USS Philadelphia (SSN-690), a attack submarine, was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Philadelphia. History The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 8 January 1971 and her keel was laid down on 12 August 1972. She was launched on 19 October 1974 sponsored by Mrs. Marian Huntington Scott (née Chase), wife of Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott, and commissioned on 25 June 1977, with Commander Robert B. Osborne USN in command. In June 1980 Philadelphia departed her homeport of Groton, Connecticut, and headed on a world cruise that would take it to the Indian Ocean/Persian Gulf, as well as the Pacific. Under the command of Commander Edward S. Little USN, the cruise included at visit to Western Australia, when Philadelphia made her only visit to HMAS Stirling in Rockingham on 23 December 1980. The crew enjoyed Christmas in Australia and some R&R before departing on 29 December 1980. The Philadelphia arrived home in late January 1981. In 1988, Philadelphia became the first submarine to receive TLAM-D capability. In 1994, Philadelphia completed the first refueling overhaul of a Los Angeles-class submarine. This was completed at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. In 1998, Philadelphia was modified to carry a Dry Deck Shelter, a platform capable of carrying Special Operations Forces. In addition, she was fitted to provide Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) mother ship support. On 5 September 2005 Philadelphia was in the Persian Gulf about northeast of Bahrain when she collided with a Turkish merchant ship, . No injuries were reported on either vessel. Damage to the submarine was described as "superficial." Philadelphia's Commanding Officer, CDR Steven M. Oxholm, was relieved following the incident. The Turkish ship, which suffered minor damage to her hull just above the water line, was inspected by the United States Coast Guard and found still seaworthy. In 2006, Philadelphia completed the first-ever Pre-Inactivation Restricted Availability (PIRA) conducted at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. On 20 July 2009 the Navy announced that the submarine would be inactivated on 10 June 2010 and subsequently decommissioned. Philadelphia was decommissioned on 25 June 2010, the thirty-third anniversary of her commissioning. Deployments Philadelphia performed many patrols and deployments during her career. She was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in 1979, 1982, 1986, 1991 (where she later went