USS Tautog (SSN-639) facts for kids
USS Tautog (SSN-639) off the Hawaiian Islands.
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 United States |
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| Name | USS Tautog (SSN-639) |
| Namesake | The tautog, a type of wrasse. |
| Ordered | 30 November 1961 |
| Builder | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
| Laid down | 27 January 1964 |
| Launched | 15 April 1967 |
| Sponsored by | Pauline Lafon Gore |
| Commissioned | 17 August 1968 |
| Decommissioned | 31 March 1997 |
| Stricken | 31 March 1997 |
| Motto | Silent Vigilance |
| Nickname(s) | "The Terrible T" |
| Fate | Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program completed 30 November 2004 |
| Status | Recycled |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Sturgeon-class attack submarine |
| Displacement |
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| Length | 89 m (292 ft) |
| Beam | 9.7 m (32 ft) |
| Draft | 8.8 m (29 ft) |
| Propulsion | S5W nuclear reactor |
| Speed | >20kt |
| Test depth | >400ft |
| Complement |
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The USS Tautog (SSN-639) was a special type of submarine called a Sturgeon-class attack submarine. It was the second ship in the United States Navy to be named after the Tautog, a fish found along the North Atlantic coast. The submarine served the Navy from August 17, 1968, until March 31, 1997.
Contents
Building and Starting Service
The Navy decided to build Tautog on November 30, 1961. It was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The first part of its construction, called laying the keel, happened on January 27, 1964.
The submarine was officially named on March 15, 1967. Pauline Lafon Gore, the wife of Senator Albert A. Gore Sr., was the sponsor. She broke a bottle of champagne on the ship and said, "In the name of the United States of America, I christen thee Tautog." The Tautog was officially put into service, or commissioned, on August 17, 1968. Its first commander was Buele G. Balderston.
What Tautog Did
Early Missions (1968–1970)
On August 30, 1968, Tautog left Pascagoula to join the United States Pacific Fleet. It traveled through the Panama Canal and arrived in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on September 23, 1968. There, it became the lead ship for Submarine Squadron 12.
In 1969, Tautog completed its initial tests and training cruises, mostly around the Hawaiian Islands. It also went to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington for repairs. After finishing its training in September 1969, it had more repairs, including replacing its entire diesel generator.
By February 1970, Tautog was ready for normal operations. It practiced using its torpedoes and sonar (sound detection equipment). In 1970, Tautog earned the Battle Efficiency "E" award for its great performance. It also received a Navy Unit Commendation for its service around June 1969. In the summer of 1969, Tautog secretly watched a test of new missiles launched by a Soviet submarine.
In 1970, Tautog sailed with the Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific. It visited places like the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. When it returned to Pearl Harbor, it received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its missions from October 1970 to April 1971.
Collision with a Soviet Submarine (1970)
On June 20, 1970, Tautog was on patrol in the North Pacific Ocean. It was near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a big base for Soviet submarines. Tautog was trying to follow a Soviet submarine called K-108, an Echo II-class guided missile submarine.
The two submarines were very close, sometimes only a few feet apart. Tautog did not have the newest depth-finding equipment, which made it harder to know exactly where the K-108 was. At one point, Tautog's equipment showed the Soviet submarine was directly above it. Then, it seemed to be going deeper.
Suddenly, the K-108 hit the top of Tautogs sail (the tower-like structure on top). The K-108s propellers hit Tautogs steel, and one of its propellers broke off. Tautog suffered damage to its sail. When Tautog arrived in Pearl Harbor, a large piece of the K-108s propeller was found stuck in its sail.
For over 30 years, both the United States and the Soviet Union kept this collision a secret. After the Soviet Union broke apart, it was revealed that K-108 had managed to return to its base. The former captain of K-108 confirmed the story. Luckily, no one was hurt on either submarine. Even after repairs, Tautog's sail was permanently bent at a slight angle.
The story of the collision became public in 1991 and was later detailed in the book Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story Of American Submarine Espionage.
Missions in the Pacific (1970–1977)
On October 9, 1970, Tautog began its first deployment to East Asia. It joined the United States Seventh Fleet and focused on training for antisubmarine warfare. This often involved working with other Seventh Fleet ships, and once with the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Aurora.
Tautog visited ports like U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Yokosuka, Japan. It returned to Pearl Harbor on April 5, 1971, and continued its training.
In March 1972, Tautog went on a special mission, stopping briefly in Guam and Subic Bay. For this mission, Tautog earned another Navy Unit Commendation. It also visited Hong Kong before returning to Pearl Harbor in August 1972.
In January 1973, Tautog entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for its first major maintenance period, called an overhaul. This was completed in April 1974. After that, it continued local operations, with one trip to the Pacific Northwest.
In May 1975, Tautog began another series of special missions in the Central and Western Pacific. This included time in drydock in Guam and exercises in the Philippines. It visited Subic Bay and Hong Kong again. Tautog returned to Pearl Harbor in October 1975 and received the Navy Expeditionary Medal for its successful mission.
Indian Ocean and Overhaul (1977–1980)
Tautog continued training in Hawaii until early 1977. In January 1977, it sailed for a friendly visit to Mombasa, Kenya. It stayed there for a month, allowing the crew to explore and hosting visitors.
Protecting Americans in Uganda (1977)
After leaving Mombasa in February 1977, Tautog was ordered to join a special group of ships. This was because President of Uganda Idi Amin had gathered Americans living in Uganda. The United States wanted to show it was ready to protect its citizens. Tautog cruised off the coast of Kenya with the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) as a show of strength.
Eventually, the Americans were released. Tautog then continued its journey, arriving in Guam in March 1977. It visited Chinhae, South Korea, and returned to Subic Bay for more special missions in the Philippines. In July 1977, Tautog returned to Pearl Harbor. For its service from November 1976 to July 1977, Tautog received a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
In December 1977, Tautog traveled to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, for another major overhaul. This included replacing its nuclear fuel. The overhaul took almost 15 months. After completing tests, Tautog returned to Pearl Harbor in July 1979.
Arctic Adventures and More (1980–1997)
After intense training, Tautog deployed to the Western Pacific again in March 1980. It earned the Navy Expeditionary Medal for its performance during this time of international tension. In September 1980, the ship received the Battle Efficiency "E" and other awards for excellence. It visited places like Diego Garcia, the Philippines, Australia, and Guam. Tautog also received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service around June 1980.
In 1981, Tautog sailed west again, supporting the Seventh Fleet in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It became the first nuclear submarine to travel on the surface through the Malacca Straits. It visited Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Diego Garcia, and Japan. In 1982, Tautog earned its third Engineering "E" award.
In the winter of 1982, Tautog joined another submarine, the USS Aspro, and traveled to the frozen Arctic. It operated under the ice for two months. Both submarines surfaced together at the North Pole. This was only the second time two U.S. submarines had met at the North Pole, and the first time during winter.
In the summer of 1983, Tautog returned to the Arctic ice. To celebrate reaching the North Pole, the crew had a picnic, a tug-of-war, and even dog sled races "around the world."
In 1984, after some shipyard work, Tautog began more training. In the spring, it went on another Western Pacific mission, operating in the Northern Pacific. It visited the Philippines, Thailand, and Japan, earning another Navy Expeditionary Medal.
After returning to Pearl Harbor in November 1984, Tautog hosted training for future commanding officers. In October 1985, Tautog left for another deployment to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. It visited Guam, Singapore (for Christmas), Diego Garcia, Perth, Australia, the Philippines, and Chinhae, South Korea.
During its time in Subic Bay, the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, was replaced by Corazon Aquino. Tautog completed its mission and returned to Pearl Harbor in April 1986.
In October 1986, Tautog began a major overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. After many changes and tests, Tautog returned to Pearl Harbor on May 30, 1989.
Tautog went on its eighth Western Pacific deployment in May 1990, visiting Singapore, Hong Kong, Subic Bay, and Yokosuka, Japan. The ship even went through a huge typhoon that kept it from entering Subic Bay for almost a week.
Back in Pearl Harbor in November 1990, Tautog prepared for its third Arctic deployment. In April 1991, Tautog joined the USS Aspro again for three weeks of operations under the Arctic ice. This trip ended with a visit to San Francisco. After the exercise, Tautog performed an emergency blow of its main ballast tanks from its test depth.
In the summer of 1991, Tautog hosted the Japanese submarine Akishio. Crews from both submarines shared their cultures.
During the 50th-anniversary events for the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Tautog was the featured submarine. It hosted many important World War II veterans.
In January 1992, Tautog successfully fired a MK 48 torpedo. It sank the old diesel submarine ex-Darter in the deep waters south of Oahu.
In the summer of 1992, Tautog went on another Western Pacific deployment. It spent about 150 days at sea out of a 180-day mission.
In October 1993, Tautog was sent on an urgent Western Pacific mission with only four days' notice. The ship and crew took part in a joint exercise with the Japanese Navy. They then enjoyed a visit to Hong Kong.
In February 1995, Tautog left Pearl Harbor for its eleventh Western Pacific deployment. It worked with Japanese, Korean, and British naval forces. The crew visited Guam, Hong Kong, Yokosuka, Sasebo, Okinawa, Chinhae, and Subic Bay. Tautog received the Navy Expeditionary Medal for this successful cruise.
In February 1996, Tautog had a small accident while transferring personnel in Pearl Harbor. Strong winds pushed the submarine off course, and it lightly hit the west bank of the harbor. The damage was minor, just a crack in the sonar dome, but it was still a grounding incident.
In July 1996, Tautog began its final deployment to the eastern Pacific. It supported weapons testing and hosted many daily orientation cruises for Midshipmen. It visited San Diego and Esquimalt in British Columbia, and stopped for repairs in Bangor, Washington.
Tautog made its last dive on Sunday, October 13, 1996. This was its 1119th dive.
Tautog's inactivation ceremony was held on October 25, 1996. After about six months, Tautog left Pearl Harbor for the last time. It sailed to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for its final removal from service.
End of Service
Tautog was officially taken out of service, or decommissioned, on March 31, 1997. It was removed from the Navy's list of ships on the same day. Its dismantling, as part of the U.S. Navy's Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program, began on March 15, 2003, and was finished on November 30, 2004.
Remembering Tautog
The Tautog's sail (the top part of the submarine) was saved. It is now on display at Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas (29°20′03″N 94°46′42″W / 29.3342°N 94.7782°W). The sail was damaged when Hurricane Ike hit the area in 2008.
Images for kids
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Ex-Tautog awaiting recycling in Bremerton
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Tautog's preserved sail has tipped over in this view of damage at Seawolf Park
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Tautog sail awaits preparation for the memorial
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
- USS Tautog SSN-639 Decommissioning Brochure
- Former usstautog.com web site (no longer available)
