USS Growler (SSG-577)
 The Growler as a museum ship |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Order | July 31, 1954 |
| Keel laying | February 15, 1955 |
| Launch | April 15, 1958 |
| 1. Period of service |
|
| Commissioning | August 30, 1958 |
| Decommissioning | May 25, 1964 |
| Whereabouts | Museum ship |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
3515 - 3650 tons submerged |
| length |
96.8 - 101.8 m |
| width |
8.3 - 9-1 m |
| Draft |
5.8 m |
| crew |
approx. 10 officers, 78 men |
| drive |
Diesel-electric, 2 shafts |
| speed |
approx. 15 knots |
| Armament |
Regulus starter, 8, later 6 torpedo tubes |
The USS Growler (SSG-577) was a cruise missile submarine of the United States Navy and belonged to the Grayback class .
history
The boat was commissioned as a hunting submarine in 1954 and was built by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard . In 1955 it was laid down. In 1956, the Navy decided to complete Growler as a carrier for cruise missiles and had the bow modified accordingly. In 1958 the ship was launched and was put into service that same year. From the summer of 1958, the Growler carried out test and training drives.
In 1959 the submarine Pearl Harbor in Hawaii reached its home port. In 1960, the Growler began its first nuclear deterrent patrol off the Far East coast of the Soviet Union. For this she had four SSM-N-8A Regulus on board. Eight more such journeys followed by the end of 1963. In 1964 the Growler was decommissioned in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard when the Polaris boats of the George Washington , Ethan Allen and Lafayette classes took over. But she was mothballed in the reserve fleet .
After the Growler's sister ship , the USS Grayback (SSG-574) , was converted into a transport submarine in 1967, the Growler was also to be modernized in this way, but cost overruns at the Grayback caused the Navy to abandon these plans. Instead, the Growler remained mothballed until 1980, when it was finally removed from the Naval Vessel Register and was to be sunk as a target ship.
Instead, however, the Navy decided in 1988 to keep the Growler and donated it to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum . As a museum ship , the Growler can be viewed off New York City .
Web links
- History of USS Growler (SSG-577) in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
- http://www.wa3key.com/growler.html English