- USS Grayback (SSG-574)
USS "Grayback" (SS/SSG/APSS/LPSS-574), the lead ship of her class of
submarine , was the second ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for thegrayback , a smallherring of great commercial importance in the Great Lakes. Her keel was laid down on1 July 1954 by theMare Island Naval Shipyard ofVallejo, California . She was launched on2 July 1957 sponsored by Mrs. John A. Moore, widow of the last skipper of the first "Grayback", and commissioned at Mare Island on7 March 1958 with Lieutenant Commander Hugh G. Nott in command. "Grayback" was initially designated as an attack submarine, but was converted to a Regulus guided missile submarine (SSG-574) in1958 .The first of the Navy's guided missile submarines to carry the Regulus II sea-to surface missiles, "Grayback" conducted tests and shakedown along the West Coast. While operating out of
Port Hueneme, California , in September1958 she carried out the first successful launching of aRegulus II missile from a submarine, which pointed the way to a revolutionary advance in the power of navies to attack land bases. DepartingSan Diego, California , on30 October , "Grayback" arrived atPearl Harbor on8 November for a month of exercises and maneuvers before returning to Mare Island for her "10,000 mile checkup."On
9 February 1959 , "Grayback" departed Mare Island to make Pearl Harbor her permanent home base, reaching Hawaii7 March viaPort Hueneme, California ,Long Beach, California , andMazatlan, Mexico . After a series of exercises there, she cruised toDutch Harbor ,Unmak Island ,Sequam Island , andKodiak, Alaska , for further missile exercises from3 July to31 July . This was followed by the first of her nine deterrent missile strike missions, from21 September to12 November . Grayback's first patrol terminated atYokosuka, Japan , as did two others. She returned toPearl Harbor 8 December .On
22 February 1960 , "Grayback" modified her missile launching system and simplified her complex electrical circuits. After this, she again took up deterrent missile strike missions. Over the next 2½ years she completed seven missions for a total of nearly 18 months at sea, much of this time submerged. In addition toYokosuka , bothAdak, Alaska , andPearl Harbor also served as termination points for these patrols. On her nine patrols she spent more than 20 months at sea and logged well over 130,000 miles (209,000 km) on deterrent missile strike missions.That schedule took its toll. On
27 August 1963 , while snorkeling to recharge batteries, "Grayback" was buffeted by particularly strong seas. The buffeting caused the After Main Battery breaker to short, starting a fire in the berthing compartment. One seaman failed to evacuate the compartment and was overcome by smoke and fumes. Main propulsion was lost for a short time, but was restored, and "Grayback" was able return toPearl Harbor under her own power. Repairs took two weeks.As more and more
Polaris missile submarines became operational, they assumed the deterrent functions previously assigned to "Grayback" and her sister ships. TheRegulus missile program ended in1964 and "Grayback" was withdrawn from active service. She decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard,California , on25 May 1964 .A second conversion began at the
Mare Island Naval Shipyard in November1967 . The conversion was originally estimated at US$15.2 million but grew to over US$30 million. She was re-classified from a guided missile submarine to an amphibious transport submarine withhull classification symbol LPSS on30 August 1968 . (TheNaval Vessel Registry entry for "Grayback" shows that at one point she was classified as a "plain" transport submarine, an APSS. Crew memoirs indicated that they were never aware of it. Presumably, while this classification was "official," it may have lasted only days.) The conversion heightened her sail by ten feet, added two auxiliary tanks to the forward end of the engine room (increasing the length of the boat by 12 feet), and, most significantly, converted the missile chambers to carry 67 embarked troops and SEALSwimmer Delivery Vehicle s (SDVs), including a decompression chamber in the starboard hangar."Grayback" was decommissioned for the second time on
15 January 1984 at Subic Bay Naval Station in theRepublic of the Philippines . After decommissioning, "Grayback" was sunk as a target on13 April 1986 in the South China Sea.References
External links
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08574.htm navsource.org: USS "Grayback"]
* [http://geocities.com/ussgrayback2003/index.html USS "Grayback" webpage at Geocities.com]
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