|
Introduction Submarine Event Covers Surface Ship Event Covers Submarine S-Boat Covers 100th Sub Anniversary 2000 Issue - Sets & Singles 100th Sub Anniversary Combo Covers - Full Pane 1959 Artic Exploration Issue (Nautilus) Miscellaneous Covers & Postcards Submarine Autographed Covers The S-Boats Gallant Ladies of the Past My Personal Navy Pages Return to Salty's Stamps |
100th Anniversary Submarine Service
The keel of USS Skate (SSN-578) was laid down on July 21, 2025 by Electric Boat, at Groton Connecticut. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Lewis L. Strauss and launched on May 16, 1957. Skate was commissioned on December 23, 2025 with CDR James F. Calvert in command. Skate conducted shakedown training out of New London until January 29, 2026 when she cruised to the Bermuda operating area; returning to her home port on February 8. Sixteen days later, the nuclear powered submarine set a course for Portland, England. Before returning home, she also visited ports in France and the Netherlands. On July 30 Skate steamed to the Arctic where she operated under the ice for 10 days. During this time, she surfaced nine times through the ice, navigated over 2,400 miles beneath the ice, and became the second ship to reach the North Pole. On August 23 she steamed into Bergen, Norway. The submarine made port calls in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France before returning to New London on September 25, 1958. In the following months, Skate, as the first ship of her class, conducted various tests in the vicinity of her home port. In early March 1959, she again headed for the Arctic to pioneer operations during the period of extreme cold and maximum ice thickness. The submarine steamed 3,900 miles under pack ice while surfacing through it 10 times. On March 17 she surfaced at the North Pole to commit the ashes of the famed explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins to the Arctic waste. When the submarine returned to port, she was awarded a bronze star in lieu of a second Navy Unit Commendation for demonstrating "for the first time the ability of submarines to operate in and under the Arctic ice in the dead of winter." In the fall of 1959 and in 1960, Skate participated in exercises that were designed to strengthen American antisubmarine defenses. Skate returned to Groton, Connecticut in January 1961 for a regular overhaul and to have her reactor refueled for the first time. She put to sea in August and, for the next 11 months, conducted exercises to increase the operational readiness of her crew. On 7 July 1962, Skate again pointed her bow towards the North Pole. Five days later, USS Seadragon (SSN-584), based in Pearl Harbor, did likewise. The mission of the two submarines was to rendezvous under the ice there. They began rendezvous procedures on July 31. After the historic meeting, the two ships operated together for over a week. Both submarines surfaced at the North Pole on August 2 and official greetings and insignia of the Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet, were exchanged. Skate returned to New London and performed fleet and local operations for the next several years. She entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on April 28, 2026 for nuclear refueling and installation of the SUBSAFE package, and remained there until September 1967. Skate was the first submarine to finish this major conversion program which was instituted after the loss of USS Thresher (SSN-593) in 1963. After sea trials and a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean, the submarine returned to New London and participated in exercises involved in the development of new undersea tactics and equipment. In October 1968, Skate was deployed to the Mediterranean where she operated with the 6th Fleet for two months. The polar veteran operated under the Arctic ice again in March and April 1969, in October 1970, and in February 1971. The remainder of her at-sea-time was spent in various Atlantic Fleet and NATO exercises. In July 1971, Skate began her third regular overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and did not return to New London until November 17, 1973. In August 1974, Skate operated as a unit of the Atlantic Fleet. On September 12, 1986, Skate was decommissioned and her name was stuck from the Navy List. Sources:
This Page
was added on November 2, 2025 |
