Career
Awarded:	28 November 1983
Laid down:	13 May 1986
Launched:	23 January 1988
Commissioned:	21 October 1989
Status:
Homeport:	San Diego, California
General Characteristics
Displacement:	5726 tons light, 6131 tons full, 405 tons dead
Length:	110.3 meters (362 feet)
Beam:	10 meters (33 feet)
Draft:	9.4 meters (31 feet)
Depth:	400 meters (1200 feet)
Propulsion:	one S6G reactor
Complement:	12 officers, 98 men
Motto:	Defender of the Heartland

USS Topeka (SSN-754), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Topeka, Kansas. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 28 November 1983 and her keel was laid down on 13 May 1986. She was launched on 23 January 1988 sponsored by Elizabeth Dole, who was later elected Senator from North Carolina, and commissioned on 21 October 1989, with Commander T. Reichert in command.

After Cmdr. Reichert, Cmdr. Wilbur O. Cooke served as commanding officer. Several years later, Cmdr. Ed Jablonski took command and guided the boat to her first Westpac deployment which began August 3, 1992.

The crew of Topeka was well-known for their excellent field-day skills. Oftentimes, Topeka would put to sea just so that the whole crew could be on board for hours of cleaning in preparation for the visit of some congressman or other. And the minimally once-a-year week-long "Spruce" (painting the whole insides of the boat) was a task loved by the whole crew. "One coat for dust, two coats for rust!" was the motto and served as the order of the day.

23 year of history go here

In October 2002, after completing a Modernization Period in Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Topeka shifted homeport to San Diego, California, from Pearl Harbor.

In August 2004, Topeka returned to San Diego after six months of operations with the Seventh Fleet, including three missions significant to national security that earned the boat the Naval Expeditionary Medal .

See USS Topeka for other ships of the same name.

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register and various press releases.