View source for USS Ray (SSN-653)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Other ships|USS Ray}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= [[File:USS Ray (SSN-653).jpg|300px|USS Ray (SSN-653)]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Ray'' (SSN-653)
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1993}}
|Ship name= USS ''Ray'' (SSN-653)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=26 March 1963
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder= [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
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|Ship laid down= 4 January 1965
|Ship launched= 21 June 1966
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Thomas H. Kuchel
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 12 April 1967
|Ship decommissioned= 16 March 1993
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 16 March 1993
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|Ship fate= Scrapping via [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] begun 15 March 2002, completed 30 July 2003
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class= [[Sturgeon class submarine|''Sturgeon''-class]] [[attack submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|3800|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|4600|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length={{convert|292|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|31|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draft= {{convert|28|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
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|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship power=15,000 [[shaft horsepower]] (11.2 [[megawatt]]s)
|Ship propulsion= One [[S5W reactor|S5W]] [[nuclear reactor]], two [[steam turbine]]s, one [[Propeller|screw]]
|Ship speed= {{convert|20|kn|lk=in}}+
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=1,300 feet (396 meters)
|Ship complement=107
|Ship time to activate=
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|Ship armament=4 × {{convert|21|in|mm|0|adj=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
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'''USS ''Ray'' (SSN-653)''', a [[Sturgeon class submarine|''Sturgeon''-class]] [[attack submarine]], was the second ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the rays. 

==Construction and commissioning==
The contract to build ''Ray'' was awarded to [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company]] at [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], [[Virginia]], on 26 March 1963 and her [[keel]] was laid down there on 4 January 1965. She was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 21 June 1966, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas H. Kuchel, the wife of [[United States Senator]] [[Thomas H. Kuchel]] (1910–1994) of [[California]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 12 April 1967.

==Service history==
With her [[home port]] at [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], Virginia, ''Ray'' underwent [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] training and weapons and [[sonar]] testing until 6 October 1967, when she deployed to conduct [[Atlantic Ocean]] submarine operations until 12 December 1967.

In 1968 ''Ray'' again deployed for submarine operations in the Atlantic, from 8 April to 10 June and again from 13 November to 20 December.

''Ray'' January through May 1969 in attack submarine training and fleet exercises off the [[United States East Coast]] and in the [[Caribbean Sea]]. She departed Norfolk on 6 June 1969 on a special operation before proceeding to [[Holy Loch]], [[Scotland]], where she arrived on 26 June 1969. She departed Holy Loch on 31 July 1969 and returned to Norfolk on 12 August. For the remainder of 1969 and into 1970, ''Ray'' trained in the Atlantic with other units of the fleet.

''Ray'' spent most of 1970 operating in the Atlantic out of Norfolk. Her operations were concentrated primarily upon training and testing. In December 1970, she entered [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] at [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]], Virginia, for a 14-month [[wikt:overhaul|overhaul]] period. After its completion, she departed Norfolk on 5 March 1972 and engaged in various tests and exercises—notably two [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] exercises, "Strong Express" and "Escort Deep"—during the remainder of 1972. She returned to Norfolk on 12 December 1972.

''Ray'' departed Norfolk in late February 1973 to conduct a [[Mediterranean Sea]] cruise which lasted until mid-summer, at which time she returned to Norfolk and normal Atlantic operations.

The ''Ray'' performed Atlantic operations until August 1975 when it was transferred to SubRon4 in Charleston SC, where it underwent an extensive 18-month overhaul and refueling. After the overhaul the ''Ray'' went to New London CT for refresher training and then for a month in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico and St. Croix) for shakedown and sonar calibration.

In August 1977 the ''Ray'' was deployed to a Med cruise. On 20 September 1977 ''Ray'' struck a coral mountain while submerged in the Mediterranean Sea {{Convert|10|mi|km|abbr=}} off the coast of Tunisia due to a combination of equipment failure and crew inexperience. Her nose was blown open by a hydraulic displacement of water, making two "wings" on the port side. The sonar equipment was destroyed and there were several cracks along the hull. There was no other damage to the submarine, but quite a few crew members sustained contusions and got banged around. The worst injuries were sustained by a crew member thrown the length of Auxiliary Machinery 2, who had a dislocated hip and needed 70 stitches. The boat limped to [[La Maddalena]], Sardinia, to cut off the wings, remove loose equipment and shore up the hull. This was followed by a surface transit back to the states for repairs that required a year of work at [[Charleston Naval Shipyard]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], [[South Carolina]].

{{Expand section|history from 1977 to 1989|date=January 2010}}

From 1977 through 1988 ''Ray'' made numerous Mediterranean and North Atlantic deployments including an ICE-EX in 1986 where she surfaced at the North Pole along with sister ships USS ''Hawkbill'' (SSN-666) and USS ''Archerfish'' (SSN-678), the first time three attack submarines had ever surfaced at the pole together. In 1988 and again in 1991 she deployed north of the Arctic Circle, earning a Meritorious Unit Citation, Navy Expeditionary Medal and Arctic Service Ribbon each time.

''Ray'' participated in a six-month Mediterranean cruise as a part of the {{USS|Forrestal|CVA-59}} [[aircraft carrier battle group]] from October 1989 to April 1990. She participated in various exercises and underwater operations which included operating in the [[Gulf of Sidra]] inside what [[Libya]] claimed was the "Line of Death" that formed the boundary of Libyan [[territorial waters]], a territorial claim the United States did not recognize. She pulled into several liberty ports during this cruise, including [[La Maddalena]] in [[Italy]], [[Cannes]] and [[Toulon]] in [[France]], and [[Gibraltar]]. After her return to Charleston, she underwent routine repairs in drydock the Charleston Naval Shipyard.

{{Expand section|history from 1990 to 1993|date=January 2010}}

At the time of ''Ray'''s deactivation in 1992, she had earned five Navy Unit Citations, six Meritorious Unit Citations, six Navy Expeditionary Medals and at least three Arctic Service ribbons, making ''Ray'' one of the most-decorated attack submarines in the Atlantic Fleet.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
''Ray'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 16 March 1993 and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] at [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]] at [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], began on 15 March 2002 and was completed on 30 July 2003.

== References ==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/ray-ii.html}}
*{{Naval Vessel Register|hull=SSN-653}}
*{{navsource|08/08653}}
 
{{Sturgeon class submarine}}
{{1977 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray (Ssn-653)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:Sturgeon-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:1966 ships]]
[[Category:United States submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1977]]