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USS Billfish (SSN 676)

One of the STURGEON - class attack submarines, the USS BILLFISH was the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on July 1, 1999, the USS BILLFISH subsequently entered the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program Recycling at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wa. Recycling of the submarine was finished on April 26, 2000.

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Crew List:

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

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USS BILLFISH History:

USS BILLFISH was the second United States Navy ship to bear the name Billfish. The name had already been used by USS BILLFISH (SS 286), a World War II fleet submarine. The contract for the new USS BILLFISH was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics at Groton, Connecticut, on July 15, 1966. Her keel was laid down at Groton on September 20, 1968, by Mrs. Philip A. Beshany, wife of Rear Admiral Philip A. Beshany, who had commanded the first USS BILLFISH during World War II. She was launched on May 1, 1970, sponsored by Mrs. Earle G. Wheeler, wife of General Earle G. Wheeler, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. USS BILLFISH was commissioned at the United States Naval Submarine Base at Groton, Connecticut, on March 12, 1971, with Commander Richard M. Hughes in command. At commissioning, she became the ninety-first nuclear submarine to enter the United States Navy and the fiftieth nuclear-powered attack-type submarine. She was assigned to Submarine Development Group Two at Groton, an assignment that gave her early service a strong technical and tactical-development character in addition to the normal duties of a fleet attack submarine.

During her earliest service in 1971 and 1972, USS BILLFISH moved from new construction into active fleet service. USS BILLFISH's early career included a Mediterranean deployment. She participated in fleet exercises and tactical and sonar-development tests during her period with Submarine Development Group Two. The Mediterranean was one of the most important maritime theaters of the Cold War. United States Sixth Fleet forces operated there to support NATO's southern flank, monitor Soviet naval activity, maintain access to the eastern Mediterranean, and provide naval presence during regional crises. During this early period, USS BILLFISH received the Battle Efficiency "E" for her performance within Submarine Development Group Two.

From late 1973 to May 1974, USS BILLFISH completed two independent submarine operations under difficult operating conditions. For this period, she received the Meritorious Unit Commendation. The public citation language confirms the significance of the operations and the technical and operational performance involved. This period occurred during an intense phase of Cold War undersea competition, when American and Soviet submarines operated widely in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic approaches, and other strategically important waters.

From January 1975 to December 1975, USS BILLFISH underwent overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. During that overhaul, she was transferred to Submarine Squadron Ten. The overhaul was completed one month ahead of schedule. In the service life of a nuclear-powered attack submarine, such a yard period was a major event. It allowed the Navy and shipyard to inspect ship systems, repair or replace worn equipment, correct deficiencies discovered during early service, incorporate authorized changes, and prepare the submarine for further operational employment. After the overhaul, USS BILLFISH returned to the Atlantic Fleet operating cycle of upkeep, inspections, local operations, tactical training, and preparation for further deployments.

On April 19, 1976, Commander Douglas Volgenau became commanding officer of USS BILLFISH. He remained in command until April 20, 1979. His command period covered a significant part of the submarine's post-overhaul service, including operations in the later 1970s, when NATO naval planning still focused heavily on North Atlantic sea-lane defense, Soviet submarine activity, and the maintenance of American undersea readiness.

On June 28, 1977, USS BILLFISH took part in the Silver Jubilee Fleet Review at Spithead, held for Queen Elizabeth II. The United States Navy was represented there by USS BILLFISH and USS CALIFORNIA (CGN 36). USS BILLFISH's presence placed an American nuclear-powered attack submarine among a large international naval assembly in the Solent and Spithead area.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, USS BILLFISH continued to serve as an Atlantic Fleet nuclear-powered attack submarine during a period when the United States Navy maintained a high tempo of undersea operations. The strategic context was still shaped by the Soviet Navy's submarine force, NATO's need to protect reinforcement routes across the Atlantic, and the United States Navy's interest in maintaining forward submarine presence and tactical readiness. Much of what submarines did in this period was classified, briefly summarized, or not described publicly at all.

On February 21, 1986, USS BILLFISH returned to her home port after a three-month Western Atlantic deployment. That deployment placed her in the operating pattern commonly associated with Atlantic Fleet training, readiness, and undersea-warfare missions in western Atlantic waters. The same year, she also appears in connection with the submarine rescue exercise Sorbet Royale. In that exercise, the deep-submergence rescue vehicle MYSTIC (DSRV 1) was flown from San Diego and placed atop USS BILLFISH for deployment. The exercise reflected an important but less visible part of submarine-force readiness: the ability to transport, mate, and employ rescue systems in the event of a disabled submarine. For a nuclear submarine force operating globally and often in deep water, submarine rescue procedures, international coordination, and the practical handling of deep-submergence rescue vehicles were essential readiness tasks.

On May 18, 1987, USS BILLFISH took part in a major Arctic event. USS BILLFISH, commanded by Commander F. Terry Jones, operated with USS SEA DEVIL (SSN 664), commanded by Commander Dennis A. Napior, and HMS SUPERB, commanded by Commander James Collins, in the first multinational three-ship submarine rendezvous at the North Pole. The coordinated surfacing of American and British nuclear-powered submarines at the pole demonstrated allied under-ice operating proficiency and the practical ability of submarines from different navies to coordinate in the Arctic environment. The Arctic remained strategically important in the late Cold War because it offered concealed submarine operating areas, possible routes between ocean basins, and a severe test of navigation, sonar, communications, and surfacing procedures.

After the 1987 Arctic operation, USS BILLFISH continued in Atlantic Fleet service. On September 1 and September 2, 1992, photographic records place USS BILLFISH at Naval Station Rota, Spain, carrying the deep-submergence rescue vehicle AVALON (DSRV 2). She was scheduled to participate in the NATO deep-sea rescue exercise Sorbet Royal '92. The records show USS BILLFISH pierside and departing Rota with AVALON mounted on her deck.

During the early and mid-1990s, USS BILLFISH served through the transition from Cold War confrontation to the smaller post-Cold War submarine force. The Soviet Union had dissolved in December 1991, and the United States Navy began reshaping its fleet, reducing the number of older submarines while maintaining nuclear-powered attack submarines for regional crises, surveillance, intelligence-related missions, joint-force training, and allied exercises. Older STURGEON-class submarines gradually approached retirement as newer LOS ANGELES-class boats carried more of the attack-submarine workload. USS BILLFISH remained active during this transition.

In the late 1990s, USS BILLFISH again appears in connection with Arctic operations. USS BILLFISH conducted late-career Arctic operations in the 1997-1998 period before decommissioning. These late Arctic activities fit the broader pattern of her career, which had included development-group work, fleet operations, rescue exercises, and under-ice proficiency since the Cold War. Even after the Cold War, the Arctic remained operationally relevant for submarine navigation, acoustic understanding, and the maintenance of under-ice capability.

USS BILLFISH was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July 1, 1999. After decommissioning, USS BILLFISH entered the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. Recycling was completed on April 26, 2000.

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