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USS Sunfish (SSN 649)

USS SUNFISH was the seventh STURGEON - class fast attack submarine and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on March 31, 1997, the SUNFISH subsequently entered the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. Recycling of the submarine was finished on October 31, 1997.

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Crew List:

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

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USS SUNFISH History:

USS SUNFISH was the second United States Navy ship to bear the name SUNFISH and the seventh STURGEON-class nuclear-powered attack submarine. The contract for USS SUNFISH was awarded on March 26, 1963, to the General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division at Quincy, Massachusetts. Her keel was laid there on January 15, 1965. She was one of only two nuclear-powered submarines built at the former Fore River Shipyard after a long gap in submarine construction there, the other being USS WHALE (SSN 638). The STURGEON-class design grew from the earlier THRESHER/PERMIT line and reflected the United States Navy's post-THRESHER (SSN 593) emphasis on submarine safety, quality assurance, seawater-system integrity, quieting, improved sonar performance, and survivability. USS SUNFISH was launched at Quincy on October 14, 1966, sponsored by Mrs. Robert C. Byrd, wife of Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia. The launching took place as part of a double launching with USS WHALE, which had also been built at Quincy.

After fitting out and trials, USS SUNFISH was photographed on sea trials off Quincy on March 10, 1969, five days before commissioning. She was commissioned on March 15, 1969, with Commander Richard L. Thompson in command. From April through August 1969, USS SUNFISH conducted shakedown and related exercises. These included torpedo firing, sound trials, control drills, and casualty drills. A short dependents' cruise in late August 1969 was followed by post-shakedown repairs and alterations at Groton, Connecticut. The final two weeks of 1969 were set aside for crew leave and recreation.

Early 1970 was spent in upkeep periods and several short cruises in preparation for extended operations. By this time, USS SUNFISH was associated with the Atlantic Fleet and Charleston, South Carolina. The Cold War naval setting remained intense: the Vietnam War was still underway, the Soviet Navy was expanding its submarine force, and Atlantic Fleet attack submarines were central to the Navy's ability to train against and monitor Soviet submarines in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and northern approaches. USS SUNFISH deployed from June 16, 1970, to August 26, 1970, when she arrived at her home port of Charleston. She deployed again from October 6, 1970, to December 1, 1970.

USS SUNFISH put to sea again on January 22, 1971, to participate in a short fleet exercise, but her operational commitments changed after she left port, and she did not return until March 9, 1971. In April 1971, she made a cruise to Port Everglades, Florida, followed by a fleet exercise. She spent the remainder of 1971 participating in anti-submarine warfare exercises with destroyers and patrol aircraft. These exercises were important to the Atlantic Fleet because surface ships, maritime patrol aircraft, and submarines all had to improve coordination against a Soviet submarine force that was becoming quieter, more capable, and more widely deployed. Commander Wade I. Melton relieved Commander Thompson in July 1971.

On January 3, 1972, USS SUNFISH departed Charleston for the Mediterranean and a tour of duty with the United States Sixth Fleet. The Mediterranean was one of the central naval theaters of the Cold War. Soviet naval forces maintained a persistent presence there, and the Sixth Fleet supported NATO's southern flank while monitoring Soviet ships and submarines and remaining available for regional crises in the Middle East and North Africa. USS SUNFISH returned to Charleston on May 21, 1972, and entered a stand-down period that lasted until early October. She then entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, Virginia, for her first major overhaul.

The overhaul was completed in August 1973. After the yard period, USS SUNFISH proceeded to New London, Connecticut, for refresher training. She touched at Charleston in early November 1973 and then continued to the Caribbean for sound training and weapons-system tests. These post-overhaul trials and training events were necessary to restore full operational proficiency after the long maintenance period. She returned to Charleston on December 9, 1973, for leave and upkeep.

From late 1973 into 1974, USS SUNFISH operated along the East Coast from New London to Cape Kennedy, Florida. Commander Zachariah Taylor Pate relieved Commander Melton in February 1974. On June 25, 1974, USS SUNFISH stood out of Charleston to begin another extended Mediterranean deployment which lasted from June to December 1974. During this mid-1970s phase, USS SUNFISH completed Mediterranean and North Atlantic deployments, Western Atlantic operations, and a successful Mark 48 torpedo sinking exercise. Later summaries associate this performance with awards that followed, including her first Battle Efficiency "E" for 1976 and a second Meritorious Unit Commendation.

In 1976, USS SUNFISH remained active in the Atlantic Fleet. On March 18, 1976, Admiral James L. Holloway III, Chief of Naval Operations, visited the submarine at Charleston. A public Navy photograph from that visit shows Admiral Holloway in the torpedo room while Commander Pate, then the commanding officer, spoke with him. USS SUNFISH received her first Battle Efficiency "E" for 1976 and also received her second Meritorious Unit Commendation. These recognitions came as the United States Navy was adjusting to the post-Vietnam period while maintaining a strong Atlantic and Mediterranean presence against the Soviet Navy.

In December 1976, Commander Richard N. Lee relieved Commander Pate. In February 1977, USS SUNFISH departed again for the Mediterranean and returned to Charleston in June 1977. This deployment continued her established Sixth Fleet pattern: Atlantic transit, Mediterranean operations, anti-submarine warfare tasking, and support to the wider American and NATO posture in southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin.

In January 1978, USS SUNFISH left Charleston for Pascagoula, Mississippi, where she entered her second overhaul at the Ingalls Shipyard East Bank facility. The overhaul lasted into 1980. During the yard period, Hurricane Frederic struck the Gulf Coast in September 1979. USS SUNFISH weathered the storm at Pascagoula, but the overhaul suffered delays. By early 1980, she had completed sea trials. After a Caribbean visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, she returned to her home port at Charleston. The overhaul returned her to the fleet at a time of renewed Cold War tension following the Iranian Revolution, the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.

Commander Oscar Daniel Scarborough III relieved Commander Lee in June 1981. In August 1981, USS SUNFISH again departed for the Mediterranean, returning in January 1982. This deployment was recognized with a Navy Unit Commendation, another Battle Efficiency "E", and her first Anti-Submarine Warfare "A". The timing placed the deployment in a period when American naval forces were again focusing heavily on Soviet naval activity, maritime access, and forward operations. For an Atlantic Fleet attack submarine, Mediterranean deployments of this period typically combined independent undersea operations, exercises with Sixth Fleet and NATO units, surveillance, and readiness work.

From 1982 to 1986, USS SUNFISH completed four Atlantic deployments. These deployments earned her third and fourth Meritorious Unit Commendations. During this period, the late Cold War maritime competition was at a high tempo. American attack submarines were used to monitor Soviet submarine activity, support fleet exercises, and maintain pressure in the North Atlantic, a region central to NATO reinforcement plans and Soviet Northern Fleet operations. Commander Marc Y. E. Pelaez relieved Commander Scarborough in August 1984 and commanded USS SUNFISH on special missions during the mid-1980s, a period later associated with his career in submarine technology and naval research.

After numerous tactics and training exercises, USS SUNFISH was awarded her second Anti-Submarine Warfare "A" for 1987. Commander Dana A. Roberts relieved Commander Pelaez on August 4, 1987. In January 1988, USS SUNFISH shifted to Norfolk, Virginia, where she continued Atlantic Fleet service. In May 1988, she began her third overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The overhaul removed her from the regular deployment cycle during the final phase of the Cold War and was part of the Navy's effort to keep older STURGEON-class submarines operationally useful as newer LOS ANGELES-class submarines increasingly dominated the attack-submarine force.

USS SUNFISH returned to the fleet in 1990 and conducted an Atlantic deployment. Commander Eugene K. Wilson Jr. relieved Commander Roberts on June 2, 1990. This period coincided with major geopolitical change. The Berlin Wall had fallen in November 1989, Germany reunified on October 3, 1990, and the Soviet Union was approaching collapse. At the same time, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, led to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In late 1991, USS SUNFISH again deployed to the Mediterranean. The deployment took place as the Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991 and the United States Navy began adjusting to the post-Cold-War environment. Even after the end of the Soviet Union, the Mediterranean remained important because of NATO commitments, instability in the Balkans and the Middle East, and continued American naval presence requirements. USS SUNFISH remained in service as one of the older STURGEON-class submarines still carrying out forward operations.

Commander Thomas M. Fursman relieved Commander Wilson in October 1992. In 1993, USS SUNFISH provided services to the fleet and spent the remainder of the year at Newport News Shipbuilding for an extensive Selected Restricted Availability. In January 1994, she deployed to the Caribbean and returned in March. Public photographs show USS SUNFISH at Port Everglades, Florida, on May 23, 1994, confirming activity along the southeastern United States after that Caribbean operating period.

Commander Ernest Jackson Roeske relieved Commander Fursman on April 1, 1994. In August 1994, USS SUNFISH deployed with a joint task force to Haiti. This occurred during the crisis that led to the United States-led intervention known as Operation Uphold Democracy, intended to restore Haiti's elected government after the military junta that had ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. SUNFISH earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for that service.

USS SUNFISH began her next and final Mediterranean deployment in November 1995. Port visits during the cruise included La Maddalena, Italy, and Lisbon, Portugal. During the deployment, she reached a major ship milestone. On February 13, 1996, after pulling away from the submarine tender USS SIMON LAKE (AS 33), USS SUNFISH made her 1,000th dive. Rear Admiral Richard W. Mies, Commander Submarine Group Eight, who had served aboard USS SUNFISH as a junior officer from March 1970 to April 1973, was embarked and gave the order to submerge. The Navy Office of Information publicly released the story on March 4, 1996. USS SUNFISH completed the deployment in March 1996 and returned to Norfolk for the last time. For her efforts during that final Mediterranean deployment, the boat and crew received the Armed Forces Service Medal.

July 1996 brought USS SUNFISH her final inspections before the home port change associated with inactivation and disposal. On August 28, 1996, a deactivation milestone marked the end of her active Atlantic service and the beginning of her movement toward Bremerton, Washington, for inactivation. In September 1996, she departed Norfolk for the final time. She transited the Panama Canal and then crossed the equator, making the crew shellbacks. She stopped briefly at San Diego, California, to offload torpedoes before proceeding to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, for the final phase of her career.

USS SUNFISH was formally decommissioned on March 31, 1997, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on the same date. After decommissioning, ex-USS SUNFISH entered the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The recycling process was completed on October 31, 1997. Her disposal closed a career of just over twenty-eight years in commission, almost all of it associated with the Atlantic Fleet.

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