USS Flasher (SSN-613)
Flasher underway outside San Francisco Bay
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| History | |
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 United States of America
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| Name: | USS Flasher |
| Namesake: | The flasher, a fish of the Lobotidae family |
| Awarded: | 9 June 1960 |
| Builder: | General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut |
| Laid down: | 14 April 1961 |
| Launched: | 22 June 1963 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Paul F. Fay, Jr. |
| Commissioned: | 22 July 1966 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 September 1992 |
| Struck: | 14 September 1992 |
| Motto: | Best in the West |
| Honors and awards: |
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| Fate: | Scrapped via Ship-Submarine Recycling Program |
| Status: | Recycled |
| Badge: | _patch1.JPG) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Thresher/Permit-class submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 292 ft (89 m) |
| Beam: | 31 ft 8 in (9.65 m) |
| Propulsion: | S5W PWR |
| Speed: |
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| Complement: | 12 officers and 76 men (Actual inservice crew; 13 Officers, 100 men) |
| Armament: | 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
USS Flasher (SSN-613), a Permit-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the flasher, a member of the Lobotidae family of fishes, which have an unusual placement of the second dorsal and anal fins, posteriorly located on the body, close to the tail.
The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 9 June 1960 and her keel was laid down on 14 April 1961.
Originally laid down as the eleventh submarine in the Thresher-class building program, Flasher was extensively modified during the construction period. These modifications consisted of lengthening the hull, lengthening the sail, and upgrading the watertight integrity of the sea water systems. The SUBSAFE Program was developed as a result of the loss of the Thresher (SSN-593), the first submarine of the class; Flasher became the first submarine certified as SUBSAFE. This contributed to the lengthy delay between being laid down and commissioning.
In the nation's only simultaneous twin launching Flasher and Tecumseh (SSBN-628) were launched on 22 June 1963. Flasher was sponsored and christened by Mrs. Paul F. Fay, Jr., wife of the Under Secretary of the Navy. Vice Admiral Elton W. Grenfell, then Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (ComSubLant), delivered the principal address. She was commissioned on 22 July 1966, with Commander Kenneth M. Carr in command. The principal speaker at the commissioning was US Representative George W. Grider of Tennessee, who had commanded the Flasher (SS-249) during World War II.
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