Commissioning
The USS Scamp was the second member of the Skipjack class of nuclear-powered attack submarines. She was named in honor of the original submarine USS Scamp (SS-277), which was lost in combat in November 1944.
The order to build the Scamp was awarded to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard of Vallejo, Calif., on July 23, 1957. Her keel was laid down on Jan. 23, 1959; she was launched on Oct. 8, 1960 and sponsored by the widow of Commander John C. Hollingsworth, the commanding officer of the late USS Scamp at the time of her loss. The new USS Scamp was commissioned at Mare Island on June 5, 1961, with Commander W.N. Dietzen at the helm. She then became part of the Pacific Fleet.
Underway
After spending much of 1961 undergoing shakedown trials and training exercises, the Scamp deployed to the Western Pacific for the first time on a four-month cruise in April 1962. She would deploy to the Western Pacific again in 1963, this time for six months. Much of this time would be spent off the coast of Okinawa as the Scamp’s crew endured rigorous advanced training.
A third Western Pacific deployment began in June 1964 and ended in September of the same year. In January 1965, the Scamp entered dry dock for a major overhaul that would last eighteen months. During this time, the Scamp was fitted with the SUBSAFE package, made mandatory by the loss of the Scamp’s sister submarine, the USS Scorpion (SSN-589).
The Scamp deployed to the Western Pacific once more in June 1967; this time, her deployment took her to the Gulf of Tonkin and the Vietnam combat zone. While in the gulf, the Scamp provided protection for U.S. carrier task forces operating near the coast of Vietnam. She returned to her home port of San Diego on Dec. 28.
The Scamp returned to the Western Pacific in late August 1971, but would only spend two days in the Gulf of Tonkin before returning to San Diego on Feb. 2, 1972. Her stay at home would be short-lived, as she would be quickly redeployed to Southeast Asia when tensions flared in May. After spending most of the summer of 1972 in the waters of the South China Sea, she returned to San Diego on Aug. 1. The Scamp would deploy one more time to the Western Pacific in March 1973 and remained in the region for six months.
In 1980, the Scamp was ordered to the Norfolk (Va.) Naval Shipyard for an extended overhaul. When the overhaul was completed in 1981, the Scamp joined the ranks of the Atlantic Fleet and was on special operations duty in the Mediterranean Sea during periods of heightened tension with Libya during the Gulf of Sidra crisis. She would also take part in two UNITAS exercises, which included working with navies of multiple South American countries while making ports of call during a circumnavigation of that continent.
On Feb. 24, 1987, the Scamp attempted to rescue members of a Panamanian freighter floundering in a heavy storm in the Atlantic Ocean. The Scamp saved the life of one sailor, but suffered serious damage to her sail, sail place access door and planes. She would receive her third Meritorious Unit Commendation for her efforts in the rescue (the first two being awarded in 1971 and 1972), but the damage was so severe the Scamp was ordered into early retirement.
Decommissioning
The Scamp was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on April 28, 1988. She entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, Wash., in 1990 and was declared scrapped on Sept. 9, 1994.
Characteristics of the USS Scamp (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Class and type: Skipjack-class submarine
Displacement: 3,075 long tons (3,124 t) surfaced
3,513 long tons (3,569 t) submerged
Length: 252 ft (77 m)
Beam: 31 ft 7 in (9.6 m)
Draft: 29 ft 5 in (9.0 m)
Propulsion: 1 × S5W reactor
2 × Westinghouse steam turbines, 15,000 shp (11 MW)
1 shaft
Speed: > 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) (official)
~31 kn (36 mph; 57 km/h) (theoretical); Actual values are classified.
Complement: 93 officers & men
Armament: 6 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes
Career:
Name: USS Scamp
Ordered: 23 July 1957
Laid down: 23 January 1959
Launched: 8 October 1960
Commissioned: 5 June 1961
Decommissioned: 28 April 1988
Struck: 28 April 1988
Fate: Entered the Submarine Recycling Program in 1990
Timeline:
July 1957: USS Scamp ordered
January 1959: USS Scamp’s keel laid down
October 1960: USS Scamp launched
June 1961: USS Scamp commissioned
1967: USS Scamp makes first deployment to Vietnam War zone
1980: USS Scamp ordered to Atlantic Fleet
February 1987: USS Scamp severely damaged during rescue operations
April 1988: USS Scamp decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS Scamp:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Scamp 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 the following Web address:
http://navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=ssn_588
Thomas Clark (served October 1978—August 1979): “I came from the uss will rogers and met the scamp down in chile during unitas XIX.”
Richard Hendrickson (served March 1979—1982): “It was a very challenging experience, as time progresses my memories recall only the good points. The crew was great, it was great being there. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat! I retired from Star Fleet-now I run a TARDIS…”
John Forrest (served September 1979—March 1983): Unitas run was great, Med run was great as well.”
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scamp_(SSN-588)
http://www.uss-scamp.com/Scamp_History.htm
