USS Whale (SSN-638)

USS "Whale" (SSN-638) was a sclass|Sturgeon|submarine nuclear-powered attack submarine of the United States Navy. She was the second ship of that name, after the family of aquatic mammals.

"Whale" was laid down on 27 May 1964 at the General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division shipyard in Quincy, Mass.. She was launched on 14 October 1966, sponsored by Mrs. Russell B. Long, and commissioned on 12 October 1968, with Comdr. William M. Wolff in command.

"Whale" arrived in her first home port, Charleston, on 2 November and, after a week in port, put to sea for shakedown training which the nuclear attack submarine completed in November and December, along with a series of post-commissioning tests, trials, and qualifications. In January 1969, she began normal operations out of Charleston with type training along the southeastern coast of the United States.

1969

On 18 March, she stood out of Charleston on her way to operations north to the Arctic Circle. She reached the North Pole on 6 April and surfaced there in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary's arrival there. Following that event, she completed her mission under the polar ice cap and then headed south. After a visit to Faslane, Scotland, she voyaged home to Charleston, where she arrived on 9 May.

Following two months of local operations out of Charleston, "Whale" sailed for Groton, Conn., and her post-shakedown repair period. After three months in the Electric Boat Division's yard, she started back to Charleston on 16 October. She arrived back in her home port on the 20th and conducted local operations for the remainder of the year.

1970

During the first half of 1970, "Whale" continued operations out of Charleston. In late January, she participated in tests with a Navy Underwater Demolition Team and, in February and March, took part in three major Fleet exercises. In April, she headed north for a brief tour of duty as training ship for the Prospective Commanding Officers' School at New London, Connecticut She returned to Charleston at the end of the first week in May and spent the remainder of the month conducting acoustic trials.

"Whale" departed Charleston on 27 July for an overseas deployment which she concluded in mid-September with visits to Faslane and Holy Loch in Scotland. While "Whale" visited Scotland, the Jordanian crisis—precipitated by civil war between the Jordanian Government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and aggravated by the incursion into northern Jordan by Syrian tanks—necessitated a show of American strength in the eastern Mediterranean. Thus, "Whale" received orders to join the 6th Fleet and did so near the end of September. She remained in the Mediterranean through October and into November. When the crisis abated, she headed for Charleston, arriving home on 18 November.

1971–1972

Three Fleet exercises and local operations out of Charleston occupied the submarine during the first half of 1971. Late in July, she deployed once more for special operations in the Atlantic, concluding that cruise late in September at Bremerhaven, Germany. She returned to Charleston on 12 October and resumed local operations upon arrival. That routine continued until 20 March 1972, when she departed once again for another special operations cruise in the Atlantic. At the end of that voyage, "Whale" made a brief call at Holy Loch before returning to Charleston on 9 June. Almost two months after her return to the United States, "Whale" left Charleston and headed north to Groton, Connecticut, her new home port. She entered the yard at the Electric Boat Division on 7 August for a 46-week overhaul and remained there undergoing repairs until 27 October 1973.

1973–1974

She completed post-overhaul shakedown and refresher training in November and December and began preparations for another deployment to the Mediterranean in response to the Middle Eastern crisis brought about by the Arab-Israeli War in October 1973. Late in January 1974, however, she received notification that her deployment had been delayed until May. During the interim, she conducted normal operations out of Groton—including submarine ASW exercises, type training, and a major fleet exercise, Operation "Safe Passage". On 3 May, she departed Groton en route to the Mediterranean Sea. Nine days later, she changed operational control from 2d Fleet to 6th Fleet.

While in the Mediterranean, "Whale" participated in two NATO exercises, "International Week" and "Dale Falcon", with units of the Greek and Italian navies as well as several ASW exercises with other units of the 6th Fleet. She passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and changed operational control back to the Commander, Submarines, Atlantic Fleet, on 18 October. During the voyage home, "Whale" participated in a Fleet ASW exercise which she completed on 28 October, two days before she reentered Groton.

1975–1976

"Whale" spent the next 11 months engaged in operations out of Groton. Various tests and evaluations occupied January and the first half of February 1975. Between then and June, the submarine provided training services for various units of the Atlantic Fleet and for prospective commanding officers. "Whale" also served as a training platform for midshipmen during indoctrination cruises held late in the summer. On 29 September, she stood out of Groton for another deployment with the 6th Fleet. During that cruise, she took part in a major 2d Fleet exercise, "Ocean Safari", and, after joining the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, took part in a succession of unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral exercises with units of the navies of Greece, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. She completed her tour of duty with the 6th Fleet during the second week in March 1976 and arrived back in Groton on the 25th.

1976–1978

She resumed normal east coast operations until 9 September when she entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for a refueling overhaul. That overhaul concluded on 7 July 1978. "Whale" then spent the remainder of the year in refresher training for the purpose of obtaining certification throughout the full range of her weapons system.

1988–1993

January 1988 found the "Whale" in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (Bremerton, Washington) undergoing a refit. She went through sea trials and left Washington c. June 1988 for her homeport of Groton, Connecticut. Under the command of Cdr. J.W. Francis, "Whale" crossed the equator on June 17, 1988 and transited the Panama Canal on June 19, 1988. Her next major deployment was to the Mediterranean from February through July 1989, during which time she made stops in Scotland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. In 1990 "Whale" was sent on a Northern Atlantic deployment under the command of Cdr Ronald Deering. The "Whale" was awarded the last Battle "E" from Submarine Squadron 10 (SUBRON 10). "Whale" was then assigned to SUBRON 2. A second 'Northern Run' was conducted in 1991. 1992 had the "Whale" gearing up for an expedition around South America. During UNITAS XXXIII, under the command of Cdr. Andrew V. Harris, Jr., "Whale" made ports of call at Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Panama and Colombia. The port visit in Panama was a somber time due to the sudden loss of the ship's Chief Yeoman due to a heart attack. 1993 found the "Whale" visiting Bermuda and gearing up for a scientific exercise under the ice cap at the North Pole.

1995–1997

Following a circumnavigation of the world, the "Whale" was deactivated while still in commission on 28 April 1995. "Whale" was placed in reserve, in commission, the following 1 October. She began the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington on 20 October and, upon completing it on 1 July 1996, she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and officially listed as scrapped on 29 September 1997.

References

This article includes information collected from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w7/whale-ii.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Whale" (SSN-638)]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08638.htm navsource.org: USS "Whale" (SSN-638)]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ssn638.txt hazegray.org: USS "Whale" (SSN-638)]