USS Flying Fish SSN-673

Veterans & Mesothelioma > Asbestos on Navy Ships > Submarines of the United States Navy: (Post-World War II Era) > USS Flying Fish

USS Flying Fish SSN-673: History, Patrols, Crews

Commissioning

The USS Flying Fish, (SSN-673 submarine, nuclear-powered) was the 25th member of the Sturgeon class of nuclear fast attack submarines. It was the third U.S. Navy vessel, and second submarine, named after the aquatic animal.

The Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp.’s Groton Shipyard was awarded the contract to build the Flying Fish on July 15, 1966. Her keel was laid down on June 30, 1967; she was launched on May 17, 1969. The Flying Fish joined the ranks of the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic Fleet officially on April 29, 1970 with Commander Donald C. Shelton at the helm.

Underway

For 26 years, the Flying Fish served as part of the Atlantic Fleet, primarily tracking the movements of the submarines and surface ships of the Soviet (and later Russian) Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The Flying Fish also made several cruises into the Arctic Ocean, even surfacing at the North Pole.

In 1976, the Flying Fish won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet. The award is given to the most battle-ready vessel in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. The crew of the Flying Fish received a small cash stipend for the honor, which was put into the submarine’s recreation fund.

Decommissioning

The Flying Fish was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on May 16, 1996. It entered the Navy’s Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bermerton, Wash., and was declared scrapped on Oct. 15, 1996.

Characteristics of the USS Flying Fish
Displacement: 3995 tons light, 4291 tons full, 296 tons dead
Length: 89 m (292 ft)
Beam: 9.7 m (32 ft)
Draft: 8.8 m (29 ft)
Propulsion: S5W reactor
Complement: 14 officers, 95 men
Armament: 4 × 21 in (533 mm) Vickers Torpedo Tubes capable of launching torpedoes, SubRoc, Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles, and mines.

Career:
Namesake: flying fish
Ordered: July 15, 1966
Builder: Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation at Groton, Connecticut
Laid down: June 30, 1967
Launched: May 17, 1969
Commissioned: April 29, 1970
Decommissioned: May 16, 1996
Struck: May 16.1996
Honours and awards: Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award
Fate: Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, Washington

Timeline:
July 1966: USS Flying Fish is ordered
June 1967: Keel of USS Flying Fish is laid
May 1969: USS Flying Fish is launched
April 1970: USS Flying Fish is commissioned
1976: USS Flying Fish wins Marjroie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award
May 1996: USS Flying Fish decommissioned
October 1996: USS Flying Fish scrapped

Crewmembers of the USS Flying Fish:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Flying Fish 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 at Navysite.de.

Michael Lang (served April 1975-January 1978): “Made several Northern Runs, Ice-X 77.”
Donald Nuckols (served 1976-79): “Went to Ice-X 77, Bremerhaven, and Med and others. Retired from the boat in ’79.”
Bob Tullis (served 1976-79): “Bermerhaven, NNSY and lots of others. Good boat, great people.”
Merlin Loch (served February 1976-August 1977): “My first ship, sailed to the North Pole, played softball out on the ice.”

Sources:
http://www.esryle.com/coblinks/links/673LINKS.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Flying_Fish_(SSN-673)
http://www.navysite.de/ssn/ssn673.htm

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