USS Skipjack (SSN-585)

USS Skipjack (SSN-585)
Ship name	USS Skipjack (SSN-585)
Caption	USS Skipjack underway, 1960s
Ship class	Skipjack-class submarine
Displacement	2,850 long tons (surfaced)
Length	252 ft
Beam	31 ft
Draft	23 ft
Propulsion	Westinghouse S5W reactor; steam turbines; single screw
Speed	33+ knots
Complement	5 officers, 79 enlisted
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Laid down	23 June 1956
Launched	9 June 1958
Commissioned	15 April 1959
Decommissioned	11 March 1990
Fate	Stricken and scrapped under Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program

USS Skipjack (SSN-585) was the lead boat of the Skipjack-class submarine and represented a major shift in United States Navy nuclear-powered submarine design. Combining a nuclear reactor-powered S5W reactor with a teardrop hull and single-shaft propulsion, she emphasized submerged speed and maneuverability over World War II–era surface-running characteristics. Skipjack influenced subsequent classes including the Sturgeon-class submarine and Los Angeles-class submarine and played roles in Cold War undersea operations alongside contemporaries such as USS Nautilus (SSN-571) and USS Seawolf (SSN-575).

Design and Development

Skipjack's design integrated advances from post‑war naval architects at Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company with hydrodynamic research at David Taylor Model Basin and ideas promoted by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. The hull adopted a fully streamlined, teardrop form inspired by NR-1 concepts and by high-speed research including trials with Albacore (AGSS-569), trading surface efficiency for submerged performance. Powerplant selection centered on the proven Westinghouse Electric Corporation S5W pressurized water reactor used also in USS George Washington (SSBN-598) and standardized across many United States Navy submarines to simplify logistics. The propulsion train placed a single-shaft, skewed screw aft of a large rudder and sternplanes, a departure from dual-screw arrangements on earlier classes like Tang-class submarine. Weapons and sensor suites were organized around torpedo tubes compatible with Mark 37 torpedo and sonar systems developed by Honeywell and Underwater Sound Laboratory initiatives.

Construction and Commissioning

Keel-laying occurred at Newport News Shipbuilding on 23 June 1956 with design oversight involving Naval Reactors and shipbuilders who previously worked on USS Nautilus (SSN-571). The launch on 9 June 1958 featured a ceremony attended by officials from the Department of the Navy and shipyard executives. After reactor cooldown and fitting out, sea trials tested propulsion, diving control, and acoustic signature against standards set by Office of Naval Research programs. Commissioning on 15 April 1959 placed Skipjack under the command of a veteran submarine officer who had served on USS Silversides (SS-236) and trained under programs at Naval Submarine School at New London, Connecticut.

Operational History

During the early 1960s Skipjack conducted shakedown cruises and evaluation trials with Fleet Sonar School units and participated in high-speed runs that validated teardrop hull performance. She supported operations in the Atlantic Ocean and made deployments that brought her into contact with NATO allies including units from Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy during exercises such as Operation Springboard and ASW maneuvers coordinated with NATO fleets. Cold War missions emphasized intelligence collection and surveillance of Soviet Navy units including encounters near Barents Sea patrol areas and transit monitoring in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization theater alongside surface task forces centered on carriers like USS Enterprise (CVN-65). Skipjack also contributed to tactical development for submarine-launched weapons, cooperating with programs at Naval Weapons Laboratory and evaluations of the ASROC concept carried out with destroyer escorts.

Her service record included emergent operations supporting crises in the 1960s and 1970s, integrating with Submarine Force Atlantic tasking and participating in advanced sonar testing with institutions such as Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Crewmembers engaged in cross-training with Submarine Development Group 2 and attended technical exchanges at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on reactor safety and materials.

Modifications and Overhauls

Throughout her career Skipjack underwent scheduled overhauls at major naval yards including Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Early upgrades refined sonar suites with transducers developed by Raytheon and acoustic quieting measures influenced by studies from Pennsylvania State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology laboratories. Reactor refueling and plant modernization were performed under supervision of Naval Reactors with follow-on modifications to control systems integrating electronic components from General Electric and Westinghouse Electric. Fire‑control improvements enabled compatibility with newer torpedo models and improved tactical displays sourced from Litton Industries consoles used across the fleet.

Major availability periods incorporated hull maintenance, propulsor fairing revisions to reduce flow noise, and habitability upgrades following standards set by the Bureau of Ships. Mid‑life adaptations kept Skipjack tactically relevant in an era that saw introduction of Harpoon (missile) and development of Tomahawk‑era doctrines, even as her primary role remained fast-attack operations.

Decommissioning and Fate

After three decades of service in the Cold War environment, Skipjack was decommissioned on 11 March 1990 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register as submarine force restructuring followed the end of the Cold War and treaties including arms reduction dialogues involving Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. She entered the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard where defueling, hazardous-material abatement, and hull recycling were completed. Materials from Skipjack were processed in accordance with protocols overseen by Naval Sea Systems Command and Department of Energy guidance on reactor cores. Components and lessons learned from her innovative design continued to inform subsequent classes, preservation efforts at several institutions such as the Submarine Force Museum and historical treatments in works by naval historians referencing archives at the Naval History and Heritage Command.

Category:Skipjack-class submarines Category:Cold War submarines of the United States Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia