- USS Sirago (SS-485)
USS "Sirago" (SS-485), a "Tench"-class submarine, was the only ship of the
United States Navy to be named forsirago , a small fresh water tropical fish. Her keel was laid down on4 January 1945 at thePortsmouth Navy Yard inKittery, Maine . She was launched on13 May 1945 sponsored by Mrs.L. Mendel Rivers , and commissioned on13 August 1945 with Commander F. J. Harlfinger, II, in command.Commissioned at the end of
World War II , "Sirago" conducted her shakedown cruise off the East Coast and in theCaribbean Sea during the fall of 1945. After shakedown, she joined Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 8 atNew London, Connecticut , and, in January 1946, she proceeded toProvincetown, Massachusetts , where she participated in the destruction of two German submarines. On returning to New London, "Sirago" commenced duties which included training services for the Submarine School and for the fleet'sdestroyer force; experimental exercises to evaluate new techniques and equipment; type training; and fleet exercises which took her fromDavis Strait into the Caribbean. In December 1948, she entered thePhiladelphia Naval Shipyard for aGreater Underwater Propulsive Power Program (GUPPY) conversion; and, on25 July 1949 , she left the yard forNorfolk, Virginia , where, as a modernized high speed attack submarine, she joined SubRon 6.Attached to SubRon 6 for the next twenty-two years, "Sirago"’s primary mission was antisubmarine warfare. Secondary missions included antishipping warfare, intelligence gathering, and the provision of services for research and development studies. Those duties, during the
1950s , continued to see her operating primarily in the western Atlantic as she participated in exercises with others of her ASW group; in fleet exercises; in joint Canadian-United States exercises, and inNATO exercises, which took her into the easternAtlantic Ocean andNorth Sea areas. During the1950s , she also deployed to theMediterranean Sea where she operated as a unit of the Sixth Fleet from September to November 1951 and from September to December 1954.In October 1962, "Sirago" entered the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard for another extensive overhaul which included the installation of a fiberglass superstructure and sail and, in the spring of 1963, she resumed operations with her ASW group, Task Group "ALFA." That fall, she deployed to theMiddle East forCENTO exercise "MIDLINK VI"; but, during the remainder of the1960s and into the1970s , her operations were similar to those of the1950s .On
1 July 1971 , with Commander Clyde H. Shaffer Jr. in command, "Sirago" was reassigned to SubRon 12 atKey West, Florida ; but, less than four months later, on15 October , she was ordered back to Norfolk where she rejoined SubRon 6. She remained in that squadron until decommissioned on1 June 1972 . Struck from theNaval Vessel Register on the same day, she was turned over to the Naval Ships Systems Command and sold for scrapping to the Jacobson Metal Company ofChesapeake, Virginia , on2 May 1973 .References
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