Search the Site with

General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

Accidents aboard the Ship

History

to end of page

USS Pollack (SSN 603)

One of the PERMIT - class nuclear-powered attack submarines, the USS POLLACK was the second ship in the Navy to bear the name of the fish. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on March 1, 1989, the USS POLLACK later entered the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. Recycling was completed on February 17, 1995.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

Crew List:

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

• Click here to view the list.

back to top

go to the end of the page

• Click here to see which USS POLLACK memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

back to top

go to the end of the page

Accidents aboard USS POLLACK:

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS POLLACK History:

USS POLLACK was contracted on March 3, 1959, and laid down on March 14, 1960, at New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey. She was a PERMIT-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, originally part of the THRESHER design line before the class name shifted after the loss of USS THRESHER (SSN 593) in April 1963. She was the second United States Navy ship to bear the name Pollack, following the World War II submarine USS POLLACK (SS 180). Her class embodied the Navy's move beyond the faster but less deeply diving SKIPJACK type toward quieter, deeper-diving attack submarines with improved sonar, amidships torpedo tubes, and a large bow sonar installation. USS POLLACK was therefore built for the central Cold War attack-submarine tasks of antisubmarine warfare, weapons development, ocean surveillance, fleet exercises, and long submerged operations against a rapidly expanding Soviet submarine force.

USS POLLACK was launched on March 17, 1962, sponsored by Mrs. John O. Pastore, wife of Senator John O. Pastore of Rhode Island. After fitting out and testing, she was commissioned on May 26, 1964, with Commander Harvey E. Lyon in command. She reported to Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and became a unit of Submarine Squadron Four, homeported at Charleston, South Carolina. Her first operating months followed the normal pattern for a new nuclear submarine but also reflected her class's developmental role. After shakedown in the Caribbean, she entered a six-month evaluation as an antisubmarine warfare weapon. This early evaluation period tested the practical value of a quiet, deep-diving nuclear attack submarine in the Navy's evolving antisubmarine doctrine. The Caribbean offered deep-water operating areas, weapons ranges, and a controlled environment for sonar, torpedo, fire-control, ship-control, and engineering evaluation. During this early operating period, she was active at New London, Fort Lauderdale, and San Juan in connection with shakedown, acoustic trials, and early Atlantic Fleet work.

Most of 1965 was spent at sea. USS POLLACK evaluated new antisubmarine warfare tactics, participated in destroyer-versus-submarine evaluation work, and practiced an anti-shipping mission. These tasks reflected the mixed role of the PERMIT-class boats. They were operational warships, but they were also test and evaluation platforms for the Navy's attempt to solve the growing problem of Soviet submarine operations. A nuclear attack submarine such as USS POLLACK could act as a hunter, but in exercises she could also serve as a difficult target for destroyers, aircraft, and other submarines trying to detect, track, and attack a modern submerged opponent.

From January through March 1966, USS POLLACK underwent post-shakedown availability at Charleston Naval Shipyard. After brief sea trials, she began operations to evaluate the capability of the 594-class nuclear attack submarines in coordinated antisubmarine warfare. In June 1966, she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for earlier work that reflected the professional skill, resourcefulness, and technical performance of her crew. During October and November 1966, she took part in additional operations intended to test the antisubmarine weapons systems of the PERMIT-class boats. These operations occurred while the broader Navy was heavily engaged in Vietnam but still strongly focused on the Atlantic and Mediterranean submarine threat posed by the Soviet Navy.

In January 1967, USS POLLACK operated as a test vehicle for several research and development projects sponsored by the Chief of Naval Operations. In March, she successfully completed weapons-system accuracy trials at the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range near St. Croix in the Virgin Islands and then launched two exercise Subroc missiles. Subroc was a torpedo-tube-launched antisubmarine missile intended to deliver a weapon rapidly against a distant submarine contact. Its use aboard PERMIT-class submarines reflected the Navy's effort to combine improved sonar detection, fire-control calculation, and long-range underwater attack capability. During much of late spring and summer, USS POLLACK again spent extended periods at sea conducting operations. In September, she operated out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for additional weapons tests. On December 11, 1967, Commander D. D. Boyle relieved Commander R. R. McDonald as commanding officer. On the same day, the ship received a second Navy Unit Commendation. The public summary of her nomination for Our Navy magazine's "1967 Ship of the Year" noted that most of her operations, and all significant ones, were classified, but that her accomplishments were known to senior Navy leadership.

On March 1, 1968, USS POLLACK entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul. Public summaries also associate that date with her move into the Norfolk-based Atlantic Fleet structure and her later connection with Submarine Squadron Ten, the first all-nuclear attack submarine squadron in the Navy. The overhaul lasted until June 12, 1969. This yard period removed her from the normal operating cycle during a time when submarine maintenance, reactor safety, quieting, and weapons-system reliability were major concerns across the nuclear submarine force. After the overhaul, she became part of the New London-based Submarine Squadron Ten, aligning her with one of the Navy's most important nuclear attack-submarine operating communities.

From July through October 1969, USS POLLACK resumed intensive training. She conducted torpedo exercises, sound trials, and weapons-system accuracy trials at the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range near St. Croix. The first half of November was spent in upkeep, followed by independent operations. She returned to New London in mid-January 1970. These months were a post-overhaul return-to-service period in which the crew and ship rebuilt proficiency, tested weapons and sonar systems, and reentered the Atlantic Fleet operational cycle.

In April 1970, USS POLLACK received sudden orders to join the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Before departure, emergency repairs were made to correct hull damage inflicted by a tug. She departed for Rota, Spain, on May 1, 1970. The deployment placed her in the Mediterranean during a period when the Sixth Fleet remained central to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's southern maritime posture. Soviet naval activity in the Mediterranean had increased during the 1960s, and American nuclear attack submarines were important for surveillance, antisubmarine readiness, and the ability to respond quietly to regional crises. USS POLLACK returned to New London approximately six months later.

February 1971 began a demanding sequence of operations. USS POLLACK prepared for deployment and departed New London in the middle of the month. The schedule called for a short stop at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, followed by local operations out of Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. Roosevelt Roads served as a major Caribbean operating and support base, giving Atlantic Fleet submarines access to training areas and fleet exercises. In mid-March, USS POLLACK departed the Puerto Rico area and began the transatlantic passage. On arrival at Rota, Spain, she received new operational orders and a new commanding officer. On April 10, 1971, Commander Scott A. Chester relieved Commander D. D. Boyle. With her new commanding officer embarked, USS POLLACK conducted a series of operations in the Atlantic, completed two short refits at Rota, and then returned to New London in early May.

The tempo remained high after her return. In June 1971, she began an upkeep period while preparing for an Operational Reactor Safeguards Examination scheduled for July. After passing that examination, she shifted training emphasis toward the Navy Technical Proficiency Inspection scheduled in August. She then departed New London for the Tongue of the Ocean in the Bahamas for her first Subroc missile shot in more than four years. After practice approaches and battle-stations drills, the missile was fired, and the exercise again demonstrated the capabilities of the nuclear attack submarine as an antisubmarine weapons platform. On returning to New London, USS POLLACK found inspection teams waiting on the pier and immediately began preparations for another Mediterranean deployment scheduled for September.

On September 17, 1971, USS POLLACK departed New London for a three-month deployment. The first two weeks were spent in the Caribbean participating in Rimex 1-72, a fleet exercise. She then crossed the Atlantic and tied up alongside USS HOLLAND (AS 32) in Rota on October 10. After two days of upkeep, she began operations in the Mediterranean. The deployment included two stops at Augusta Bay, Sicily, and two short stops at Naples, Italy. While operating in the Naples area, USS POLLACK embarked Rear Admiral C. D. Grojean, Commander Submarine Flotilla Eight, for four days. Despite a short extension in the Mediterranean, she returned to Rota, took on stores, crossed the Atlantic, and arrived back at New London on December 21, 1971, in time for Christmas.

After a short post-deployment rest period, USS POLLACK began a thirty-day availability in early 1972, spending part of the time alongside USS FULTON (AS 11) and part in floating drydock at Submarine Base New London. During that drydock availability, she was fitted with special equipment and bow modifications for Project Snipe. In the second week of February 1972, she again steamed down the Thames River, this time bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to conduct two weeks of Project Snipe operations and a Captor mine exercise. These activities reflected the submarine force's broader interest in special equipment, mine warfare, and tactical experimentation. The following month and a half was spent almost entirely in pre-overhaul upkeep, except for one weekly operation that was cut short by a lube oil pump failure. The crew prepared for off-loading the ship, beginning shipyard work, and moving dependents to Charleston, which would serve as the new home port during the overhaul.

On April 24, 1972, USS POLLACK departed New London for Charleston Naval Shipyard, beginning a long period away from her previous home port. In January 1973, she remained in overhaul at Charleston. In September 1973, she completed reactor refueling. The overhaul continued beyond 1973, and the year also produced a notable personnel statistic: USS POLLACK recorded a seventy-eight percent overall reenlistment rate, one of the highest in the Atlantic Fleet. In late December 1974, she began sea trials, marking the completion of the long overhaul period. Orders then directed her to proceed to a new home port, San Diego, California, after overhaul and to become a unit of Submarine Squadron Three.

USS POLLACK began 1975 by completing overhaul, post-overhaul shakedown, and local operations. She then transited through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. On April 3, 1975, she arrived at San Diego, where she was greeted by Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Commander Submarine Squadron Three. The transfer marked a major change in her career. She had been an Atlantic Fleet submarine, serving from Charleston, Norfolk, New London, Rota, and Mediterranean waters; now she became part of the Pacific Fleet's San Diego-based attack-submarine force. In August and September 1975, she spent six weeks at Pearl Harbor participating in local operations, then returned to San Diego in October. On October 28, 1975, Commander John W. Asher III relieved Commander Scott A. Chester as commanding officer.

USS POLLACK began 1976 with Exercise Valiant Heritage, local operations, and pre-overseas-movement upkeep before an extended western Pacific deployment. During that deployment she visited Yokosuka, Guam, Pusan, Chinhae, Subic Bay, and Hong Kong. The deployment placed her in the main Pacific support network used by United States submarines during the Cold War: Japan, Korea, Guam, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. These ports supported allied cooperation, upkeep, crew rest, and forward operations during a period when the Soviet Pacific Fleet was expanding and when the United States continued to maintain a major presence across East Asia after the end of direct American combat operations in Vietnam. On August 25, 1976, while in the eastern channel of the Tsushima Strait, USS POLLACK snagged the nets of Japanese fishing boats. Two boats cut away and abandoned their nets. USS POLLACK suffered no major damage, and no damage to the fishing boats was reported. She returned to San Diego on November 11, 1976.

USS POLLACK began 1977 with local operations, followed by a refit alongside USS SPERRY (AS 12) at San Diego. In March, she steamed to the Pacific Northwest to participate in weapons-system accuracy tests. While in the area, she visited Bremerton, Washington, and Nanoose, British Columbia. In May, she returned to San Diego for upkeep and a drydock availability in SAN ONOFRE (ARD 30). In July, she performed local operations, including a visit to Santa Catalina Island. She completed the year with local operations and preparations for another western Pacific deployment. For fiscal year 1977, USS POLLACK received the Battle Efficiency "E", reflecting overall combat readiness and performance within her squadron.

On January 16, 1978, USS POLLACK departed San Diego for a six-month deployment. She traveled by way of Pearl Harbor to the western Pacific and participated in Readex 1-78 before arriving at Subic Bay. During the deployment, she also visited Hong Kong and had an upkeep period at Guam. She participated in Sea Siam exercises with Thai forces, giving the submarine an allied-training role in Southeast Asian waters. On April 24, 1978, Commander Michael M. Raggett relieved Commander John W. Asher III as commanding officer. USS POLLACK returned home to San Diego in July after a visit to Pearl Harbor. Afterward she completed upkeep and participated in local operations in September and October. A dependents' cruise was held on November 3, followed by another upkeep period. In December, USS POLLACK participated in Varsity Lance, also known as Fleetex 1-79.

USS POLLACK began 1979 with local operations and then changed home port to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, to begin an overhaul period. She spent the entire years of 1980 and 1981 at Mare Island, where she received major submarine-safety modifications, a new sonar system, and a new fire-control system. This modernization was part of the Navy's effort to keep older PERMIT-class submarines operationally useful as newer STURGEON- and LOS ANGELES-class submarines increasingly carried the front-line burden of attack-submarine operations. The work renewed her safety, acoustic, and combat-system capability and prepared her for another period of intensive Pacific Fleet service.

After completion of the Mare Island overhaul and post-overhaul trials, USS POLLACK returned to San Diego, rebuilt operational proficiency, and prepared for another western Pacific deployment. On March 13, 1982, Commander Richard J. Field relieved Commander Michael M. Raggett as commanding officer. USS POLLACK deployed to the western Pacific from June 28 to December 24, 1982. During that deployment, she conducted three special operations, participated in major fleet exercises, and visited Yokosuka, Chinhae, Guam, and Subic Bay. The cruise marked her return to sustained forward service after the long Mare Island modernization.

USS POLLACK operated out of the local San Diego area throughout 1983. In February, she completed an Operational Reactor Safeguards Examination and received an overall grade of excellent. In March, a Defense Nuclear Security Inspection also resulted in outstanding grades. From March 21 to May 9, she participated in Fleetex 83-1. The exercise involved six submarines and three carrier battle groups and took USS POLLACK from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, then to Yokosuka, and back to San Diego. This placed her in a large-scale fleet environment where submarines trained in coordination with carrier forces and where surface, air, and undersea units could practice detection, screening, and attack procedures. In July and August, USS POLLACK completed the first Selected Restricted Availability conducted in San Diego. For the remainder of 1983, she participated in local operations.

USS POLLACK operated out of the San Diego area throughout 1984 and deployed twice to the western Pacific. From February through April, she conducted special operations. During that trip, she made two port calls at Yokosuka, Japan. After returning from that deployment, she conducted local operations in the San Diego area. In May, she completed another Operational Reactor Safeguards Examination with an overall grade of excellent. Near the end of October, she again deployed to the western Pacific, making only one port stop at Yokosuka. Operations in the western Pacific continued into 1985. USS POLLACK was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for operations conducted during this period.

From January through April 1985, USS POLLACK continued the deployment that had begun the previous October. She conducted upkeep at Subic Bay and made port calls at Hong Kong and Yokosuka. She returned to San Diego in late April and resumed local operations in the southern California area. In July, Commander Richard J. Field was relieved by Commander Prentice L. House. A two-month Selected Restricted Availability was conducted in August and September and included a drydocking. In November, she made a port call at Bangor, Washington. Local operations occupied the remainder of 1985.

From January through June 1986, USS POLLACK conducted local operations in the southern California area. From June through December, she deployed to the western Pacific to conduct special operations. During the deployment, she conducted upkeep at Subic Bay and made port calls at Sasebo, Yokosuka, and Chinhae. These ports again placed her within the established Cold War Pacific support network in Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea. The deployment took place during a period of renewed United States naval pressure on the Soviet Union and continued concern over Soviet submarine and surface activity in the Pacific. USS POLLACK returned to San Diego in December 1986.

USS POLLACK remained in the San Diego local operating area until August 1987. She then deployed to the northern Pacific from August to October for special operations. The northern Pacific was a major Cold War operating area because of Soviet naval bases, submarine routes, and patrol areas linked to the Soviet Pacific Fleet. After returning from the deployment, USS POLLACK began preparing for inactivation and for transfer to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo.

USS POLLACK arrived at Mare Island on November 21, 1988, and then entered the final inactivation and decommissioning phase. At Mare Island she joined Submarine Group Five, and her crew became the decommissioning crew, responsible for removing and documenting reusable equipment, preparing systems for shutdown, and supporting the controlled defueling and deactivation process required for a nuclear-powered submarine. A public listing of deactivation material gives November 16, 1988, as the deactivation-ceremony date, while the formal decommissioning and striking took place later. This distinction is normal in the final months of a submarine's service life: a boat could be deactivated operationally or ceremonially before formal decommissioning and removal from the Naval Vessel Register.

USS POLLACK was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in ceremonies at Mare Island Naval Shipyard on March 1, 1989. Her active career had lasted almost twenty-five years. After decommissioning, ex-POLLACK entered the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, on February 9, 1993. Recycling was completed on February 17, 1995.

back to top

Back to Submarines list.

Back to ships list.

Back to selection page.

Back to 1^st page.