Commissioning
The USS Triton was a unique submarine and the third vessel in U.S. Navy history to carry the name. Originally intended to serve as a radar picket submarine, the development of airborne early-warning aircraft led to her re-designation as an attack submarine after only two years of service.
The Triton had a number of features that were unique among U.S. submarines. She had a 70-foto sail-the largest ever installed on an American submarine–which was used to the AN/SPS-26 radar, the Navy’s first electronically-scanned three-dimensional radar. She had a 22 ballast tanks, another American record. She was the last submarine to have a conning tower and the last U.S. sub to have twin screws or a stern torpedo room. She remains the only U.S. submarine to have been powered by two nuclear reactors, a major part of her $109 million price tag, a staggering sum in 1959. At a length of 447 and ½ feet, she was the longest submarine to have served in the U.S. Navy until the commissioning of the Ohio-class of ballistic missile submarines.
The contract to build the Triton was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp.’s Groton (Conn.) Shipyard in October 1955. Her keel was laid down on May 29, 1956; she was launched on Aug. 19, 1958. She was commissioned on Nov. 10, 1959, with Capt. Edward L. Beach in command.
Underway
The Triton’s most famous mission was actually her shakedown cruise, a submerged circumnavigation of the globe. Codenamed Operation Sandblast, the voyage would be a test of the endurance of both the submarine and her crew, as well as the psychological stress of being submerged for such an extended period of time. The Triton would also perform geophysical and oceanographic research during the voyage. The Triton’s path would mirror that taken by the Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who made the first circumnavigation of the globe in 1519-1522.
With only 12 days to prepare and most of the crew unaware of the top-secret nature of their mission, the Triton left New London on Feb. 16, 1960. It would be another 24 hours before Capt. Beach informed the crew of their real purpose. The Triton crossed the equator on Feb. 24 and reached Cape Horn to pass under South America on March 7. She would endure a starboard shaft seal leak, an air compressor malfunction and the failure of the fathometer while traveling through the Pacific Ocean, but inventive solutions by the crew prevented the journey from being scrapped. On March 20, the Triton passed above the equator once again, and cross the International Date Line three days later.
On April 1, 1960, the Triton reached Mactan Island, the site of Magellan’s death more than 400 years before. She crossed the equator a third time two days later, then entered the Indian Ocean on April 5. After passing through the Cape of Good Hope, she returned to the Atlantic Ocean on April 17.
Sixty days and 21 hours after starting her voyage, the Triton surfaced off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, Del., on May 10, 1960. Capt. Beach was almost immediately taken by helicopter to Washington. D.C., for the official announcement of the voyage by President Dwight Eisenhower. The Triton docket at Groton the next day, completing her “shakedown cruise” after having traveled more than 36,000 miles submerged. She received substantial media attention, her crew received the Presidential Unit Citation and Capt. Beach received the Legion of Merit.
The shakedown cruise would be the highlight of the Triton’s career, as the need for radar picket submarines was debated almost from her commissioning. She took part in NATO exercises in the North Atlantic in August 1960 that centered on the detection and interception of Soviet bombers overflying the Arctic; she also took part in another exercise against the ships of the British Royal Navy, including the carriers Ark Royal and Hermes. She made a port of call at Bremerhaven, West Germany, on Oct. 2-9 1960, during which 8,000 people toured her.
Already reclassified as an attack submarine the previous March, the Triton deployed to the Arctic Ocean to monitor the detonation of a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb by the Soviet Union at Novaya Zemlya in October 1961. In June 1962, she entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for her actual conversion to an attack submarine. The overhaul would last from September until January 1964 and would reduce her crew from 172 to 159; though the search radar was no longer needed, it was not removed. Upon completion of the overhaul, the Triton became the flagship of the Commander Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet (COMSUBLANT).
There was speculation that the Triton received an additional capability during her overhaul, one that has never been confirmed-that of being a floating White House as part of the National Emergency Command Post Afloat Program. The USS Northampton and USS Wright were both assigned this duty, but no submarine was ever known to have taken part.
The Triton remained the flagship of COMSUBLANT until June 1, 1967. Later that year, she would receive the Navy Unit Commendation. Still, her scheduled overhaul for that year was cancelled, and she was prepared for inactivation a mere eight years after commissioning.
Decommissioning
The Triton was decommissioned on May 3, 1969, less than a decade after her commissioning, but was not stricken from the Naval Vessel Register until April 30, 1986. She had remained berthed at the Norfolk (Va.) Naval Shipyard for nearly 20 years before she was struck. She was towed to the Navy’s Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, Wash., in 1993, and was recycled in 2007.
Characteristics of the USS Triton
Class and type: Triton
Type: 1959: Nuclear-powered Radar Picket Submarine (SSRN)
1961: Nuclear-powered Attack Submarine (SSN)
Displacement: 5963 tons surfaced
7773 tons submerged
Length: 447 ft 6 in (136.40 m)
Beam: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
Draft: 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
Decks: 3 plus conning tower
Installed power: 45,000 shaft horsepower
Propulsion: Two (2) S4G pressurized-water nuclear reactors (PWR)
Two (2) steam turbines
Two (2) five-blade propellers
Speed: 30+ knots surfaced (56 kph)
27+ knots (50 kph) submerged
Endurance: Essentially unlimited
Test depth: 700 ft 0 in (213.36 m) operational
1,050 ft 0 in (320.04 m) crush
Complement: 172 personnel (radar-picket role)
159 personnel (attack role)
Sensors and processing systems: AN/SPS-26 air search radar
AN/BQS-4 active sonar
AN/BQR-2 passive sonar
MK-101 fire control system
Armament: 6 × (four bow, two stern) 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Career:
Name: USS Triton
Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat
Cost: $109,000,000 USD (1959)
Laid down: 29 May 1956
Launched: 19 August 1958
Commissioned: 10 November 1959
Decommissioned: 3 May 1969
Maiden voyage: 16 February 1960 to 11 May 1960
Reclassified: 1 March 1961 (SSN)
Refit: September 1962 to January 1964
Struck: 30 April 1986
Homeport: 1959: New London, Connecticut
1964: Norfolk, Virginia
1967: New London, Connecticut
Identification: November – Delta – Bravo – Romeo (Radio Call Sign)
Motto: Nulli Secundus
(Second to None)
Nickname: The Big T, Steel Raider
Honors and awards:
Presidential Unit Citation (1960)
Navy Unit Commendation (1967)
Fate: Recycled
Timeline:
October 1955: USS Triton ordered
May 1956: USS Triton’s keel laid down
August 1958: USS Triton launched
November 1959: USS Triton commissioned
February-May 1960: USS Triton circumnavigates the globe submerged
March 1961: USS Triton reclassified as attack submarine
May 1969: USS Triton decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS Triton:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Triton 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://www.navysite.de/ssn/ssn586.htm
Mike Christian (served May 1963-March 1965): “First boat out of sub school. Had a blast! A lot of really great memories. Can’t believe it was almost 50 years ago! Still can’t believe I blew the aft san. tank thru the urinal hole & spray painted the aft torp rm yukky brown!”
Jay Brown (served October 1963-June 1965): “Came of age on the T. Still remember all my mates.”
Links:
http://www.navysite.de/ssn/ssn586.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Triton_%28SSN-586%29
