USS Bluefish SSN 675: History, Patrols, Crews

USS Bluefish SSN 675- The Beginning

The USS Bluefish, (SSN-675: submarine, nuclear-powered), was named after the bluefish, a species of popular marine game fish, and was the second submarine to carry that name (the first was a Gato-class sub that served from 1943 to 1959). Bluefish was part of the United States Navy's Sturgeon class of nuclear attack submarines, the twenty-seventh boat in the class. The Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation earned the contract in July of 1966 and laid down her keel on March 13, 1968. Bluefish launched on January 10, 1970 in the waters off Groton, Connecticut. She was commissioned on January 8, 1971, carrying ninety-five enlisted men and twelve officers, under the command of CDR Richard A. Peterson.

USS Bluefish SSN 675- Moving Along

During her time in service, BLUEFISH made her homeport in Norfolk, Virginia. Early in 1972, she made a run through the Northern Atlantic for local operations.

On May 4, 1975, BLUEFISH traveled under the polar ice cap in support of the numerous polar scientific missions that US submarines conducted during that time. The data gathered by the scientists aboard her continues to be of use to climatologists studying global warming and weather patterns today.

BLUEFISH also made several voyages to warmer waters. She voyaged to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands in November 1983. From April 1985 to April 1988, BLUEFISH conducted deployments to both the Northern Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

In 1989, BLUEFISH came back to undergo a massive overhaul that took nearly two years, then underwent sea trials. She visited Puerto Rico in February 1991. From 1991 to 1994, she took on two more deployments to the Mediterranean.

USS Bluefish SSN 675- The End of an Era

Bluefish was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Register on May 31, 1996. The ship entered in the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington on November 1, 2003 and ceased to exist the same day.

Characteristics of the USS Bluefish

(*Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bluefish_(SSN-675))

USS Bluefish -
Career in the United States Navy
Namesake: Bluefish, a popular game fish
Ordered: 15 July 1966
Builder: General Dynamics, Electric Boat Division
Laid down: 13 March 1968
Launched: 10 January 1970
Commissioned: 8 January 1971
Struck: 31 May 1996
Fate: Ship-Submarine Recycling Program USS Bluefish -
General characteristics
Displacement: 4250 tons surfaced, 4700 tons submerged
Length: 292 ft (89 m)
Beam: 31.7 ft (9.65 m)
Draft: 29.2 ft (8.9 m)
Propulsion: S5W2 reactor
Speed: 15 knots (27.8 kph) surfaced
30 knots (55.6 kph) submerged
Test depth: 700 ft (210 m)
Complement: 12 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 Bluefish

The following are some of the USS Bluefish historical milestones during the life of the ship from 1968 through 1996: (a complete list can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bluefish_(SSN-675))

March 1968 - USS Bluefish keel laid down
January 1970 - USS Bluefish launched
January 1971 - USS Bluefish commissioned
February 1972 - USS Bluefish conducted local operations in North Atlantic
May 1975 - USS Bluefish explored polar ice cap
November 1983 - USS Bluefish voyaged to St. Croix, Virgin Islands
April 1985 to April 1988 - USS Bluefish deployed to Northern Atlantic and Mediterranean
1989 - USS Bluefish completed refueling and overhaul
1991 to 1994 - USS Bluefish deployed twice more to Mediterranean
June 1999 - USS Bluefish decommissioned and stricken from Naval Vessel Register
April 2000 - USS Bluefish ceased to exist

Crews of the USS Bluefish

An unofficial list of crewmembers that served on the USS Bluefish 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_675.

John Wassl: (Served from December 1969 - December 1974) "Best duty station out of many in 20 years. Too many friends and memories to list. But I did have a hard time keeping those "nose cone" chiefs sort of pure."

Mike Collins Dick: (Served from February 1970 - December 1971) "Plankowner, performed the initial startup of the reactor. Mr. Peterson was a great engineer. Captain Petersen was a sorry CO. Chief Castro was a great COB except for the chewing tobacco. Hello to all the other Plankowners"

Gary Tinney: (Served from December 1971 - January 1975) "Northern run 72. I go into San.2 to repair level gage assy. I get brandy. Chief Baker gets medal. Later recants to XO he would rather have brandy. Go Navy"

John Brannen: (Served August 1980 - August 1982) "I had some good times with some really great people"

Brian Duelly: (Served October 1988 - February 1991) "Nothing like 2 years in overhaul! Then sea trials, at least the saltwater stayed where it was supposed to. I had some awesome shipmates. Anybody remember had badly the ST's tortured STSC DeCarlo? Ping me, I'll return all pings."

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