View source for USS Skate (SSN-578)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Skate}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2009}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= USS Skate (SSN-578);0857816.jpg
|Ship caption=''Skate'' with an ice pack behind her
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1986}}
|Ship name= USS ''Skate''
|Ship ordered=18 July 1955
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder= [[Electric Boat]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship laid down= 21 July 1955<ref name="WA" />
|Ship launched= 16 May 1957<ref name="WA" />
|Ship sponsor= [[Alice Hanauer Strauss|Mrs Lewis L. Strauss]]<ref name="WA" />
|Ship commissioned= 23 December 1957
|Ship decommissioned= 12 September 1986
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck= 30 October 1986
|Ship homeport= New London, Connecticut, Submarine Tender USS Fulton (AS-11)
|Ship identification=
|Ship motto=
|Ship honors=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate= Disposed of by submarine recycling 6 March 1995
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Skate|submarine}}
|Ship type=
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|2550|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|2848|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length= {{convert|267|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|25|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft=
|Ship propulsion=[[S3W reactor]]<ref>[http://navysite.de/ssn/ssn578.htm USS Skate (SSN 578)]</ref>
|Ship speed=*{{convert|15.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|18|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship complement=8 officers and 76 men
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=8× {{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s (6 forward, 2 aft)
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''Skate'' (SSN-578)''' was the third [[submarine]] of the [[United States Navy]] named for the [[skate (fish)|skate]], a type of [[ray (fish)|ray]], was the [[lead ship]] of the {{sclass|Skate|submarine|4}} of [[Nuclear marine propulsion|nuclear]] [[submarine]]s. She was the third nuclear submarine commissioned, the first to make a completely submerged trans-Atlantic crossing, the second submarine to reach the [[North Pole]], and the first to surface there.

==Construction and commissioning==
The contract to build ''Skate'' was awarded to the [[Electric Boat]] division of [[General Dynamics]] on 18 July 1955, and her [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid]] in [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], [[Connecticut]], on 21 July 1955. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 16 May 1957, sponsored by [[Alice Hanauer Strauss]], wife of [[Lewis Strauss|Lewis L. Strauss]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 23 December 1957 with [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[James F. Calvert]] in command.

==Operational history==
[[File:USS_Skate_-_0857806.jpg|thumb|left|USS ''Skate'' in August 1958, possibly at Drifting Ice Station Alfa]]
[[File:Bezoek van de Skale Amerikaans atoomduikboot aan Rotterdam, Bestanddeelnr 909-4076.jpg|thumb|left|USS ''Skate'' in the Dutch port of [[Rotterdam]], March 1958]]
''Skate'' conducted shakedown training out of [[New London, Connecticut]] until 29 January 1958, when she cruised to the [[Bermuda]] operating area, then returned to her home port on 8 February.  Sixteen days later, the nuclear powered submarine set a course for the [[Portland Harbour|Isle of Portland]], England. Before returning home, she had also visited ports in France and the [[Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB19:000861013:mpeg21:a00041 | title=Het vaderland | date=15 March 1958 }}</ref>

=== First visit to North Pole ===
On 30 July, ''Skate'' sought the Arctic where she operated under the ice for 10 days. During this time, she surfaced nine times through the ice, navigated over {{convert|2400|mi|km}} under it, and on 11 August, 9:47&nbsp;pm EDT
<ref name="Autonetics INS">{{cite book
  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1T0NbffwteoC&pg=PA71
  |title=Steel Boats, Iron Men: History of the U.S. Submarine Force
  |last=Rindskopf|first=Mike H.
  |publisher=Turner Publishing Company
  |date=1994
  |isbn=978-1-56311-081-8
  |page=71
}}</ref> (the week after {{USS|Nautilus|SSN-571|6}}) became the second sea ship to reach the North Pole. ''Skate'' was unable to surface precisely at the Pole on the August voyage due to dangerous ice conditions as noted in the captain's 1960 book, ''Surface at the Pole: The Extraordinary Voyages of the USS'' Skate,<ref name="Calvert, August 1958" >{{Cite book
  |title=Surface at the Pole
  |last=Calvert  |first=James, Vice Admiral USN Ret.
  |orig-year=1960
  |year=1996
  |publisher=Bluejacket Books  |location=Annapolis, Maryland
  |isbn=1-55750-119-X
  |pages=93–95
}}</ref> where Calvert said, "Seldom had the ice seemed so heavy and so thick as it did in the immediate vicinity of the pole. For days we had searched in vain for a suitable opening to surface in."{{sfnp|Calvert|1996| page=92 }} The closest was to make radio contact at the surface from a [[polynya]] around 30&nbsp;[[nautical mile|nm]] away, but not to surface fully owing to the risk of damage from ice.<ref name="Calvert, August 1958" /> ''Skate'' did manage to surface and make contact with [[Fletcher's Ice Island#History 1946.E2.80.931965|Drifting Ice Station Alpha]] at 85ºN, 300&nbsp;nm away.{{sfnp|Calvert|1996| page=101–108 }}

After being denied access to visit Copenhagen in Denmark, she sailed into Bergen, Norway on 23 August. There she was inspected by king [[Olav V of Norway]], US ambassador [[Frances E. Willis]] and minister of defence [[Nils Handal]].<ref>[[NRK]] [https://tv.nrk.no/serie/filmavisen/1958/FMAA58003658/avspiller Filmavisen 4 September 1958]</ref> The submarine made port calls in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France before returning to New London on 25 September 1958. In recognition of the dangerous and historic feat, the ''Skate'' and its crew were given the [[Navy Unit Commendation]] award for "... braving the hazards of the polar ice pack...."{{citation_needed|date=August 2019}}

=== Second visit to North Pole ===
While the ''Skate'' was unable to surface on its first voyage to the pole, on 17 March 1959, she became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole. Calvert described the historic moment in his book, saying, "Slowly we blew the tanks and the ''Skate'' moved reluctantly upward. It was apparent we were under heavier ice here than any we had experienced before." While at the pole, Calvert and the crew planted an American flag in a cairn they built out of ice blocks, and put a waterproof container in the cairn with a note commemorating the event. The crew also held a ceremony for the late Arctic explorer [[Hubert Wilkins|Sir Hubert Wilkins]] and committed his ashes at the pole.{{sfnp|Calvert|1996| pages=184–186 }} In 1931, Sir Hubert had conducted an Arctic expedition in the disarmed research submarine ''Nautilus'' (ex-{{USS|O-12|SS-73|6}}). After reaching the Pole, the ''Skate'' continued its mission to pioneer arctic operations during periods of extreme cold and maximum ice thickness. 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 designed to strengthen American antisubmarine defenses.<ref>{{cite web
  | url=http://library.osu.edu/projects/under-the-north-pole/afterwards.html
  | title=Afterwards: USS Skate surfacing at the North Pole, March 17, 1959. Wilkins 35-5-1.
  | publisher= Ohio State University Libraries Exhibition Under the North Pole
}}</ref>

[[File:USS Skate (SSN-578) surfaced in Arctic - 1959.jpg|thumb|USS ''Skate'' surfaced in Arctic – 1959]]
''Skate'' returned to General Dynamics in January 1961 for a regular [[Refueling and Overhaul|overhaul and to have her reactor refueled]] for the first time.<ref name="WA" /> She put to sea in August and, for the next 11 months, conducted exercises to increase the operational readiness of her crew.{{citation_needed|date=August 2019}}

=== Third visit to North Pole ===
On 7 July 1962, ''Skate'' again set course towards the [[North Pole]].  Five days later, {{USS|Seadragon|SSN-584|6}}, did likewise from [[Pearl Harbor]]. The two submarines made their rendezvous on 31 July. After meeting, they operated together for over a week. Both submarines surfaced at the North Pole on 2 August and official greetings and insignia of Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet and Submarine Force Pacific Fleet were exchanged.{{citation_needed|date=August 2019}}

=== Later years ===
''Skate'' returned to New London and performed fleet and local operations for the next several years. She entered the [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] on 28 April 1965, the first nuclear submarine overhauled there, for nuclear refueling and installation of the [[SUBSAFE]] package. ''Skate'' was the first submarine to finish this major conversion program, which was instituted after the loss of {{USS|Thresher|SSN-593|6}} in 1963. The process was not completed until September 1967.<ref name="WA" />

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.{{citation_needed|date=August 2019}}

In October 1968, ''Skate'' was deployed to the [[Mediterranean]] where she operated with the Sixth 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, she began her third regular overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and did not return to New London until 17 November 1973. In August 1974, ''Skate'' operated as a unit of the Atlantic Fleet.{{citation_needed|date=August 2019}}

In late 1977, ''Skate'' transferred to Pearl Harbor, where she joined the other three ''Skate''-class submarines as a member of Submarine Squadron 7.{{citation_needed|date=August 2019}}

=== Decommissioning ===
''Skate'' was decommissioned on 12 September 1986, stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 30 October 1986, and disposed of by [[Ship-Submarine recycling program|submarine recycling]] at [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]] on 6 March 1995.{{citation_needed|date=August 2019}}

==Awards==
*{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=U.S. Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Navy Unit Commendation]] with one star (2 awards)
*{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Meritorious Unit Commendation]] with two stars (3 awards)

''Skate''′s first Navy Unit Commendation was for the period 9 through 12 August 1958 and the second for the period 4 March through 6 April 1959. Her Meritorious Unit Commendations were for the periods 24 March through 15 April 1969, 12 October through 18 November 1970, and 26 February through 9 March 1971.<ref>US Navy Unit Awards Webpage</ref>

==References==
{{Commons category|USS Skate (SSN-578)}}
{{reflist|colwidth=35em
  |refs=
<ref name="WA" >{{Cite web
  |title=Welcome Aboard USS Skate
  |url=http://www.navsource.net/archives/08/pdf/0857821.pdf
  |publisher=USN
|website=NavSource}}</ref>
}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/skate-ii.html}}

{{Skate class submarine}}
{{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skate (Ssn-578)}}
[[Category:Skate-class submarines]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Exploration of the Arctic]]
[[Category:Arctic exploration vessels]]
[[Category:1957 ships]]
[[Category:20th century in the Arctic]]
[[Category:North Pole]]