USS Sunfish SSN 649- The Beginning
The USS Sunfish, (SSN-649: submarine, nuclear-powered), named after the ocean sunfish Mola Mola, was part of the United States Navy’s Sturgeon class of nuclear attack submarines, the seventh boat in the class. The Quincy Shipbuilding Division of General Dynamics won the contract to build the boat in March of 1963 and laid down her keel on January 15, 1965. She launched on October 14, 1966 and commissioned on March 15, 1969.
Sunfish carried a crew of ninety-five enlisted men and fourteen officers, including her skipper, Commander Richard L. Thompson. Starting in April of 1969, Sunfish underwent her shakedown cruise as well as five months of training in casualty drills, control drills, torpedo firing practice and sound trials. Late in August of that year, she took a short dependents’ cruise. From September until mid-December, she had post-shakedown availability at the naval yards in Groton, Connecticut, followed by a holiday leave for her crew.
USS Sunfish SSN 649- Moving Along
During the first few months of 1970, Sunfish took several short cruises and maintained upkeep while preparing for a long deployment. Her two deployments ran from June 16 to August 26, when she returned to port at Charleston, South Carolina, and from October 6 to December 1 of that same year.
Sunfish left port on January 22, 1971, and was scheduled to participate in fleet exercises, but operational commitments were altered and she did not return to Charleston until March 9. In April, she cruised to Port Everglades, Florida and took part in fleet exercises as well as anti-submarine exercises throughout the rest of 1971.
In January of 1972, Sunfish left port in Charleston for deployment with the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. On May 21, she returned to port and began a stand-down period for several months. In October, she sailed for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for her first overhaul.
The repair crews finished to overhaul in August of 1973. From there, Sunfish sailed from Norfolk to New London, Connecticut, for refresher training, then on to Charleston and out to the Caribbean to test weapons systems and for training on sound equipment. She returned to Charleston that December for upkeep and holiday leave for the crew.
For the first six months of 1974, Sunfish continued operations along the US eastern seaboard from Cape Kennedy, Florida, to New London, Connecticut. Starting on June 25 of that year, Sunfish stayed in Charleston and began another period of deployment.
USS Sunfish SSN 649- The End of an Era
In March of 1996, the Navy Office of Information reported that Sunfish had made its one thousandth dive. CDR E. Jackson Roeske, CO of Sunfish, remarked, “Many subs don’t make it this far and are decommissioned before their 1,000th dive. This dive is not only a unique event, it also demonstrates the tremendous longevity and outstanding engineering capabilities of our submarine force.”
In September of that year, Sunfish made its one thousand and twenty second dive, its final dive as an active submarine. She was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Register on March 31, 1997. The ship entered in the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington and ceased to exist in October 1997.
Characteristics of the USS Sunfish
(*Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sunfish_(SSN-649))
USS Sunfish -
Career in the United States Navy
Namesake: Sunfish
Ordered: 26 March 1963
Builder: General Dynamics, Quincy Shipbuilding Division
Laid down: 15 January 1965
Launched: 14 October 1966
Commissioned: 15 March 1969
Struck: 31 March 1997
Fate: Ship-Submarine Recycling Program USS Sunfish -
General characteristics
Displacement: 4035 tons light, 4326 tones full, 291 tons dead
Length: 289 ft (88 m)
Beam: 32 ft (9.7 m)
Draft: 29 ft (8.8 m)
Propulsion: S5W reactor
Speed: 15 knots (27.8 kph) surfaced
30 knots (55.6 kph) submerged
Test depth: 700 ft (210 m)
Complement: 14 officers, 95 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 Sunfish
The following are some of the USS Sunfish historical milestones during the life of the ship from 1963 through 1997: (a complete list can be found at: http://www.ussvi.us/Sub_View.asp?RecNo=105)
- January 1965 – USS Sunfish keel laid down by the Quincy Shipbuilding Division of General Dynamics
- October 1966 – USS Sunfish launched
- March 1969 – USS Sunfish commissioned
- April 1969 – USS Sunfish took shakedown cruise and various exercises including casualty drills, control drills, sound trials and torpedo firing tests
- June 1970 – USS Sunfish deployed. Returned to port 26 August
- October 1970 – USS Sunfish deployed. Returned to port 1 December
- January 1971 – USS Sunfish scheduled to take part in short exercise, operational commitments changed and did not return to port until 9 March
- April 1971 – USS Sunfish participated in fleet exercises and antisubmarine drills in Caribbean Sea
- January 1972 – USS Sunfish deployed to Mediterranean Sea with US Sixth Fleet
- May 1972 – USS Sunfish returned to Charleston and started stand-down period
- October 1972 – USS Sunfish sailed for Norfolk Naval Shipyard for first major overhaul
- August 1973 – USS Sunfish completed overhaul and sailed to New London for refresher training
- December 1973 – USS Sunfish returned to Charleston for upkeep
- January 1974 – USS Sunfish operated along US eastern seaboard
- June 1974 – USS Sunfish returned to Charleston for deployment
- March 1996 – USS Sunfish completed 1,000th dive
- September 1966 – USS Sunfish completed 1,022nd and final dive
- March 1997 – The USS Sunfish decommissioned
- March 1997 – The USS Sunfish stricken from Naval Vessel register and stored in Bremerton, Washington until entered into the Nuclear Power Ship and Submarine Recycling Program
- October 1997 – The USS Sunfish ceased to exist
Crews of the USS Sunfish
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Sunfish 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/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=819.
Joe McMahon: (Served from March 1967 – September 1970) “Stationed onboard during new construction in 1967 through commissioning, sea trials, and ops through summer of 1970. Great boat and crew. If ever passing through NH stop by for a cold one.”
Dave Von Tersch: (Served from November 1972 – May 1976) “I reported on board when boat was in overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyards. We won the Battle “E” in 1974.”
Bob Chaney: (Served from April 1984 – May 1989) “Was part of the best Sonar Gang in the world. Thompson, Knuckles, Guidry, Phillips, Gill, Moss, Melanson, Malone and the new nubs. We have reunions. Try to make one they are a blast.”
Michael Conn: (Served June 1992 – November 1996) “Got my fish here, and got converted to a twidget. Always fond memories, even with Mike Hack saying “Another F-ing radioman?” when I 1st got there. Thanks Merv, learned alot from you.”
Leonard Francesconi: (Served January 1996 – December 1996) “Thanks to this fish, I had a great run in the navy. Now I am out and make more than the commodore does at squadron. Thanks for the training and getting me started to a great future with proper work ethics and troubleshooting skills.”
