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USS Shark (SSN 591)

Named after the fish, the USS SHARK was the fifth SKIPJACK - class nuclear-powered attack submarine and the seventh ship in the Navy to bear the name. Decommissioned on September 15, 1990, the SHARK entered the Navy’s Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., on October 1, 1995. Recycling was completed on June 28, 1996.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS SHARK. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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USS SHARK History:

USS SHARK was ordered on January 31, 1957, and laid down on February 24, 1958, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia. She was a SKIPJACK-class nuclear-powered attack submarine and the seventh United States Navy ship to bear the name Shark. Within the SKIPJACK-class, she belonged to the early generation of nuclear attack submarines that combined the submerged hydrodynamic form pioneered by USS ALBACORE (AGSS 569) with the endurance of the Westinghouse S5W nuclear propulsion plant. The class marked a decisive shift away from submarines optimized for surface cruising and toward boats designed primarily for sustained underwater speed, maneuverability, and long-range submerged operation. In Cold War terms, USS SHARK was built for a Navy that expected attack submarines to range across the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Caribbean, and North Atlantic approaches; to train surface ships and aircraft in antisubmarine warfare; to support fleet exercises; and to help define the practical use of high-speed nuclear submarines during a period of rapidly expanding Soviet undersea capability.

USS SHARK was launched on March 16, 1960, sponsored by Mrs. Louis Shane Jr. After fitting out at Newport News and completing preliminary shipyard preparations, she was commissioned on February 9, 1961, with Lieutenant Commander John F. Fagan Jr. in command. Her commissioning came at a time when the Navy's nuclear submarine force was still small enough that every new attack submarine contributed directly to tactical experimentation. USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571) had already shown what nuclear propulsion made possible, and USS SKIPJACK (SSN 585) had introduced the class design that USS SHARK now joined. USS SHARK therefore entered the fleet not as an experimental one-off, but as part of the first practical generation of high-performance American nuclear attack submarines.

After commissioning, USS SHARK completed preliminary testing and fitting out before sailing in May 1961 to the Caribbean for her shakedown cruise. The Caribbean provided deep-water operating areas, weapons ranges, and conditions suitable for testing machinery, sonar, diving, ship-control, and weapons systems. After shakedown, she returned to Newport News for post-shakedown repairs and final acceptance work. That availability corrected defects found during initial operations and prepared her for regular Atlantic Fleet service.

On August 12, 1961, USS SHARK departed for the Mediterranean Sea and duty with the Sixth Fleet. This cruise was one of the earliest nuclear-submarine deployments to the Mediterranean and is best understood as the first regular Sixth Fleet deployment of that kind by a nuclear-powered submarine, rather than as the first nuclear-powered submarine operation ever conducted in the Mediterranean. The distinction matters because USS SKIPJACK had already passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and operated in the Mediterranean during her 1959 shakedown cruise. USS SHARK's 1961 deployment nevertheless marked an important step in making nuclear-powered submarines part of routine Sixth Fleet operations. The deployment continued until November 14, 1961. The Mediterranean was a central Cold War theater: the United States maintained the Sixth Fleet there to support NATO, reassure allies, observe Soviet and regional naval activity, and remain available for crises around southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. A nuclear-powered attack submarine could remain submerged for long periods, reposition rapidly, and act either as an operational platform or as a demanding target for allied antisubmarine forces. During the September-October phase of the cruise, USS SHARK visited Athens, Greece, using Piraeus as the port. During that visit, she hosted members of the Greek royal family for a cruise that included both surface and submerged operations. The event combined diplomacy with a demonstration of nuclear-submarine capability at a moment when American alliance relationships in the eastern Mediterranean were of major strategic importance.

After returning from the Mediterranean, USS SHARK resumed Atlantic Fleet operations. On January 29, 1962, she proceeded to Bermuda for two weeks of type training. Bermuda was a common operating area for Atlantic submarines because of its location, ocean conditions, and usefulness for controlled training. From March 15 to May 23, 1962, USS SHARK deployed to the North Atlantic. During that deployment, she made a one-week visit to Portsmouth, England. The deployment placed her in waters central to NATO's maritime planning, especially the routes connecting North America with Europe and the northern approaches through which Soviet submarines could enter the Atlantic. On August 25, 1962, USS SHARK departed again for another two months in the North Atlantic. After the return trip to Norfolk, Virginia, she entered an availability that lasted until January 7, 1963.

During 1963, USS SHARK continued Atlantic Fleet work. From August 7 to October 24, 1963, she participated in SUBFALLEX in the North Atlantic. During that exercise period, she spent one week at Faslane, Scotland, a location that became increasingly important to allied submarine and strategic naval activity. SUBFALLEX placed USS SHARK in a NATO-oriented antisubmarine warfare setting, using her speed, submerged endurance, and acoustic characteristics to test the ability of ships, aircraft, and other submarines to detect and prosecute a modern nuclear-powered target. The remainder of 1963 was divided among in-port periods, local operations, and antisubmarine warfare exercises in the Caribbean.

On March 22, 1964, USS SHARK departed Norfolk to participate in SUBSPRINGEX and returned on May 21. The exercise was another Atlantic Fleet event focused on submarine and antisubmarine tactics, and it took place during a period of strong Navy interest in improving the ability to locate and track Soviet submarines across wide ocean areas. On June 25, 1964, USS SHARK sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, for her first shipyard overhaul. That overhaul lasted until June 7, 1965. While she was in the yard, on April 7, 1965, she was presented the Navy Unit Commendation for service from April 5 to May 9, 1964. The award recognized work of value to the Navy in developing antisubmarine warfare capabilities. The award period coincided with the kind of fleet exercise and tactical evaluation work for which early nuclear attack submarines were repeatedly used.

USS SHARK put to sea for post-overhaul trials on June 7, 1965. About a month later, she suffered damage to the forward oxygen system, requiring additional repairs at Charleston. On October 9, she successfully completed sea trials and sailed to Key West, Florida, for two weeks of torpedo tube tests and a wire-guided torpedo development project. That work placed her in a technical evaluation role as the Navy refined submarine weapons and fire-control procedures during the early nuclear era. Wire-guided torpedoes were becoming central to attack-submarine combat capability, and testing from a SKIPJACK-class submarine helped connect weapons development with the operating characteristics of fast nuclear boats.

USS SHARK returned to Norfolk on October 25, 1965. From then until January 8, 1966, she conducted type training, individual ship exercises, and antisubmarine warfare exercises. She then operated in the Caribbean until February 7. In July and October 1966, she returned to Caribbean waters for further trials. These activities formed the regular operating cycle of an Atlantic Fleet nuclear attack submarine: short training periods, weapons and sonar work, fleet exercises, readiness inspections, and periodic use as a high-performance target for surface and air antisubmarine forces.

On January 7, 1967, USS SHARK stood out of Norfolk for the North Atlantic and conducted special operations until March 24. Two weeks of this period were spent at Holy Loch, Scotland. Holy Loch was a major American submarine support location in the United Kingdom and a key node in Cold War submarine operations. On April 12, 1967, USS SHARK received her second Navy Unit Commendation for 1966 operations that had contributed to the Navy's understanding of antisubmarine warfare. On May 16, 1967, she departed Norfolk for Halifax, Nova Scotia, becoming the first nuclear-powered ship to visit a Canadian port. During that visit and associated operating period, she worked with Royal Canadian Navy antisubmarine warfare units before returning to Norfolk. The Halifax visit had significance beyond normal port-call routine because nuclear-powered warship visits could raise public, political, and safety questions in allied countries; it also reflected close U.S.-Canadian cooperation in North Atlantic defense.

Also in 1967, USS SHARK was used in a Navy Department educational film for training and public-relations purposes. Such films helped explain submarine operations, nuclear propulsion, and the professional routines of the submarine force to Navy audiences and, when appropriate, to the public. On June 11, 1967, USS SHARK began preparations for her first refueling period at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. She did not put to sea again until March 1968. This refueling period was a major milestone in the life of an early nuclear submarine, renewing reactor core life and allowing the Navy to address mechanical, electrical, hull, sonar, weapons, and habitability work accumulated during years of intensive service. After completing the refueling period and returning to sea in March 1968, USS SHARK spent the remainder of 1968 and 1969 in local and special operations.

On January 1, 1970, USS SHARK entered drydock at Norfolk for another major shipyard period. She remained there until August 9, 1971. This long availability kept her out of the operational cycle through all of 1970 and much of 1971. After leaving drydock, she spent the remainder of 1971 and part of 1972 in refresher training and trials along the East Coast. Those trials and training periods were necessary after a long yard availability, allowing the crew and ship to regain operational proficiency and allowing the Navy to verify machinery, sonar, weapons, and ship-control systems before extended deployment.

From May 31 to November 19, 1972, USS SHARK deployed to the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet. This deployment occurred during a period of continuing Cold War naval competition in the Mediterranean, increasing Soviet naval presence in the region, and heightened regional instability linked to the Middle East and southern Europe. The Vietnam War still shaped many Navy commitments elsewhere, but the Mediterranean remained a central operating area for NATO maritime forces.

After returning from the 1972 deployment, USS SHARK continued Atlantic Fleet operations. She remained in the Atlantic submarine operating cycle, conducting training, upkeep, trials, and exercises consistent with her role as a nuclear-powered attack submarine. In 1974, she took part in another Atlantic Fleet deployment before proceeding to Pascagoula, Mississippi, in August for reactor refueling and overhaul. The Pascagoula overhaul removed her from regular operations for more than two years. That long refueling and overhaul period renewed reactor capability and addressed the extensive maintenance demands of a submarine that had already spent more than a decade in active service.

When USS SHARK returned to sea after the Pascagoula overhaul, her home port was changed to New London, Connecticut. This move placed her in the Groton-based submarine community and aligned her with the Atlantic Fleet submarine training, deployment, and support structure centered on New London. By this point, the SKIPJACK-class was no longer the Navy's newest nuclear attack-submarine design. Other classes had advanced the Navy's submarine technology, but USS SHARK remained operationally useful for exercises, deployments, weapons testing, and missions compatible with her age and capabilities.

In 1978, USS SHARK had a particularly active year. She participated in UNITAS exercises with South American navies and also deployed to the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet. UNITAS was the long-running series of exercises conducted between the United States Navy and South American navies, intended to improve interoperability, antisubmarine warfare skills, communications procedures, and regional maritime cooperation. For a nuclear-powered attack submarine, UNITAS provided opportunities to train with allied surface ships and aircraft in varied waters and to serve as a realistic target for antisubmarine forces. Her Mediterranean work the same year returned her to the Sixth Fleet environment of allied operations, Soviet naval presence, and regional crisis readiness.

In 1980, USS SHARK participated in exercises with Atlantic Fleet forces and the Royal Canadian Navy. This work continued the pattern established by her earlier Halifax visit and North Atlantic operations: cooperation with Canadian maritime forces in waters central to NATO's North Atlantic defense. The North Atlantic remained a critical theater because it contained reinforcement routes between North America and Europe and because Soviet submarines could use northern approaches to reach patrol areas. Exercises involving Canadian units allowed allied navies to practice detection, tracking, and coordination against submarines under realistic conditions.

From October 1, 1981, to June 2, 1983, USS SHARK underwent overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. This West Coast yard period was another major maintenance interval late in her career. The overhaul restored and updated systems needed for continued service, and after completion she returned to New London. The early 1980s were a period of renewed Cold War naval emphasis, with the United States expanding fleet readiness and forward operations while the Soviet Navy remained a major planning concern. Even though the SKIPJACK-class boats were aging, they could still contribute to fleet exercises, tactical testing, and operational commitments.

In 1984, USS SHARK became the first United States nuclear-powered submarine to exercise with a French nuclear-powered submarine. The exercise was significant because France maintained an independent nuclear submarine force and a distinct defense policy within the broader Western strategic environment. Cooperation between an American nuclear attack submarine and a French nuclear submarine reflected a level of allied undersea coordination in a period when the North Atlantic, Mediterranean, and eastern Atlantic remained important areas of Cold War naval planning.

During the mid-1980s, USS SHARK continued operating from the Atlantic Fleet submarine structure. On August 22, 1986, Commander Russell M. Carr assumed command. Under Carr, USS SHARK completed deployments to the Mediterranean and to South America for UNITAS XXIX, participated in several fleet exercises including Solid Shield and MARCOT, conducted a successful Mark 48 service weapons test, and began the process that led to inactivation at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The Mediterranean deployment again placed her in a theater where Sixth Fleet forces monitored Soviet naval activity, supported NATO, and responded to regional developments. UNITAS XXIX continued her association with South American multinational exercises and reflected the Navy's continuing use of older nuclear attack submarines in cooperative training, especially where realistic antisubmarine targets were valuable. Solid Shield was a major joint and fleet exercise series designed to test coordinated operations, while MARCOT was a Canadian Maritime Command operational training exercise that involved allied maritime forces and aircraft. In June 1986, USS SHARK participated in MARCOT 1/86 off Bermuda with British ships and U.S. Navy P-3 aircraft. That exercise matched well with her long-standing North Atlantic and allied antisubmarine warfare role.

By the late 1980s, USS SHARK was among the last remaining SKIPJACK-class submarines in active service. The class had been revolutionary when introduced, but by then the LOS ANGELES-class attack submarines formed the main body of the Navy's modern SSN force. Older SKIPJACK-class boats required increasing maintenance and lacked the sensors, quieting, combat-system sophistication, and growth margin of newer designs. Even so, USS SHARK remained active long enough to complete final exercises, weapons testing, and deployments before entering the deactivation process.

On February 9, 1990, a change of command ceremony was held at Alden Park, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. Rear Admiral David R. Oliver Jr., Commander Submarine Group Five, delivered remarks. Commander Russell M. Carr was relieved by Commander William R. Large III. At that time, USS SHARK had already commenced inactivation at Mare Island. The ceremony also summarized her late-career record, including Mediterranean and South American deployments, UNITAS XXIX, Solid Shield, MARCOT, and a successful Mark 48 service weapons test. It also noted her accumulated awards, including the Atlantic Fleet Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award, two Navy Unit Commendations, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, the Atlantic Fleet Golden Anchor Award, and two nominations for the Atlantic Fleet Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy.

USS SHARK was deactivated in commission and formally decommissioned on September 15, 1990. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on the same date. She was the last SKIPJACK-class submarine to be taken out of service. Her active career had lasted nearly twenty-nine and a half years. After decommissioning, ex-SHARK entered the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, on October 1, 1995. Recycling was completed on June 28, 1996.

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