USS Houston ( SSN - 713 ) USS " Houston " ( SSN - 713 ) , a " Los Angeles " - class attack submarine , was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Houston , Texas . The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News , Virginia on 1 August 1975 and her keel was laid down on 29 January 1979 . She was launched on 21 March 1981 sponsored by Barbara Bush , wife of then Vice - President of the United States George H . W . Bush . " Houston " was commissioned on 25 September 1982 , with Captain G . H . Mensch in command . Curiously , her hull number matches the area code for the interior portion ( inside the Beltway / Sam Houston Tollway , as of 2000 ) of Metropolitan Houston , which is also 713 , but at the time she was built 713 encompassed most of Metro Houston within Harris County . Service . " Houston " is an experienced actor , initially starring in a Navy recruiting film and then getting her " big break " in June 1989 with a part in " The Hunt for Red October " ( where she played her sister ship " Dallas " ) . However , that summer and autumn were plagued with mishaps . In May , before getting involved with the film , a broken valve caused a depth excursion . However , the " depth excursion " was actually a full blown flooding incident that was not caused by a " broken valve . " In fact , while conducting a weapons certification inspection prior to a scheduled westpac , the Officer of the Deck ( OOD ) , directed the Chief of the Watch ( COW ) to silence the induction sump tank alarm due to constant cycling . The OOD then directed the COW to pin open the diesel head valve in order to stop the constant cycling of the pneumatic actuator ( due to state 3 seas ) . Upon securing the antennas ( the boat was ventilating while near the surface to pick up routing radio traffic ) , the OOD directed the boat to return to its regular patrol depth . However , because no Fan Room watch was set when the alarm was cut - out , nobody immediately noticed that water was dumping into the Fan Room when the boat started to dive . It wasn ' t until there was an announcement of flooding in the Torpedo Room over the 4MC that the crew went to General Quarters . At this time , the Throttleman answered ahead - full and the OOD ordered a five second emergency blow of the forward ballast tanks . Of course , when the boat went to a positive bubble , all the water in the ventilation system dumped into the engine room . After broaching the surface , the boat went nose down again ( still at ahead full ) , and began a second downward descent . The CO finally ordered a full emergency blow to get the Houston back to the surface . Then on 14 June , during the shoot , " Houston " snagged a tow cable , sinking the tugboat " Barcona " in the San Pedro Channel near Santa Catalina Island , and drowning a tugboat crewmember . At the time of the incident , the tug boat was operating in a restricted operating area , at night , without proper running lights on the barge it was towing and with too long of a tow cable . While sonar was aware the tugboat was in the area ( designated as Sierra 22 ) it was on a course that was well west of the boat . Then , two days later , after filming wrapped , " Houston " was en route to San Diego , California when she was caught in the net of the fishing boat " Fortuna " . The nets were destroyed , but no injuries were reported . On 1 July 1989 , " Houston " left port for a training run . A few days into the training schedule , a standard low - pressure ventilation procedure was conducted at periscope depth . Suddenly and unexpectedly , seawater began flooding from the main air vents . The boat took a sharp up - angle and began driving toward the surface , but lost headway to the weight of the water she had taken on and began to slide backward . Seawater reached the battery compartment and chlorine began to rise from the battery well . The full power of the " Houston " ’ s engines restored headway and drove her to the surface . As soon as she broached , however , she lost her up - angle , and the thousands of pounds of water in her bilges rushed forward . The boat pitched forward , taking on a steep down - angle . Pulled by the weight of the water and pushed by the full power of her engines , " Houston " dove precipitously . The engines were reversed in a crash - back maneuver and an emergency ballast tank blow was performed . " Houston " ’ s plunge slowed , reversed , and she shot up again , this time remaining on the surface . " Houston " returned to port after a long and slow surface transit . The main snorkel valve had failed to close properly . An audible signal that would indicate the valve ' s opening and closing had been disabled . While eight crewmen were transferred from the Houston , not all left the submarine service . " Houston " ’ s troubles were not over . On 1 August , an electrical fire ignited in the engineering spaces . In September , because of a navigation error , the boat had a close call with a torpedo launched from a helicopter in a training exercise . In November , a navigation error caused the loss of the boat ' s towed sonar array . Crewmen aboard the boat during her troubles in the late 1980s / early 1990s called her the boat from hell ; some with affection , some not . Following a Depot Modernization Period in 1991 , the Houston prepared for , and embarked on an incident free deployment to the western Pacific ( WEST PAC ) . With stops in Thailand , Japan , Okinawa and Darwin , Australia , the Houston started to shed her hard luck image . Upon returning to San Diego in May 1993 , she spent a year in upkeep and training preparing for her next deployment . With a new coat of paint ( from a 3 month dry dock stay in the Fall of 1993 ) Houston deployed again to the West Pac in the Spring of 1994 . This deployment was quickly marred by mechanical difficulties when the ship ' s aft stern tube bearing failed 6 weeks into the deployment . The Herculean repair involved an in water screw removal and the use of a floating crane towed in from Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard . For 9 weeks Houston was stuck in port while a special team from Pearl Harbor repaired the stern tube bearing . With her screw replaced , Houston returned to her sea duties in late August 1994 . The ship returned home to San Diego in time for her crew to enjoy the 1994 holiday season . In December 1998 , " Houston " was off the coast of southern California during a training exercise when the common discharge flex coupling for the boat ' s R - 12 units ruptured . R - 12 is a refrigerant that is used in air - conditioning and refrigeration units . The quick actions of the crew allowed the R - 12 to be ventilated overboard while the crew were in emergency air - breathing apparatus ( EABs ) that protected them from the asphyxiating effects of the gas . A quick stores off - load also saved the perishable foods in the refrigeration compartments . A subsequent and similar rupture happened again in late 1999 . These flex - coupling weaknesses have been identified as class problems on " Los Angeles " - class submarines " Houston " was awarded the Battle " E " and engineering " E " in 1998 and Tactical " T " ' s in 1999 and 2000 . In May 2000 " Houston " while transiting between Pearl Harbor , and Yokosuka , Japan , damaged her screw , and had to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs . USS Asheville ( SSN - 758 ) took over " Houston ' s " duties , and completed her planned mission . In September 2000 " Houston " lost her anchor while attempting to anchor off the coast of Pattaya Beach , Thailand for a port call . In order for the crew to get a few days of much needed liberty , the crew was divided and took turns steaming the ship around the bay while their counterparts were ashore . Young Cha replaced Houston ' s anchor in early 2012 . On 21 June 2001 " Houston " was conducting normal training operations in the Pacific off the coast of Washington state , which included a " crash back " drill , in which the ship goes from ahead flank ( maximum forward speed ) to back full emergency ( maximum engine power in reverse ) . The maneuver proceeded well , despite the tremendous shaking , noise , and stress the maneuver creates , until the boat began to gain sternway ( actually moving backwards through the water ) . When a vessel is moving backwards , her rudder and in the case of a submarine , her planes , function in the opposite manner than when she is moving forwards . The stern planesman failed to compensate for this phenomenon due to instrumentation failure ( the ships EM log still indicated that the ship was making headway at ~ 3 knots ) , and continued to try to trim the boat as if they still were making headway . When the stern began to rise , he raised the stern planes , which would have depressed the stern if they had been moving forward . While making sternway , it had the opposite effect , increasing the down - angle . The stern continued to rise , more rapidly as the boat accelerated backwards . Before the problem could be corrected , " Houston " had attained a 70 degree down - angle and her screw broached the surface while still turning at a high rpm . The control team performed a partial emergency ballast tank blow and safely surfaced the boat , and the engineering team safely scrammed ( emergency shutdown ) the reactor plant to prevent damage . " Houston " underwent an extensive overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton , WA , commencing September 2001 . The upgrades included a reactor refueling and instrumentation upgrade , as well as navigation , fire control and sonar upgrades . In December 2004 , " Houston " departed PSNS for her new homeport of Apra Harbor , Guam . Author Robert D . Kaplan embedded aboard the ship in the spring of 2005 and recounted his experiences in her for his book " Hog Pilots , Blue Water Grunts " in Chapter Four " Geeks with Tattoos : The Most Driven Men I have Ever Known . " Radioactive material leak . On 1 August 2008 the Navy reported to CNN that the " Houston " was found to have been leaking radioactive water for months while on patrol and visiting stations in Japan , Guam and Hawaii . The problem was discovered the previous month during servicing at Pearl Harbor . One crewman was exposed to radioactive water but not injured . The Navy reported that the " Houston ' s " leak released only a " negligible " amount of radioactivity . The Navy later expanded the estimated time the leak existed to nearly two years , although they maintained the amount of radioactivity leaked was very small - " less than a smoke detector " . Awards . " Houston " was awarded the Battle " E " and engineering " E " in 1998 and Tactical " T " ' s in 1999 and 2000 . In 2006 " Houston " earned the Battle " E " , Engineering red " E " , Medical yellow " M " and Supply blue " E " for operational excellence from her squadron CSS - 15 . " Houston " repeated as the CSS - 15 Battle " E " boat in 2007 . " Houston " has earned two Navy Unit Commendation s and two Meritorious Unit Commendation s .