The Seventy Fives- Boats SS-75 to SSN-775
As I was reading the Sub Report article on the commissioning of the USS Texas, SSN 775, I got to wondering about what all the boats were like that had 75 as part of their hull number. I couldn’t remember anything about the 675 but 575, Sea Wolf, sure came in loud and clear. A google search was initiated and it revealed that Wikipedia gave a great synopsis on most of these 8 submarines.Going back in time, showing Comm - Decomm dates and 1st Skipper::
- Texas .......SSN 775 ......Sep 2006 - *** ****....CAPT John J Litherland
- Bluefish ...SSN 675 .....Jan 1971 - May 1996....CDR Richard A. Peterson
- Seawolf ..SSN 575..... Mar 1957 - Mar 1987....CDR R.B. Laning
- Argonaut ...SS 475 .....Jan 1945 - Dec 1968 ....LCDR John S. Schmidt
- Macabi .......SS 375 .....Mar 1945 - Aug 1960 ....CDR Anthony H. Dropp
- Runner ......SS 275 ......Jul 1942 - Jul 1943 ........CDR Frank W. Fenno
- Tarpon .......SS 175 .....Mar 1936 -Nov 1945 .........LT Leo L. Pace
- O-14 ........... SS 75 ........Oct 1918 - Jun 1924 .........LT R. E. Schuirmann
OK readers its time for the quiz.
- Which one of these had a hull number with 75 assigned twice?
- The only boat refitted with a different reactor plant design?
- How many wound up in a foreign Navy? (Texas is not foreign, just different.)
- The submarine's name that was derived from an almost ENG to one of these?
- Which ones were never scrapped?
- The earliest (of this list) to snorkel? ( extra credit -- The 1st boat to snorkel?)
- What was the relationship of FDR's wife to the sponsor of SS 175?
- Name (and Salute) the one on "Eternal Patrol"?
- What is the exponent best representing the pay differential between the Skipper's of O14 and Texas?
- Why is there no history listed in Wikipedia for Bluefish?
posted by geezernuke @ 5:37 PM
4 Comments:
OK, I accept the goof in humble respect for adept younger minds. But in the interest of a quick pass at some submarine history that I enjoyed and wanted to pass along, forgive and humor me. I only have answers for the boats ending in 75.
Four answers are not evident from your given boat links:
1)Argonaut became Canada's SS-75.
4) ? question ?
7)Miss Eleanore Katherine Roosevelt was distant cousin (one of those "removed" things) of Teddy R. and FDR. That makes her a slightly less distant cousin of FDR's cousin, his wife Eleanor.
9)10^2
10) No history in Wikipedia for Bluefish, NY City, Flying Fish, Greenville or Rhode Island, because no one has written them yet at DANFS.
#2 - The Seawolf started out life with an experimental sodium cooled reactor. I don't think it lasted very long and I believe the reactor itself was encased in concrete and tossed off the continental shelf.
Eternal Patrol: Runner, SS275, based on the decommisioning date.
Seventy Fives Quiz Answers
1. Which one of these had a hull number with 75 assigned twice?
Argonaut SS 475 was sold to Canada and commissioned 2 December 1968, in the Royal Canadian Navy as Rainbow (SS-75) and decommissioned 31 December 1974.
2. The only boat refitted with a different reactor plant design?
In 1959 a severe leak in the superheater required that she be rebuilt with a pressurized-water reactor. Seawolf returned to Groton, Connecticut, on 12 December 1958, for refueling and conversion of her power plant. She was out of commission until 30 September 1960.
3. How many wound up in a foreign Navy? (Texas is not foreign, just different.)
On 1 April 1960 the US Navy and the Argentine Navy signed an agreement to transfer two submarines, Macabi and Lamprey (SS-372).
Argonaut went to Canada. (See 1. above.)
4. The submarine's name that was derived from an almost ENG to one of these?
Lieutenant James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, the only U.S. President to qualify in submarines, was to be her Engineering Officer, but had resigned his commission upon the death of his father in 1953.
5. Which ones were never scrapped?
Tarpon foundered in deep water, southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on 26 August 1957, while under tow to the scrap yard. Thus was never scrapped.
Seawolf was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the following 10 July. The former submarine began the Navy's Ship-Submarine Recycling Program on 1 October 1996 and completed it on 30 September 1997. Completion = Scrapped?
Ex-Bluefish entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, and awaits disposal there. Not Scrapped yet just canabalized.
The Macabi was struck from the US Naval Register, and sold outright to Argentina, 1 September 1971; she was deleted and broken up by the Argentine Navy for spare parts in 1972. (I'd call this scrapped but it's open to your interp.)
Runner was declared overdue and presumed lost in July 1943 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 October 1943. (Not scrapped)
Argonaut SS 475 was sold to Canada and commissioned 2 December 1968, in the Royal Canadian Navy as Rainbow (SS-75) and decommissioned 31 December 1974. On March 24, 1977 she was sold to Zidell Ship Dismantlers of Portland, Oregon where she was scrapped.
O 14 was scrapped in accordance with the London Naval Treaty on 30 July 1930.
6. The earliest (of this list) to snorkel?
In July 1952, the Argonaut underwent a major conversion at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, during which she received a snorkel system and a streamlined conning tower.
(Extra credit -- The 1st boat to snorkel?)
After protracted delays and several changes in government, Fulton was encouraged enough to build the submarine he called "Nautilus." He made a number of successful dives, to depths of 25 feet and for times as long as six hours (ventilation provided by a tube to the surface).
By December 1946 the Navy had completed plans for the modern telescopic snorkel (a device to enable diesel-powered submarines to run submerged for long periods of time), and Irex (SS-482) was ordered to Portsmouth for installation and test of this equipment.
7. What was the relationship of FDR's wife to the sponsor of SS 175?
The second USS Tarpon (SS-175) was laid down on 22 December 1933 at Groton, Connecticut, by the Electric Boat Corporation; launched on 4 September 1935; sponsored by Miss Eleanore Katherine Roosevelt, daughter of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Henry L. Roosevelt; (Retired Marine Colonel and cousin to FDR)
It seems that the name Eleanor Roosevelt was all they had in common.
8. Name (and Salute) the one on "Eternal Patrol"?
Runner was declared overdue and presumed lost in July 1943 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 October 1943.
9. What is the exponent best representing the pay differential between the Skipper's of O14 and Texas?
Avg Government hourly wage in 1918 = 0.49/hr =$85/mo + 10%Sub pay = $93.50/mo. (I doubt it was this much but couldn’t find a Navy pay scale for 1918)
O6 today including BAH and Subpay = approx $10,000/mo +
Roughly 100 times more so the exponent = 2
10. Why is there no history listed in Wikipedia for Bluefish?
No crew members belong to SubVets.???
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