USS Seahorse (SSN-669)
aircraft carrier battle group .
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History | |
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Name | USS Seahorse |
Namesake | The seahorse |
Ordered | 9 March 1965 |
Builder | General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut |
Laid down | 13 August 1966 |
Launched | 15 June 1968 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Paul Ignatius |
Commissioned | 19 September 1969 |
Decommissioned | 17 August 1995 |
Stricken | 17 August 1995 |
Motto | Thoroughbred of the Fleet |
Fate | Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program begun 1 March 1995, completed 30 September 1996 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Sturgeon-class attack submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 292 ft (89 m) |
Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
Draft | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
Installed power | 15,000 megawatts ) |
Propulsion | One S5W nuclear reactor, two steam turbines, one screw |
Speed |
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Test depth | 1,300 feet (396 meters) |
Complement | 108 (13 enlisted men ) |
Armament | 4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
USS Seahorse (SSN-669), a
Construction and commissioning
The contract to build Seahorse was awarded to the
Service history[1]
Following a
On 30 November 1970, Seahorse got underway from Charleston on her first major deployment, in which she operated in the Atlantic and visited
On 24 January 1972, Seahorse ran aground and was stranded for two hours while putting out to sea from Charleston. After breaking free, she returned to port for inspection and minor repairs.
On 9 February 1972, Seahorse again departed Charleston for a
Upon the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, Seahorse got underway on less than 24-hours notice on 25 October 1973, deploying to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea with US naval and air forces monitoring the conflict and ensuring freedom of passage.
From 16 August through 25 September 1975, Seahorse operated in company with USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS South Carolina (CGN-37) as part of Navy Nuclear Task Group 75. In early 1976, Seahorse again deployed to the North Atlantic for ninety consecutive days underway. On 3 November 1976, she entered the Mediterranean on a cruise which lasted until 11 May 1977.
Throughout 1978–79, Seahorse underwent
In 1980, Seahorse deployed to the North Atlantic, Norwegian Sea, and Mediterranean Sea on a five-month cruise. In July 1981, she participated in a major Second Fleet exercise that ranged from the North Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea.
Seahorse sailed for the Indian Ocean in October 1981, returning to Charleston in April 1982, after a 46,000-mile, 181-day deployment that circumnavigated the globe, and touched five of the modern Seven Seas, and all four oceans. The remainder of 1982, she deployed to the North Atlantic, conducting Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) operations, and participated in the joint US-Canadian Maritime Combined Operational Training (MARCOT) 82 antisubmarine warfare exercise.
Seahorse began 1985 underway above the Arctic Circle, and spent August through October of that year deployed in the North Atlantic. In July, 1986, she again deployed to the Arctic, and surfaced through the ice at the North Pole.
Seahorse completed her second transit of the Panama Canal in early 1987, en route to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington for overhaul; she was in shipyard hands from February 1987 through March 1989. In May 1989 she completed her third transit of the Panama Canal, returning to her homeport of Charleston.
From March through June 1990 Seahorse again deployed to Arctic waters and the North Pole.
In 1991, Seahorse was awarded a second Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations that included under ice operations, another surfacing through the ice at the North Pole, and noteworthy operations in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. In 1993, at the midpoint of another Mediterranean deployment, Seahorse won her second
During 1994, Seahorse deployed as the submarine element of UNITAS XXXV-94, a five-month circumnavigation of South America around Cape Horn, interoperating with Central and South American naval forces and conducting goodwill port calls. She completed her fourth transit of the Panama Canal at the conclusion of UNITAS, and returned to Charleston in December 1994.
In early 1995, Seahorse departed Charleston, her home port for twenty five years, heading to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for deactivation. En route, she again transited the Panama Canal, and conducted Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle operations.
USS Seahorse, the "Thoroughbred of the Fleet," was decommissioned on 17 August 1995. Over her twenty five years of service, Seahorse earned a Navy Unit Commendation, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, and two Battle Efficiency "Es."
Commanding Officers[1]
Commander George T. Harper, 19 September 1969 – 25 September 1970
Commander William E. Ratliff, 25 September 1970 – 13 December 1973
Commander Nathan A Heuberger, 13 December 1973 – 22 January 1977
Commander Henry C. McKinney, 22 January 1977 – 12 June 1980
Captain Joseph D. Sharpe, Jr, 12 June 1980 – 23 August 1983
Captain Jasper B. Johnston, Jr, 23 August 1983 – 11 April 1985
Commander Wynn A. Harding, 11 April 1985 – 31 August 1987
Commander Paul E. Taylor, 31 August 1987 – 22 June 1990
Commander James R. Alley, 22 June 1990 – 30 April 1993
Commander Richard N. Current, 30 April 1993 – 17 December 1995
Decommissioning and disposal
Seahorse was
References
- ^ a b "Submarine Photo Index". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
- NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Seahorse (SSN-669)
- This article includes and adapts text from the USS Seahorse Decommissioning Ceremony Program, 17 August 1995, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. http://navsource.org/archives/08/pdf/0866928.pdf