refueled ( " Baton Rouge " was not ) , some of her sister ships have served 25 years or more . Ex - " Baton Rouge " entered the Nuclear Powered Ship - Submarine Recycling Program and ceased to exist on 30 September 1997 .