Last week, the U.S. Navy towed a curious-looking Los Angeles class nuclear attack submarine, with a new boxy, building-like sail that looks like it belongs to a submarine-themed amusement park attraction, to its new home in Charleston, South Carolina. This submarine, the USS San Francisco, is actually now not much of a submarine at all, and is now set to be used as a moored training ship, or MTS, for sailors learning how to operate and maintain nuclear reactors.
What will eventually be formally redesignated as the MTS San Francisco, with its hull number subsequently changing to MTS-711, arrived in Charleston on Aug. 16, 2021. The training vessel will be assigned to Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) Charleston, which already has another MTS converted from a decommissioned Los Angeles class boat, the former USS La Jolla, which was delivered back in 2019.
