Point Loma

Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is one of the most diverse and challenging Naval Bases in the CNIC inventory. Consisting of 9 geographically separated complex's to include Subase, DFSP Fuel Farm, Bayside, Topside, Seaside, Command Third Fleet (C3F) Complex, Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Fleet Intelligence Training Center Complex, Old Town Complex, Taylor Street Complex, Mt. Solidad and Miramar Brig. NBPL provides shore installation support to more than 64 tenant commands with 22,000 military and civilian personnel and more than 450 unique facilities.

The San Diego shipping channel consists of a main channel with no branches or stems in its entire length to 24th Street Terminal. There are approximately 9,000 deep draft vessel transits of the Bay per year. There is one major choke point at Ballast Point near the entrance. This is the narrowest point in the channel and just inside is the U.S. Naval Submarine Base. It should be noted that submarines can be getting underway or maneuvering to berth at all hours of the day. In poor visibility conditions submarines can often paint on radar as a small contact due to their inherent construction characteristics of a small conning tower above water with approximately 90% of the remainder of the vessel submerged.

The Navy Submarine Support Facility was established in November 1963 on of the land. On November 27, 1974 the base was re-designated a shore command, serving assigned submarines, Submarine Group Five, Submarine Squadron Three, Submarine Development Group One, the Submarine Training Facility and later, Submarine Squadron Eleven. On October 1, 1981 the base was designated as Naval Submarine Base.
Starting in April 1995, several commands were decommissioned or their homeports were changed to meet the down-sizing requirements of the Navy. Commands throughout San Diego were regionalized in an effort to provide equal or better base services while managing a reduced budget. The six naval installations on Point Loma were consolidated as Naval Base Point Loma on 1 October, 1998.

Located aboard the 315-acre submarine base at Naval Base Point Loma, Calif., Det. San Diego’s 36 personnel are tasked to provide reliable Mk. 48 heavyweight torpedoes, Tomahawk cruise missiles, small arms, pyrotechnics, and countermeasures to units of the U. S. Pacific Fleet submarine force. Besides storing and issuing ordnance, Detachment personnel also operate a flushing facility, which removes propulsion byproducts from Mk. 48 exercise torpedoes after they have been fired and recovered.

Because propeller design is so important to both speed and noise levels, it remains one of the most secret aspects of submarine technology. A nuclear submarine propeller, better known in the Navy as a screw, is so secret that when a sub comes in from patrol its propeller is shrouded with a large covering, and if a sub is dry-docked for any length of time, it is commonly removed and stored away from the ship for servicing and prying eyes. It is what drives a submarine quickly and quietly through the water, and it is absolutely critical to a submarine's stealth. It is an extremely high-tech piece of equipment, resulting from extensive Navy research and development.

.. ... POINT LOMA San Diego, California ...	Web Site
Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is one of the most diverse and challenging Naval Bases in the CNIC inventory. Consisting of 9 geographically separated complex's to include Subase, DFSP Fuel Farm, Bayside, Topside, Seaside, Command Third Fleet (C3F) Complex, Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Fleet Intelligence Training Center Complex, Old Town Complex, Taylor Street Complex, Mt. Solidad and Miramar Brig. NBPL provides shore installation support to more than 64 tenant commands with 22,000 military and civilian personnel and more than 450 unique facilities. The San Diego shipping channel consists of a main channel with no branches or stems in its entire length to 24th Street Terminal. There are approximately 9,000 deep draft vessel transits of the Bay per year. There is one major choke point at Ballast Point near the entrance. This is the narrowest point in the channel and just inside is the U.S. Naval Submarine Base. It should be noted that submarines can be getting underway or maneuvering to berth at all hours of the day. In poor visibility conditions submarines can often paint on radar as a small contact due to their inherent construction characteristics of a small conning tower above water with approximately 90% of the remainder of the vessel submerged. The Navy Submarine Support Facility was established in November 1963 on of the land. On November 27, 1974 the base was re-designated a shore command, serving assigned submarines, Submarine Group Five, Submarine Squadron Three, Submarine Development Group One, the Submarine Training Facility and later, Submarine Squadron Eleven. On October 1, 1981 the base was designated as Naval Submarine Base. Starting in April 1995, several commands were decommissioned or their homeports were changed to meet the down-sizing requirements of the Navy. Commands throughout San Diego were regionalized in an effort to provide equal or better base services while managing a reduced budget. The six naval installations on Point Loma were consolidated as Naval Base Point Loma on 1 October, 1998. Located aboard the 315-acre submarine base at Naval Base Point Loma, Calif., Det. San Diego’s 36 personnel are tasked to provide reliable Mk. 48 heavyweight torpedoes, Tomahawk cruise missiles, small arms, pyrotechnics, and countermeasures to units of the U. S. Pacific Fleet submarine force. Besides storing and issuing ordnance, Detachment personnel also operate a flushing facility, which removes propulsion byproducts from Mk. 48 exercise torpedoes after they have been fired and recovered. Because propeller design is so important to both speed and noise levels, it remains one of the most secret aspects of submarine technology. A nuclear submarine propeller, better known in the Navy as a screw, is so secret that when a sub comes in from patrol its propeller is shrouded with a large covering, and if a sub is dry-docked for any length of time, it is commonly removed and stored away from the ship for servicing and prying eyes. It is what drives a submarine quickly and quietly through the water, and it is absolutely critical to a submarine's stealth. It is an extremely high-tech piece of equipment, resulting from extensive Navy research and development.
Submarine Propeller Bow view of the Dolphin (AGSS-555) underway, probably in San Diego - NAVSOURCE Go To: San Diego Page