USS Haddock SSN 621: History, Patrols, Crews
The USS Haddock, SSN-621, was a nuclear submarine named after the haddock, a popular food fish, and was the third US Navy ship to carry that name. Haddock was part of the United States Navy’s Thresher class of nuclear attack submarines, the fourteenth and last boat in the class. The Ingalls Shipbuilding Company of Pascagoula, Mississippi, earned the contract in August of 1960 and laid down her keel on April 24, 1961. During construction in February of 1964, a fire damaged Haddock’s hull. Haddock launched on May 21, 1966. She was commissioned on December 22, 1967, carrying ninety-one enlisted men and twelve officers, under the command of CDR Stanley J. Anderson.
USS Haddock SSN 621– Moving Along
Early in 1968, Haddock undertook its first Western Pacific (WestPac) patrol, completing their assignment in June of that year. During 1969, Haddock earned several awards, including two Vietnam Service Medals and two Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals. After such an outstanding year, Haddock retuned to Pearl Harbor for its first overhaul on April 1, 1971 with CDR Paul Grozen as her skipper. After a year in overhaul, she deployed once again on patrol with WestPac. During this time, she earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
On December 6, 1975, one day before ceremonies commemorating the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Haddock had sprung a leak off the coast of Hawaii. The incident occurred during a deep dive on a test run. Two months prior, some crewmembers alleged that the submarine had several cracks in vital systems and complained to superiors about the vessel’s seaworthiness.
In June of 1977, Haddock entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for a second overhaul, this time under the command of CDR Daniel Bacon. The overhaul would take more than eighteen months. She added to her list of awards with a Navy “E” Ribbon in October of 1978 and a Navy Unit Commendation in January of 1979. From there, she returned to San Diego and her assignment to Submarine Squadron Three.
Haddock continued to receive recognition for her service in the early 1980s. She received her first Navy Expeditionary Service Medal in January of 1980 and a second in June of 1981. She completed her seventh WestPac deployment on December 23, 1983, and then went to Mare Island in October of 1984 for her third overhaul. She sailed back to San Diego in February of 1987 and earned Battle Efficiency “E” Award for fiscal year 1988. She resumed her exceptional service during her eleventh and final WestPac patrol in July of 1991.
USS Haddock SSN 621– The End of an Era
Haddock was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Register on April 7, 1993. The ship entered in the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington on October 1, 2000 and ceased to exist exactly one year later.
Characteristics of the USS Haddock
Career in the United States Navy
Namesake: Haddock, a popular food fish
Ordered: 15 July 1966
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding Company
Laid down: 24 April 1961
Launched: 21 May 1966
Commissioned: 22 December 1967
Struck: 7 April 1993
Fate: Ship-Submarine Recycling Program
General characteristics
Displacement: 3900 tons surfaced, 4600 tons submerged
Length: 292.3 ft (89.1 m)
Beam: 32.15 ft (9.8 m)
Draft: 28.9 ft (8.8 m)
Propulsion: S5W2 reactor
Speed: 20 knots (37.1 kph) surfaced
30 knots (55.6 kph) submerged
Test depth: 700 ft (210 m)
Complement: 12 officers, 91 enlisted
Armament: four 533 mm torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes, Harpoon, Tomahawk, and SUBROC missiles, ability to lay mines
Historical Timeline of the USS Haddock
The following are some of the USS Haddock historical milestones during the life of the ship from 1961 through 1993:
- April 1961 – USS Haddock keel laid down
- February 1964 – USS Haddock suffers fire damage during construction
- May 1966 – USS Haddock launched
- December 1967 – USS Haddock commissioned
- June 1968 – USS Haddock completes first WestPac patrol
- February 1969 – USS Haddock earned first Vietnam Service Medal
- March 1969 – USS Haddock earned second Vietnam Service Medal
- April 1969 – USS Haddock earned two Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals
- April 1971 – USS Haddock returned to Pearl Harbor for first overhaul
- June 1973 – USS Haddock earned Meritorious Unit Commendation
- December 1975 – USS Haddock sprung a leak during a test run.
- June 1977 – USS Haddock returned to Mare Island Naval Shipyard for second overhaul
- October 1978 – USS Haddock earned Navy “E” Ribbon
- January 1979 – USS Haddock earned Navy Unit Commendation
- January 1980 – USS Haddock earned first Navy Expeditionary Service Medal
- June 1981 – USS Haddock earned second Navy Expeditionary Service Medal
- December 1983 – USS Haddock completed seventh WestPac deployment
- October 1984 – USS Haddock returned to Mare Island Naval Shipyard for third overhaul
- February 1987 – USS Haddock returned to San Diego after completion of overhaul
- Early 1989 – USS Haddock earned Battle Efficiency “E” Award for FY 1988
- July 1991 – USS Haddock on eleventh and final WestPac patrol
- April 1993 – USS Haddock decommissioned and stricken from Naval Vessel Register
- October 2001 – USS Haddock ceased to exist
Crews of the USS Haddock
An unofficial list of crewmembers that served on the USS Haddock can be found on the unofficial navy website at: http://navysite.de. This list is compiled by former crewmembers that voluntarily register. Some quoted comments from former crewmembers are listed below; many more are available on the source website at NavySite.de
Thayer Tarvin: (Served from April 1964 – August 1966) “Don’t remember much about my short tour there but do remember my day after drinking my dolphins. Discharged honorably shortly after leaving.”
Vern Mehrer: (Served from 1970 – 1973) “Enjoyed my tour on this boat. Got in a lot of scuba diving with the rest of Engineering Dept personnel.”
Kevin Kilkenney: (Served from March 1970 – December 1971) “Loved Hawai’i and the great crewmates”
John R. Roberts, Jr.: (Served September 1971 – December 1974) “Shortly after arrival, assigned to SOAP team. Lot of help from Demerick, McCoy & Hyman. Then was given a TAD assignment to Swordfish for emergency deployment. Another deployment w/ 621.Great times. Great crew. Great boat. Great football team.”
Bill Griffith: (Served January 1981 – April 1983) “Did the Westpac in ’81, SRA at MINSY in ’82. We had “Barn Door” Copeland as a TM during our joint Harpoon launch in ’83 with inspectors watching; bird didn’t launch, ran to the torpedo room.”
Brandon Blynn: (Served January 1991 – November 1992) “What a great crew and a great time. I grew up a lot on this boat. Many great memories. Lots of fun punching holes in the ocean.“
Sources:
Wikipedia (Haddock):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Haddock_(SSN-621
US Submarine Veterans, Inc.:
http://www.ussvi.us/Sub_View.asp?RecNo=314
Unofficial US Navy Site:
http://navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=SSN_621
NavSource Online:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08621.htm
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships:
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/h1/Haddock-ii.htm
