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USS Scamp (SSN-588)
Encyclopedia
USS Scamp (SSN-588), a Skipjack-class
nuclear-powered submarine
, was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named for the scamp
, a member of the serranidae family of fish.
Her keel was laid down on 23 January 1959 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard
in Vallejo, California
. She was launched
on 8 October 1960, sponsored by Mrs. John C. Hollingsworth, widow of Commander John C. Hollingsworth, the commanding officer of Scamp (SS-277)
at the time of her loss in November 1944. She was commissioned
at Mare Island on 5 June 1961 with Commander W. N. Dietzen in command.
, San Diego, California
, and Pearl Harbor
, areas. Following these operations, she returned to Vallejo, California
, for post-shakedown availability at Mare Island Naval Shipyard
. Leaving the shipyard Scamp completed her final acceptance trials and began local operations in the San Diego area. In April 1962 she deployed to the western Pacific, returning to San Diego in July. She operated locally until September, when she departed on another extended training cruise. Scamp returned to San Diego and local operations until February 1963 when she entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard for interim drydocking. She refloated in March and, in April, deployed again to the western Pacific. While in the Far East, she conducted another extended period of advanced training, including operations in the Okinawa area. Scamp reentered San Diego Bay in October 1963. She resumed her West Coast operations out of San Diego until June 1964, then, she headed west again for advanced readiness training. She arrived back in San Diego in September 1964.
Scamp entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard again in January 1965 for extensive modification. In June 1966 after the installation of the SUBSAFE
package and overhaul, she left Mare Island and returned to training cruises in the San Diego operating area. In November she ventured north to Puget Sound
for a month of operations and returned to San Diego in December. The nuclear submarine operated out of San Diego for the first six months of 1967. On 28 June, she departed San Diego to join the Seventh Fleet in the western Pacific. She remained in the Far East, participating in fleet operations along the Vietnamese coast, until returning to San Diego on 28 December 1967.
Scamp operated out of San Diego in the local operating area from January to May 1968. On 11 May, she arrived at Pearl Harbor to conclude an extended training cruise. She returned to San Diego on 19 May and remained there until 15 June, when the submarine shifted to San Francisco to enter Mare Island Naval Shipyard for a three-week restricted availability. She returned to San Diego on 16 July and finished out the year sailing from that port on various exercises and training cruises.
Scamp continued stateside duty throughout 1969. She alternated in-port periods with training cruises until early March when she began pre-overhaul tests in the San Diego operating area. She continued preparing for overhaul and participating in exercises until 1 November when she entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
for regular overhaul. While at Bremerton, Scamp was assigned that port as her new home port. The overhaul continued through 1970 and ended in January 1971.
, except for one short two-day period, 8 October and 9 October.
She returned to San Diego on 2 February 1972, but due to increasing tension in Southeast Asia, redeployed to the Seventh Fleet in May. She operated in the South China Sea
for most of the summer, returning to San Diego on 1 August. Upon arrival, she went into a two-month standdown period, followed by more than a month of restricted availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She departed Puget Sound on 28 November, conducted weapons system accuracy tests, and returned, on 11 December, to San Diego, where she remained for the remainder of the year.
Scamp operated locally around San Diego until 29 March 1973. At that time, she departed the West Coast for deployment to the Far East. She stayed at Pearl Harbor between 5 and 10 April, then headed for Yokosuka, Japan. She arrived in Japan on 23 April and operated with the Seventh Fleet until 1 September, when she departed Guam for Pearl Harbor. Scamp stopped at Pearl Harbor during the period 10 to 15 September, then set sail for San Diego. Arriving on 21 September the nuclear submarine immediately entered a period of standdown and upkeep until 1 November, when she resumed operations in the vicinity of San Diego.
on 28 April 1988. ex-Scamp entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington
, in 1990 and on 9 September 1994 became the first hulk to complete the program and ceased to exist.
Skipjack class submarine
The Skipjack class was a class of United States Navy nuclear submarines. This class was named after its lead ship, the . This new class introduced the teardrop hull and the S5W reactor to U.S. nuclear submarines. The Skipjacks were the fastest U.S...
nuclear-powered submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, was the second ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for the scamp
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
, a member of the serranidae family of fish.
Her keel was laid down on 23 January 1959 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
in Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 8 October 1960, sponsored by Mrs. John C. Hollingsworth, widow of Commander John C. Hollingsworth, the commanding officer of Scamp (SS-277)
USS Scamp (SS-277)
USS Scamp , a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scamp, a member of the Serranidae family....
at the time of her loss in November 1944. She was commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
at Mare Island on 5 June 1961 with Commander W. N. Dietzen in command.
1960s
Scamp’s first four months in the fleet were taken up by advanced trials and training exercises in the Bremerton, WashingtonBremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, and Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, areas. Following these operations, she returned to Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
, for post-shakedown availability at Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
. Leaving the shipyard Scamp completed her final acceptance trials and began local operations in the San Diego area. In April 1962 she deployed to the western Pacific, returning to San Diego in July. She operated locally until September, when she departed on another extended training cruise. Scamp returned to San Diego and local operations until February 1963 when she entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard for interim drydocking. She refloated in March and, in April, deployed again to the western Pacific. While in the Far East, she conducted another extended period of advanced training, including operations in the Okinawa area. Scamp reentered San Diego Bay in October 1963. She resumed her West Coast operations out of San Diego until June 1964, then, she headed west again for advanced readiness training. She arrived back in San Diego in September 1964.
Scamp entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard again in January 1965 for extensive modification. In June 1966 after the installation of the SUBSAFE
SUBSAFE
SUBSAFE is a quality assurance program of the United States Navy designed to maintain the safety of the nuclear submarine fleet; specifically, to provide maximum reasonable assurance that subs' hulls will stay watertight, and that they can recover from unanticipated flooding.SUBSAFE covers all...
package and overhaul, she left Mare Island and returned to training cruises in the San Diego operating area. In November she ventured north to Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
for a month of operations and returned to San Diego in December. The nuclear submarine operated out of San Diego for the first six months of 1967. On 28 June, she departed San Diego to join the Seventh Fleet in the western Pacific. She remained in the Far East, participating in fleet operations along the Vietnamese coast, until returning to San Diego on 28 December 1967.
Scamp operated out of San Diego in the local operating area from January to May 1968. On 11 May, she arrived at Pearl Harbor to conclude an extended training cruise. She returned to San Diego on 19 May and remained there until 15 June, when the submarine shifted to San Francisco to enter Mare Island Naval Shipyard for a three-week restricted availability. She returned to San Diego on 16 July and finished out the year sailing from that port on various exercises and training cruises.
Scamp continued stateside duty throughout 1969. She alternated in-port periods with training cruises until early March when she began pre-overhaul tests in the San Diego operating area. She continued preparing for overhaul and participating in exercises until 1 November when she entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
for regular overhaul. While at Bremerton, Scamp was assigned that port as her new home port. The overhaul continued through 1970 and ended in January 1971.
1970s
Following post-overhaul sea trials in Puget Sound, Scamp was reassigned back to San Diego, as home port on 12 February 1971, but did not enter that port until 16 April after a voyage to Pearl Harbor. On 27 July, she deployed to the western Pacific. Scamp stopped at Pearl Harbor from 2 August to 13 August, then headed on to Subic Bay, R.P., arriving on 30 August. For the bulk of 1971, she operated with the Seventh Fleet in Far Eastern waters other than off the coast of VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, except for one short two-day period, 8 October and 9 October.
She returned to San Diego on 2 February 1972, but due to increasing tension in Southeast Asia, redeployed to the Seventh Fleet in May. She operated in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
for most of the summer, returning to San Diego on 1 August. Upon arrival, she went into a two-month standdown period, followed by more than a month of restricted availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. She departed Puget Sound on 28 November, conducted weapons system accuracy tests, and returned, on 11 December, to San Diego, where she remained for the remainder of the year.
Scamp operated locally around San Diego until 29 March 1973. At that time, she departed the West Coast for deployment to the Far East. She stayed at Pearl Harbor between 5 and 10 April, then headed for Yokosuka, Japan. She arrived in Japan on 23 April and operated with the Seventh Fleet until 1 September, when she departed Guam for Pearl Harbor. Scamp stopped at Pearl Harbor during the period 10 to 15 September, then set sail for San Diego. Arriving on 21 September the nuclear submarine immediately entered a period of standdown and upkeep until 1 November, when she resumed operations in the vicinity of San Diego.
- History for 1973-1988 needed.
Decommissioning
Scamp was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 28 April 1988. ex-Scamp entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, in 1990 and on 9 September 1994 became the first hulk to complete the program and ceased to exist.