Of the United States Navy’s 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, eight are currently named after former presidents – while the next to enter service will also serve to honor a former commander-in-chief. However, none have been named after the 39th president, Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday at 100 years of age.
This was not meant as a slight on President Carter by any means, and instead, he was fittingly honored when a U.S. Navy spy submarine was given the name USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23). That boat is just one of the three Seawolf-class subs now in service, and also the only one modified for “Seabed Warfare” – where it can to take part in undisclosed missions deep below the waters.
Such missions are highly classified, yet, it has been reported that the crew can target critical infrastructure including power cables, telecom cables, and even natural resource extraction systems.
Carter Was a Submariner
The choice of name for SSN-23 was considered especially fitting as Carter remains the only submarine-qualified sailor and only Naval Academy graduate to go on to become the nation’s chief executive. President Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 and served as a submariner from 1946 to 1953. During his naval career, President Carter was the nuclear engineer officer on the Pre-Commissioning Unit Seawolf (SSN 575) in the 1950s. While he left active duty as a U.S. Navy lieutenant, Mr. Carter continued his service as a reservist until 1961.
“From humble beginnings on a peanut farm in Georgia, he began his adult life in the Navy, entering the Naval Academy during World War II,” said Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, in a statement. “(Carter) said that his naval service prepared him for the rest of his life, instilling courage, self-sacrifice, idealism, and self-discipline which would combine to form his moral core. Throughout his life, he was guided by his unshakeable conviction that, ‘an individual is not swept along on a tide of inevitability but can influence even the greatest human events.'”
The USS Seawolf – A Unique Submarine
The USS Jimmy Carter was launched on May 13, 2004, and commissioned for service the following February 19th with a crew of 15 officers and 129 enlisted. The boat is powered by a single S6W series reactor, which provides an unlimited ocean-going range, while she has an underwater speed in excess of 25 knots.
The modified Seawolf-class submarine is larger than her sister attack submarines, displacing 12,140 tons under full load, and is 453 feet in length with a beam that measures 40 feet. The larger size is due to a modification that included adding special thrusters fore and aft that allow the sub to remain stationary underwater, as well as a 100-foot hull extension known as the Multi-Mission Platform (MMP). It allows SSN-23 to carry remotely operated vehicles, cable spools, special-operations craft, and other advanced technologies needed to carry out classified operations and “enhanced warfighting capabilities.” The MMP can be used to deploy Navy SEALs or other special operations forces.
According to a report from The New York Times, the former president was “in awe” of the capabilities of the submarine to bear his name – and he joked that it could have sunk the Nimitz-class carrier USS Ronald Reagan – the carrier named for the 40th president who defeated Carter in the 1980 election.
The exact types of missions USS Jimmy Carter conducted in the past two decades remain classified, yet, the boat has earned Battle Efficiency awards and a Presidential Unit Citation, suggesting it was involved in some important – and likely even dangerous – activities.
It is thus fitting that the vessel’s motto is “Semper Optima” (Latin for “Always the Best”).
At 81 years of age, the former president and former first lady, Rosalynn Carter, was given an overnight VIP cruise on the submarine following its commissioning in 2005. Both the former president and Mrs. Carter even climbed a 25-foot ladder to get to the submarine’s sail.
According to Admiral Don Kelso, U.S. Navy (Retired) – the former commander of USS Jimmy Carter – the late president was able to “drive” the submarine during his cruise.
The Carriers Named for Presidents
Although President Carter had a submarine named in his honor, the aircraft carriers designated after former presidents currently include the Nimitz-class supercarriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), USS George Washington (CVN-73), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77); and the lead vessel of the Gerald R. Ford-class USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).
In addition, in May 1945, the-then-under-construction Midway-class carrier Coral Sea was renamed USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CV-42) to honor the late president who had passed away just four weeks earlier. CV-42 was the first aircraft carrier named to honor a president. The Kitty Hawk-class variant USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) was also the last conventionally-powered supercarrier built for the U.S. Navy, while the second Ford-class carrier will also be named for the 35th president.
