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U.S.S. SAILFISH
(SS-572)THE FIGHTERS
Click to view crew list
USS SAILFISH (SS-572) - a Sailfish-class submarine
In Commission 1956 to 1978SS-572 Deployments - Major Events
Add a SS-572 Shellback Initiation | Add a SS-572 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DEC | 1953 | - | Keel Date: 8 DEC 1953 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Kittery ME | ||
SEP | 1955 | - | Launch Date: 8 SEP 1955 | ||
APR | 1956 | - | Commissioned: 14 APR 1956 | ||
OCT | 1962 | - | JAN | 1963 | Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf |
JAN | 1965 | - | JUL | 1965 | Regular Overhaul |
JUL | 1968 | - | FEB | 1969 | Regular Overhaul |
JUL | 1969 | - | JUL | 1969 | Panama Canal |
JUL | 1969 | - | JUL | 1969 | Transfered from New London Conn to Pearl Harbor |
OCT | 1969 | - | MAY | 1970 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
JAN | 1971 | - | AUG | 1971 | West Pac |
JUL | 1971 | - | Shellback Initiation - 27 JUL 1971 - Pacific Ocean | ||
JUL | 1971 | - | Shellback Initiation - 27 JUL 1971 - Pacific Ocean | ||
NOV | 1972 | - | JUL | 1973 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
JUN | 1974 | - | DEC | 1974 | West Pac |
SEP | 1978 | - | Decommissioned: 29 SEP 1978 |
SS-572 General Specifications
Class: Sailfish-class submarine
Named for: Sailfish
Complement: 95 Officers and Enlisted
Displacement: 2030 tons
Length: 350 feet
Beam: 29 feet 1 inches
Flank Speed: 20 Knots
Final Disposition: Sunk as target May 2007
USS SAILFISH (SS-572)
The second Sailfish (SSR-572)
was laid down on 8 December 1953 by
the Portsmouth (N.H.) Naval Shipyard;
launched on 8 September 1955; sponsored by Mrs. Lynde D. McCormick; and
commissioned on 14 April 1956, Lt. Comdr. S.
R. McCord in command.
Sailfish was the first submarine built expressly for radar picket service. She and sister ship, Salmon,
were also the largest conventionally powered submarines in the United States Navy and, to the present, still
hold that distinction. Following
trials off the New Hampshire coast, Sailfish conducted a shakedown
cruise in the Caribbean before joining Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 6 at Norfolk, Va. In July 1957, she began
her first extended deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. She returned to Norfolk in October and, through the fall of 1958, engaged in local
operations, with occasional visits to
Caribbean ports. In December, she
commenced a seven-month conversion and
overhaul at Portsmouth. In April 1959, while the yard work was still in
progress, she was transferred to SubRon
10 at New London, Conn.
Sailfish resumed coastal operations out of New London
in July, participating in fleet and NATO exercises, providing qualification training for prospective submarine officers and crews, and sharpening her own battle readiness. On 3 February 1961, Sailfish was
reclassified SS-572, and assumed the
duties of an attack submarine. By September 1962, she was preparing for
her second Mediterranean deployment and departed New London on 10 October. She operated with the 6th Fleet over the next four months and returned to
New London in February 1963, where she
participated in local operations
through the rest of that year and 1964.
In January 1965, Sailfish
was transferred to Philadelphia where
she entered the Naval Shipyard for extensive
"FRAM II" conversion. Thirteen months later, in February 1966, she left the navy yard presenting a more sleek, streamlined appearance,
broken only by the deck-mounted fins
of the new "puffs" sonar system. These new fins duplicated on
a miniature scale the form of her conning
tower, giving her the dorsaled look of
a large, beautiful fish, like the "sailfish" for which she was
named. Following an exhaustive checkout of
her newly acquired systems and a period of refresher training, she deployed in July for her third Mediterranean tour. After four months, she
returned to New London and local
operations.
On 1 November 1967, she
was assigned to SubRon 8 and joined
the submarines of Submarine Division (SubDiv)
82, specialists in antisubmarine warfare. She operated out of Groton, Conn., until July 1968; then underwent
overhaul into February 1969. On 1 July, she was
ordered to the Pacific and assigned a new home port, Pearl Harbor. Sailfish departed New London on 14 July; transited the Panama Canal; and, after a brief
visit to Acapulco, Mexico, proceeded to Hawaii. From Pearl Harbor, she sailed on 9 October for deployment with the 7th Fleet in the western Pacific.
Sailfish operated out of Yokosuka, Japan. In January 1970, she participated in Allied exercises off
Taiwan and Okinawa; in February, she conducted joint training operations with Republic of Korea Navy units; and,
in March, she operated with units of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force.
On 26 May, Sailfish returned to Pearl
Harbor and spent the remainder of the year there in training operations and
upkeep.
On 8 February 1971, Sailfish
departed Pearl Harbor for her
second WestPac deployment. For over six months, she cruised the western Pacific. In late May, she joined units of the United States Navy and of
the Japanese Maritime Self Defense
Force in HUK ASWEX 3-71. By mid-July,
she was in the Mindanao Sea
participating in another antisubmarine exercise, this time with units of the
Philippine Navy. Sailfish spent a week in Brisbane, Australia, before
returning to Pearl Harbor, on 28
August, for overhaul.
The submarine underwent regular overhaul from 20 October
1971 until 14 July 1972. Between July and December,
she operated between Hawaii and the California coast, engaged in trials and type training. On 1 December, Sailfish departed San Diego for
Yokosuka, Japan, and her third
WestPac cruise. She plied the waters
of the western Pacific until 4 May 1973, when she departed Subic Bay to return
to the United States. She stopped
overnight, on the night of 19 and 20 May, at Pearl Harbor; then continued on to San Diego. For the rest of 1973, she operated off the California
coast, out of San Diego. As of May
1974, Sailfish continues to operate
out of her home port of San Diego.
[Note: The above USS SAILFISH (SS-572) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS SAILFISH (SS-572), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]