USS ''Puffer'' (SSN-652), a ''Sturgeon''-class

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called ...

, was the second ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

to be named for the pufferfish, a saltwater fish with toxic spines that can inflate its body with water or air and is one of the most poisonous vertebrates in the world.

Construction and commissioning

The contract to build ''Puffer'' was awarded to

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 employees, the second largest ...

Pascagoula The Pascagoula (also Pascoboula, Pacha-Ogoula, Pascagola, Pascaboula, Paskaguna) were an indigenous group living in coastal Mississippi on the Pascagoula River. The name ''Pascagoula'' is a Mobilian Jargon term meaning "bread people". Choctaw ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, on 26 March 1963, and her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid down there on 8 February 1965. She was launched on 30 March 1968, sponsored by Mrs. John B. Colwell, and commissioned on 9 August 1969.

Service history

Like all ships of her class in the Silent Service, USS ''Puffer'' conducted many operations that were critical to the needs of the nation and the U.S. Navy during the Cold War.

1970s

USS ''Puffer'' operated in the Pacific Ocean during the 1970s, earning two Navy Unit Commendations and at least one Presidential Unit Citation, among other awards. At least one of her commanding officers during the 1970s earned a Legion of Merit for his role in leading ''Puffer'' on a highly successful mission. On 22 May 1978 a valve was mistakenly opened releasing up to 500 US gallons (1,900 L; 420 imp gal) of radioactive water into

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

, during an overhaul in drydock at Bremerton Naval Shipyard.

1980s

As part of Submarine Squadron One, from May to October 1980 USS ''Puffer'', under the command of Commander Howard W. Habermeyer, Jr., USN, conducted her fifth Westpac/Indian Ocean Cruise, visiting the ports of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, Subic Bay in the Philippine Islands,

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, and

Diego Garcia Diego Garcia is an island of the British Indian Ocean Territory, a disputed overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It is a militarised atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean, and the largest of the 60 small islands of ...

. On 18 July 1980 USS ''Puffer'' docked at HMAS ''Stirling'', Rockingham, Western Australia for an R&R visit, departing on 25 July 1980. After this deployment USS ''Puffer'' received her third Navy Unit Commendation. After returning to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

from her 1980 Westpac cruise, USS ''Puffer'' conducted local operations from November 1980 to May 1981, when the submarine went into a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) which was completed in August 1981. During 1981 USS ''Puffer'' was awarded Submarine Squadron One's Battle 'E', Engineering 'E', and Supply 'E'. From September to late October 1981 USS ''Puffer'' conducted workups for her upcoming deployment. USS ''Puffer'' conducted her sixth Westpac/Indian Ocean Cruise from November 1981 to 14 May 1982. Still under the command of Commander Habermeyer, USS ''Puffer'' again visited ports like Subic Bay in the Philippine Islands, and

Yokosuka, Japan is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

. Again USS ''Puffer'' docked at HMAS ''Stirling'', Rockingham, Western Australia for an R&R visit from 10–17 February 1982. After this deployment USS ''Puffer'' received her fourth Navy Unit Commendation, as well as her second Submarine Squadron One Battle 'E'.

1989

Prior to the filming of

The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutt ...

, actor Sean Connery was on board preparing for his role as Captain Marko Ramius. He was given the honorary status of a Navy commander and was allowed (while the ship's captain was next to him) to give orders while the ship was

underway Underway, or under way, is a nautical term describing the state of a vessel. "Way" arises when there is sufficient water flow past the rudder of a vessel that it can be steered. A vessel is said to be underway if it meets the following criteria: ...

. (Ref. IMDB.com) In ''The Hunt for Red October'', the scene for the

flashing light A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the cha ...

sequence was filmed at sea off the coast of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

using ''Puffer'' and a

captain's gig A gig is a type of boat optimised for speed under oar, but usually also fitted with a sailing rig for appropriate conditions. The type was in use by Deal boatmen in the 18th century. It first occurred as a naval ship's boat after Deal boatbuilde ...

from one of the

submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...

s located at the

Point Loma Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...

submarine base. A mess cook who knew Morse Code was given a script. The eyepiece was removed from the Number 2

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

and a large flashlight was used, since a modern submarine does not have (or need) the capability to transmit Morse code in the way that was shown in the film. ''Puffer'' is not listed in the film credits.Sutton, Dom CAPT USN (retired), (9 December 2017). Watch officer at the time of filming.

Decommissioning and disposal

After more than 25 years of stellar service, ''Puffer'' was decommissioned on 12 July 1996 and stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) 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 t ...

the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered

Ship and Submarine Recycling Program The Ship-Submarine Recycling Program (SRP) is the process that the United States Navy uses to dispose of decommissioned nuclear vessels. SRP takes place only at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) in Bremerton, Washington, but the preparations ...

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

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, began on 20 October 1996 and was completed on 28 March 1997. ''Puffer''s fairwater planes can be seen as part of ''The Fin Project'', a permanent outdoor art installation on the shore of Lake Washington in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, at Magnusson Park.

References

* *
NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Puffer (SSN-652)
* ACP 113 Navy Callsigns * USS ''Puffer'' (SSN-652) Inactivation Ceremony Program {{DEFAULTSORT:Puffer (Ssn-652) Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi Sturgeon-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1968 ships