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Subs That Have Borne The Name USS Seawolf

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Four submarines of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Seawolf, for the seawolf, a solitary fish with strong, prominent teeth and projecting tusks that give it a savage look.

USS H-1 (Submarine # 28), 1913-1920.

Name changed from Seawolf while under construction

USS H-1, lead ship of a class of three 358-ton submarines, was built at San Francisco, California. Originally named Seawolf, she was renamed H-1 in November 1911, over a year and a half before her launching, and was placed in commission at the beginning of December 1913. She operated along the West Coast until October 1917, when the needs of the First World War called her to the Atlantic. Transiting the Panama Canal, she arrived in New London, Connecticut in November and was based there for more than two years, patrolling Long Island Sound and providing submarine training for Navy personnel. H-1 returned to the Pacific in February 1920. On 12 March, while en route north from Panama, she went aground off Santa Margarita Island. Four of her crew lost their lives trying to reach shore, and the submarine sank during salvage attempts on 24 March. H-1's sunken hulk was sold for salvage and scrapping in June 1920.

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USS Seawolf (SS-197), 1939-1944

USS Seawolf, a 1450-ton Sargo class submarine built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, was commissioned at the beginning of December 1939. She was laid down on 27 September 1938 and launched on 15 August 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Edward C. Kalbfus; with LT Frederick B. Warder in command. Following a shakedown cruise to the Caribbean area she was sent to the West Coast and, later in 1940, went on to Manila to join the Asiatic Fleet. Immediately after war with Japan began in December 1941, Seawolf made her first war patrol, covering eastern Philippine waters, and made an unsuccessful attack that provided an early indication of the torpedo troubles that would plague U.S. submarine operations for the War's first year and a half. Late in that month she left Manila to transport critical personnel to Australia, returning in late January 1942 with a load of ammunition. On Seawolf's next patrol, in defense of the Dutch East Indies in February-April, she torpedoed several enemy ships, among them the light cruiser Naka, but apparently sank none of them. Based at Fremantle, Australia, for the rest of 1942, the submarine had three productive combat cruises that cost Japan six ships.

After a West Coast overhaul, Seawolf operated out of Hawaii from April 1943 to January 1944, making five patrols, her eighth through twelfth of the war. These resulted in the sinking of thirteen enemy ships, with credit for one of them shared with USS Whale (SS-239). This performance made her among the Navy's most productive submarines of World War II, both in total number of ships sunk and in tonnage. Transporting ammunition to Corregidor, Seawolf ran the Japanese blockade of the Philippines Islands twice. During the war she sank over 108,000 tons of shipping in 56 torpedo battles.

Another session of shipyard work kept Seawolf out of action until June 1944, when she departed Pearl Harbor on an intelligence gathering mission to the Palau Islands, which would be invaded by U.S. forces a few months later. She then went on to Fremantle, from which she made a trip to Tawitawi to recover an agent. Seawolf left Brisbane on her fifteenth patrol in September, assigned to take U.S. Army agents and supplies to Samar, in the Philippines. While en route, breakdowns in communications caused U.S. anti-submarine forces to mistake her for Japanese. On 3 October 1944, after being forced to dive by an air attack, Seawolf was depth charged and sunk by the escort ship Richard M. Rowell (DE-403). All her crew and passengers, nearly a hundred men, were lost with her. USS Seawolf received 13 Battle Stars for World War II service as well as 4 Navy Unit Commendations.

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USS Seawolf (SSN-575), 1957-1987

The third Seawolf was the second nuclear submarine, the first being USS Nautilus, and the only US submarine built with a liquid metal (sodium) nuclear reactor. She was commissioned on 30 March 1957, and stricken in 1997. She was laid down on 15 September 1953 by General Dynamics Corp. (Electric Boat Div.) Groton, CT; launched on 21 July 1955; sponsored by Mrs. W. Sterling Cole; with CDR Richard B. Laning in command.

Seawolf departed New London on 2 April for her shakedown cruise off Bermuda and returned on 8 May. Between 16 May and 5 August, she made two voyages to Key West and participated in intensive training exercises. On 3 September, she steamed across the North Atlantic to participate in North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercises. The submarine surfaced off Newport, R.I., on 25 September after cruising 6,331 non stop miles. The next day, in September 1957, Seawolf embarked President Dwight D. Eisenhower for a submerged run off Newport, Rhode Island, marking the first time a chief executive was transported by nuclear propulsion.

Seawolf cruised to the Caribbean for an exercise in November. In December, she began an availability period that lasted until 6 February 1958. She then participated in exercises along the east coast until early August. One of her proudest achievements occurred when Seawolf submerged on 7 August and did not surface again until 6 October. During this period, she logged over 13,700 nautical miles, demonstrating to the world the ability of the nuclear-powered submarine to remain independent of the earth's atmosphere for the period of a normal war patrol. This endurance record earned the boat a Navy Unit Commendation and paved the way for present day submarine patrols.

Seawolf returned to General Dynamics Corp., on 12 December 1958 for refueling and conversion of her power plant from a sodium cooled to a pressurized water cooled reactor and was out of commission until 30 September 1960. Seawolf began a three-week period of independent operations on 25 October and returned to fleet operations in November and December.

On 9 January 1961, Seawolf sailed to San Juan to participate in local operations. On the 25th, she was ordered to locate and track the Portuguese passenger liner Santa Maria which had been seized by pirates two days earlier. The submarine made contact with the liner off the coast of Brazil on 1 February. After Santa Maria surrendered in Recife, the submarine returned to San Juan and continued east coast operations.

On 7 July, Seawolf began a two-month oceanographic voyage which took her to Portsmouth, England, before returning her to New London on 19 September 1961. The submarine participated in various local and fleet operations until April 1964. On the 28th, Seawolf stood out of New London en route to the Mediterranean Sea and a three and one-half month deployment with the 6th Fleet. During the period, she operated with Enterprise (CVAN-65), Long Beach (CLGN-9), and Bainbridge (DLGN-26) as a part of the world's first nuclear task force. More local east coast exercises followed until 5 May 1965. On that date, the submarine entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul and refueling that lasted until September 1966.

Seawolf sailed from Portsmouth on 24 August 1967 for New London which was again her home port. The following month, she sailed to the Caribbean for refresher training and weapons trials. She had to have a propeller replaced at Charleston in early October and then conducted sea trials in the Bahama Islands for the remainder of the month. The end of the year 1967 found her back at her home port.

In January 1968, Seawolf was operating from that port when she grounded off the coast of Maine on the 30th. She was towed back to New London for repairs and did not put to sea again until 20 March 1969 when she began sea trials. The submarine was in the Carib bean during June and July conducting underwater sound and weapons systems tests. Seawolf was deployed with the 6th Fleet from 29 September to 21 December 1969.

Seawolf operated along the east coast until 9 November 1970 when her home port was changed to Vallejo, Calif., and she sailed for the west coast. The submarine transited the Panama Canal on the 17th and changed operational control to Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet. She entered drydock at Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 8 January 1971 for overhaul and conversion to a special project platform and remained there until 21 June 1973 when she moved up the coast to Bangor, Wash. Seawolf returned to Mare Island on 4 September 1973 and was decommissioned 30 March 1987.

USS Seawolf (SSN 21) is the latest submarine to enter the fleet, and the first completely new design in approximately thirty years. It is the fastest, quietest and most heavily armed submarine in the world. The Seawolf class can carry up to 50 torpedoes/missiles, or 100 mines. Armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Seawolf can target about 75 percent of the earth’s land mass for strike missions and can target surface ships at long range. The Seawolf is significantly quieter and faster than any Los Angeles class submarine, and has twice as many torpedoes tubes and a 30 percent increase in weapons magazine size.

USS Seawolf (SSN-21)

The fourth Seawolf is the lead ship of her class. First ship of the new Seawolf class, the Navy's newest nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, is the most advanced submarine in the world. The ship will employ advanced sensors, an improved combat system and the capability to rapidly deploy to forward ocean areas to search and destroy enemy submarines, surface ships and land targets. Her keel was laid on 25 October 1989 at Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corporation, Groton, CT; launched on 24 June 1995.

Seawolf completed its initial sea trial July 5, and returned to Electric Boat Corp., in Groton, Conn. The test program included first underwater submergence, acoustics trials, engineering inspections and at-sea training for the crew. "This is a great day both for the Navy and for the nation," said ADM Bruce DeMars, director, Navy Nuclear Propulsion, when the submarine returned. "The ship behind us is the most complicated thing built in this country, and the fact that we could go out and have the trials we did, in the time that we did, and return with virtually nothing out of commission is a tribute to the people you see standing around here - the shipyard workers, the engineers, the crew, the people behind me. Today the country has the fastest, the quietest, the most heavily armed submarine in the world."

The Seawolf submarine provides the Navy with advanced weaponry and new tactical capability and communications. Compared to previous SSNs, it carries an increased weapons load of Mark 48 anti-submarine torpedoes, Harpoon missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The nuclear-powered attack submarine's flexibility provides the Navy with an undersea weapons platform that can operate in any scenario. DeMars described the ship's speed as its greatest advantage over other ships. He said, "It obviously can get places quicker and more quietly than any other submarine and any other ship and so that in and of itself is a great force multiplier. It can be in any number of places quickly and therefore is much, more valuable that a slower ship. And then the smaller Navy that we face in the future; the mobility that this ship has and the immense capability will be of extreme importance to the country."

Seawolf's robust design supports missions including surveillance, intelligence collection, special warfare, covert cruise missile strike, mine warfare, anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare. Electric Boat Corp. is currently building two other Seawolf-class submarines.

The fastest, quietest, most heavily armed nuclear-powered attack submarine in the world, Seawolf, will be commissioned during a ceremony at 11 a.m. (EDT), Saturday, July 19, 1997, at Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, Conn. Seawolf is the first "top to bottom" new attack submarine design since the Skipjack Class in the early 1960s. The benchmark for underwater excellence, three Seawolf Class submarines have been authorized by Congress. Its inherent stealth, coupled with state-of-the-art sensors and advanced combat systems make it one of the world's most formidable weapons systems.

Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton is the principal speaker for the commissioning and his wife, Margaret O. Dalton, is the ship's sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, Mrs. Dalton will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

As the Navy continues to operate "Forward…From the Sea," Seawolf's flexibility and impressive capabilities provide the Navy with an undersea weapons platform to operate in any scenario against any threat, from under arctic ice to shallow water. With mission and growth capability far beyond Los Angeles Class submarines, Seawolf's robust design supports missions such as surveillance, intelligence collection, special warfare, covert cruise missile strike, mine warfare, and anti-submarine and anti-surface ship warfare. Seawolf is a highly capable littoral warfare ship, that sets the standard for submarine technology into the next century.

Armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Seawolf can target about 75 percent of the earth's land mass for strike missions and can target surface ships at long range. Seawolf also carries the Mark 48 Advanced Capability torpedo, the best in the world. With twice as many torpedo tubes and a 30 percent increase in weapons magazine size compared to the 688-class submarines, Seawolf is eminently capable of establishing and maintaining battle space dominance.

Capt. David McCall, USN, is the commanding officer of Seawolf with a crew of 14 officers and 120 enlisted personnel. Upon commissioning, Seawolf will join the submarine force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and will be homeported in Groton, Conn. Seawolf is 353 feet long, has a beam of 40 feet, displaces approximately 9,150 tons submerged, 8,060 tons surfaced, and can dive to depths greater than 800 feet. One nuclear reactor and two geared steam turbines power the submarine to speeds in excess of 25 knots when submerged.

The Navy Hymn - Eternal Father, Strong to Save

Lyrics To The Submariner Verse
-- by Reverend Gale Williamson
Bless those who serve beneath the deep,
Through lonely hours their vigil keep.
May peace their mission ever be,
Protect each one we ask of thee.
Bless those at home who wait and pray,
For their return by night or day.

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