USS Skate SSN-578
(1957-United States) from Wikipedia
USS Skate (SSN-578), the third submarine of the
United States Navy named for the skate, a type of ray, was the lead ship
of the Skate class of nuclear submarines. She was the third nuclear submarine
commissioned, the first to make a completely submerged trans-Atlantic crossing,
and the second submarine to reach the North Pole and the first to surface
there.
The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric
Boat division of General Dynamics on 18 July 1955, and her keel was laid
in Groton, Connecticut on 21 July 1955. She was launched on 16 May 1957
sponsored by Mrs. Lewis L. Strauss, and commissioned on 23 December 1957
with Commander James F. Calvert in command.
Skate conducted shakedown training out of New
London, Connecticut until 29 January 1958, when she cruised to the Bermuda
operating area, then returned to her home port on 8 February. Sixteen days
later, the nuclear powered submarine set a course for the Isle of Portland,
England. Before returning home, she had also visited ports in France and
the Netherlands.
On 30 July, Skate steamed to the Arctic where
she operated under the ice for 10 days. During this time, she surfaced
nine times through the ice, navigated over 2,400 miles (3,900 km) under
it, and on 11 August, 9:47 pm EDT (the week after USS Nautilus) became
the second sea ship to reach the North Pole, earning the Navy Unit Commendation
award for "... braving the hazards of the polar ice pack...." She did,
however, not surface at the North Pole. On 23 August, she steamed into
Bergen, Norway. The submarine made port calls in the Netherlands, Belgium,
and France before returning to New London on 25 September 1958.
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Name: |
USS Skate |
Ordered: |
18 July 1955 |
Builder: |
Electric Boat |
Laid down: |
21 July 1955 |
Launched: |
16 May 1957 |
Commissioned: |
23 December 1957 |
Decommissioned: |
12 September 1986 |
Struck: |
30 October 1986 |
Fate: |
Submarine Recycling program |
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Complement: |
8 fficers & 76 men |
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Class & type: |
Skate-class submarine |
Displacement:
surfaced |
2,550 long tons (2,590 t) |
submerged |
2,848 long tons (2,894 t) |
Length: |
267 ft 7 in (81.56 m) |
Beam: |
25 ft (7.6 m) |
Speed:
surfaced |
15.5 knots (17.8 mph; 28.7 km/h) |
submerged |
18 kn (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
Complement: |
8 officers and 76 men |
Armament: |
8 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (6 forward, 2
aft) |
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In the following months, Skate, as the first ship of her class, conducted
various tests in the vicinity of her home port. In early March 1959, she
again headed for the Arctic to pioneer operations during the period of
extreme cold and maximum ice thickness. The submarine steamed 3,900 miles
(6,300 km) under pack ice while surfacing through it ten times. On 17 March,
she surfaced at the North Pole to commit the ashes of the famed explorer
Sir Hubert Wilkins to the Arctic waste. When the submarine returned to
port, she was awarded a bronze star in lieu of a second Navy Unit Commendation
for demonstrating "... for the first time the ability of submarines to
operate in and under the Arctic ice in the dead of winter...." In the fall
of 1959 and in 1960, Skate participated in exercises designed to strengthen
American antisubmarine defenses.
Skate returned to General Dynamics in January 1961 for a regular overhaul
and to have her reactor refueled for the first time. She put to sea in
August and, for the next 11 months, conducted exercises to increase the
operational readiness of her crew.
On 7 July 1962, Skate again set course towards the North Pole. Five
days later, USS Seadragon (SSN-584), did likewise from Pearl Harbor. The
two submarines made their rendezvous on 31 July. After meeting, they operated
together for over a week. Both submarines surfaced at the North Pole on
2 August and official greetings and insignia of Submarine Force Atlantic
Fleet and Submarine Force Pacific Fleet were exchanged.
Skate returned to New London and performed fleet and local operations
for the next several years. She entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 28
April 1965, the first nuclear submarine overhauled there, for nuclear refueling
and installation of the SUBSAFE package. Skate was the first submarine
to finish this major conversion program, which was instituted after the
loss of USS Thresher (SSN-593) in 1963. The process was not completed until
September 1967.
After sea trials and a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean, the submarine
returned to New London and participated in exercises involved in the development
of new undersea tactics and equipment.
In October 1968, Skate was deployed to the Mediterranean where she operated
with the Sixth Fleet for two months. The polar veteran operated under the
Arctic ice again in March and April 1969, in October 1970, and in February
1971 . The remainder of her at sea time was spent in various Atlantic Fleet
and NATO exercises. In July 1971, she began her third regular overhaul
at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and did not return to New London until 17
November 1973. In August 1974, Skate operated as a unit of the Atlantic
Fleet.
In late 1977, Skate transferred to Pearl Harbor, where she joined the
other three Skate class submarines as a member of Submarine Squadron 7.
Decommissioning
Skate was decommissioned on 12 September 1986, stricken from the Naval
Vessel Register on 30 October 1986, and disposed of by submarine recycling
at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 6 March 1995.
Awards
Skate received two Navy Unit Commendations and three Meritorious Unit
Commendations during her career. The first Navy Unit Commendation was for
the period 9-12 August 1958 and the second for the period 4 March through
6 April 1959. The Meritorious Unit Commendations were for the periods 24
March through 15 April 1969, 12 October through 18 November 1970 and 26
February through 9 March 1971. (Source - US Navy Unit Awards Webpage.)
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