USS Grayback (SSG-574)

Last updated
USS Grayback;0857404.jpg
Grayback (LPSS-574), underway, c. 1968
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSS Grayback
Ordered10 March 1951
BuilderMare Island Naval Shipyard
Laid down1 July 1954
Launched2 July 1957
Sponsored byMrs. John A. Moore
Commissioned7 March 1958, as SSG-574
Decommissioned25 May 1964
Recommissioned9 May 1969, as LPSS-574
Decommissioned15 January 1984
Stricken16 January 1984
Homeport Pearl Harbor
MottoDe Profundis Futurus
FateSunk as a target near Subic Bay, 13 April 1986
General characteristics
Class and type Grayback-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,740 long tons (1,768 t) light
  • 2,768 long tons (2,812 t) full
Length273 ft (83 m) later extended to 317 ft 7 in (96.80 m)
Beam27 ft 2 in (8.28 m)
Draft19 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion3 Fairbanks-Morse Diesel engines, 2 Elliott electric motors
Speed
  • 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced,
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) submerged
Complement84 officers and men
Armament

USS Grayback (SS/SSG/APSS/LPSS-574), the lead ship of her class of submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the grayback.

Contents

Construction and commissioning

Grayback′s keel was laid down on 1 July 1954 by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard of Vallejo, California. She was launched on 2 July 1957, sponsored by Mrs. John A. Moore, widow of the last commanding officer of the previous USS Grayback (SS-208), and commissioned at Mare Island on 7 March 1958. Grayback was initially designated as an attack submarine, but was converted in 1958 into a guided-missile submarine (SSG-574) armed with the Regulus nuclear cruise missile.

Operational history

Guided missile submarine

Grayback prior to launch USS Grayback (SSG-574) building.jpg
Grayback prior to launch
Grayback preparing to launch a Regulus II missile Graybackmissle.jpg
Grayback preparing to launch a Regulus II missile

Grayback represented a new class of SSG guided missile submarines, and was to be the first to carry the Regulus II sea-to-surface missile. In 1958, Grayback conducted tests and shakedown along the West Coast. While operating out of Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California, in September 1958 she conducted the first successful launching of a Regulus II missile from a submarine, whose predecessor, Regulus I, had led to the capability of navies to attack land bases since its deployment in 1957. Regulus II was cancelled in December 1958 except for test firing of missiles already built, [1] so Grayback operationally deployed with four Regulus I missiles. Departing San Diego, California, on 30 October, Grayback arrived at Pearl Harbor on 8 November for a month of exercises and maneuvers before returning to Mare Island for her "10,000 mile checkup."

On 9 February 1959, Grayback departed Mare Island to make Pearl Harbor her permanent home base, reaching Hawaii on 7 March via Port Hueneme, California, Long Beach, California, and Mazatlan, Mexico. After a series of exercises there, she cruised to Dutch Harbor, Umak Island, Sequam Island, and Kodiak, Alaska, for further missile exercises from 331 July. This was followed by the first of her nine deterrent missile strike missions, from 21 September to 12 November. Grayback's first patrol terminated at Yokosuka, Japan, as did two others. She returned to Pearl Harbor 8 December.

On 22 February 1960, Grayback modified her missile launching system and simplified her complex electrical circuits. After this, she again took up deterrent missile strike missions. Over the next 2½ years she completed seven missions for a total of nearly 18 months at sea, much of this time submerged. In addition to Yokosuka, both Adak, Alaska, and Pearl Harbor also served as termination points for these patrols. On her nine patrols she spent more than 20 months at sea and logged over 130,000 miles (209,000 km) on deterrent missile strike missions.

That schedule took its toll. On 27 August 1963, while snorkeling to recharge batteries, Grayback was buffeted by particularly strong seas. The buffeting caused the After Main Battery breaker to short, starting a fire in the berthing compartment. One seaman failed to evacuate the compartment and was overcome by smoke and fumes. Main propulsion was lost for a short time, was restored, and Grayback returned to Pearl Harbor under her own power. Repairs took two weeks.

According to the documentary "Regulus: The First Nuclear Missile Submarines" the primary target for Grayback in the event of a nuclear exchange would be to eliminate the Soviet naval base at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. [2] The patrols made by Grayback and its sister Regulus-firing submarines represented the first ever deterrent patrols in the history of the submarine Navy, preceding those made by the Polaris missile firing submarines. [2]

As more Polaris missile submarines became operational, they assumed the deterrent functions previously assigned to Grayback and her sister ships. The Regulus missile program ended in 1964 and Grayback was withdrawn from active service. She decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, on 25 May 1964.

Amphibious transport submarine

1982 view USS Grayback DN-ST-86-01652.jpg
1982 view

A second conversion began at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in November 1967. The conversion was originally estimated at US$15.2 million, but grew to over US$30 million. She was re-classified from a guided missile submarine to an amphibious transport submarine with hull classification symbol LPSS-574 on 30 August 1968. (The Naval Vessel Registry entry for Grayback shows that at one point she was classified as a "plain" transport submarine, an APSS. The term "APSS", for Auxiliary Personnel Submarine, appeared on the construction plans and documents during the conversion design and construction period (per Structural Naval Architect, Mare Island, 1966-1968). Crew memoirs indicated that they were never aware of it. Presumably, while this classification was "official," it may have lasted only days.)

Grayback painted orange for sinking USS Grayback (SSG-574) sink.jpg
Grayback painted orange for sinking

The conversion heightened her sail by ten feet, added two auxiliary tanks to the forward end of the engine room (increasing the length of the boat by 12 feet), and converted the missile chambers to carry 67 embarked troops and SEAL Swimmer Delivery Vehicles (SDVs), including a decompression chamber in the starboard hangar.

In June 1972, the Grayback carried a team of Navy SEALs into the coastal waters of North Vietnam as part of Operation Thunderhead. This was the last attempt during the Vietnam War to rescue American POWs held in North Vietnam.

In January 1982 five U.S. Navy divers died when a vacuum was inadvertently drawn in a chamber on Grayback off the coast of Subic Bay. The diving accident led to changes in how the Navy designed, built, maintained and operated complex submarine based diving systems. [3]

Grayback was decommissioned for the second time on 15 January 1984 at Subic Bay Naval Station in the Republic of the Philippines. After decommissioning, Grayback was sunk as a target on 13 April 1986 in the South China Sea.

Awards

Silver Navy Submarine Patrol Insignia.jpg
SubGoldPatrol.jpg
SSBN Deterrent Patrol Pin, in silver and gold. Crewmen that served aboard Grayback and conducted strategic deterrent patrols were permitted to wear the SSBN Deterrent Patrol insignia from 1997. [4]
National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg
National Defense Service Medal Vietnam Service Medal Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

In April 1997, officers and men of Grayback and the other four US Navy submarines that conducted strategic deterrent patrols in the Western Pacific between 1959 and 1964 were awarded the right to wear the Navy's SSBN Deterrent Patrol insignia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SSM-N-8 Regulus</span> Type of cruise missile

The SSM-N-8A Regulus or the Regulus I was a United States Navy-developed ship-and-submarine-launched, nuclear-capable turbojet-powered second generation cruise missile, deployed from 1955 to 1964. Its development was an outgrowth of U.S. Navy tests conducted with the German V-1 missile at Naval Air Station Point Mugu in California. Its barrel-shaped fuselage resembled that of numerous fighter aircraft designs of the era, but without a cockpit. Test articles of the Regulus were equipped with landing gear and could take off and land like an airplane. When the missiles were deployed they were launched from a rail launcher, and equipped with a pair of Aerojet JATO bottles on the aft end of the fuselage.

USS <i>Barbero</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Barbero (SS/SSA/SSG-317) was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy, named for a family of fishes commonly called surgeon fish.

<i>George Washington</i>-class submarine United States Navy class of fleet ballistic missile submarines

The George Washington class was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines deployed by the United States Navy. George Washington, along with the later Ethan Allen, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes, comprised the "41 for Freedom" group of submarines that represented the Navy's main contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s.

USS <i>Theodore Roosevelt</i> (SSBN-600) George Washington-class submarine

USS Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN-600), a George Washington-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for President Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919). Initially unnamed and assigned hull classification symbol SSGN-600 as a guided missile submarine, her keel was laid down on 20 May 1958 by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard using components initially assembled for the Skipjack-class submarine nuclear attack submarine USS Scamp (SSN-588). She was named Theodore Roosevelt and redesignated fleet ballistic missile submarine SSBN-600 on 6 November 1958, launched on 3 October 1959, sponsored by Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt and widow of Nicholas Longworth III, and commissioned on 13 February 1961 with Commander William E. Sims commanding the Blue Crew and Commander Oliver H. Perry, Jr. commanding the Gold Crew.

USS <i>Robert E. Lee</i> Submarine of the U.S. Navy

USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601), a George Washington-class fleet ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), the commanding general of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Halibut</i> (SSGN-587) US Navy submarine

USS Halibut (SSGN-587), a unique nuclear-powered guided missile submarine-turned-special operations platform, later redesignated as an attack submarine SSN-587, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the halibut.

USS <i>Growler</i> (SSG-577) US Navy submarine

USS Growler (SSG-577) was an early attempt by the U.S. Navy to field a cruise missile submarine that would provide a nuclear deterrent using its second series of cruise missiles. Built to deliver the Regulus I cruise missile, Growler was the second and final submarine of the Grayback class, fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named after the growler. Since Regulus I and Regulus II programs had problems, Growler and Grayback were the only two submarines built in this class as instead, the U.S. Navy veered its nuclear deterrence efforts into submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs)—the Polaris missile program.

USS <i>Carbonero</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Carbonero (SS/AGSS-337) was a Balao-class submarine, the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the carbonero, a salt-water fish found in the West Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cruise-missile submarine</span> Submarine capable of launching cruise missiles

A cruise missile submarine is a submarine that carries and launches cruise missiles as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a warship's ability to attack surface combatants and strike land targets; although torpedoes are a more discrete option for submerged submarines, missiles give a much longer stand-off range, shorter time to impact the target, as well as the ability to engage multiple targets on different headings at the same time. Many cruise missile submarines retain the capability to deploy nuclear warheads on their missiles, but they are considered distinct from ballistic missile submarines due to the substantial differences between the two weapons systems' flight characteristics; cruise missiles fly aerodynamically using flight surfaces like wings or fins, while a ballistic missile uses its engine power alone as it may exit the atmosphere.

USS <i>Woodrow Wilson</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624), a Lafayette class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924), the 28th President of the United States (1913–1921). She later was converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-624.

USS <i>Kamehameha</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642) was a Benjamin Franklin-class ballistic missile submarine and the only ship in the United States Navy to be named after Kamehameha I, the first King of Hawaii. She is one of only two United States ships named after a monarch. She was later reclassified as an attack submarine and re-designated SSN-642.

USS <i>Stonewall Jackson</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Stonewall Jackson, a James Madison-class fleet ballistic missile submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Confederate States Army General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (1824–1863).

USS <i>Perch</i> (SS-313) USS Perch

USS Perch (SS/SSP/ASSP/APSS/LPSS/IXSS-313), a Balao-class submarine, was the second submarine of the United States Navy to be named for the perch, a freshwater spiny-finned fish.

USS <i>Cusk</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Cusk (SS/SSG/AGSS-348), a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy named for the cusk, a large food fish related to the cod.

USS <i>King County</i>

USS King County (LST-857) was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named after counties in Texas and Washington, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

<i>Grayback</i>-class submarine Class of US Navy submarines

The Grayback-class submarine was a class of two guided missile-carrying submarines of the United States Navy. They carried the Regulus I and Regulus II nuclear cruise missiles, deployed 1957–64, that were rapidly phased out by Polaris Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs). They and USS Halibut were the sole submarines designed specifically to carry Regulus missiles, and the only submarines capable of carrying Regulus II. However, USS Tunny and USS Barbero were modified earlier to carry two Regulus I missiles per boat.

Submarine Squadron 1 is a squadron of submarines of the United States Navy based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i. The submarines that make up SUBRON 1 include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SSM-N-9 Regulus II</span> Cruise missile

The SSM-N-9 Regulus II cruise missile is a supersonic guided missile armed with a nuclear warhead, intended for launching from surface ships and submarines of the U.S. Navy (USN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Submarine Squadron 15</span> Military unit

Submarine Squadron 15 is a squadron of submarines of the United States Navy based at Naval Base Guam.

Regulus missile submarines Group of submarines operated by the US Navy

The Regulus missile submarines were a group of submarines operated by the United States Navy capable of carrying the Regulus cruise missile. Between 1959 and 1964, a total of five boats were used to undertake the first submarine-based nuclear deterrent patrols by the United States. Regulus submarines were used for this task until 1964, when sufficient ballistic missile submarines carrying the Polaris ballistic missile became available.

References

  1. "Vought SSM-N-9/RGM-15 Regulus II." Parsch, Andreas, Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, 2001. Retrieved: 6 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 Regulus: The First Nuclear Missile Submarines documentary, Spark, 2002
  3. Davies, Sydney (2020-01-16). "January 16, 2020 - Commemorating the 38-Year Anniversary of the USS Grayback Accident". EB Landing. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  4. "Patrol Insignia for Regulus veterans" (PDF). Navy Nuclear Weapons Association. Summer 1997. Retrieved 12 November 2014.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here. Gardiner, Robert. "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995." London: Conway Maritime Press, Ltd, 1995 Pg. 609-610