USS Halibut (SSGN-587)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | USS Halibut |
| Namesake: | The halibut |
| Laid down: | 11 April 1957 |
| Launched: | 9 January 1959 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Chet Holifield |
| Commissioned: | 4 January 1960 |
| Decommissioned: | 30 June 1976 |
| Reclassified: | From SSGN-587 to SSN-587, 15 April 1965 |
| Struck: | 30 April 1986 |
| Fate: | Disposed of through the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 9 September 1994 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: |
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| Displacement: | 3655 tons surfaced, 5000 tons submerged |
| Length: | 350 ft (110 m) |
| Beam: | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Draft: | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Propulsion: | S3W reactor, 7300 shp; two turbines, two shafts |
| Speed: | 15/20+kt (28/37 km/h) (surfaced/submerged) |
| Range: | unlimited except by food supplies |
| Complement: | 9 officers and 88 men |
| Armament: |
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USS Halibut (SSGN-587), a unique nuclear-powered guided missile submarine-turned-special operations platform, later redesignated as an attack submarine SSN-587, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the halibut.
Halibut's keel was laid down by Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California, on 11 April 1957. She was launched on 9 January 1959, sponsored by Mrs. Chet Holifield, wife of Congressman Chet Holifield of California, and commissioned on 4 January 1960 with Lieutenant Commander Walter Dedrick in command.
Begun as a diesel-electric submarine but completed with nuclear power, Halibut was the first submarine initially designed to launch guided missiles. Intended to carry the Regulus I and Regulus II nuclear cruise missiles, her main deck was high above the waterline to provide a dry "flight deck." Her missile system was completely automated, with hydraulic machinery controlled from a central control station.
Halibut departed on her shakedown cruise 11 March 1960. On 25 March, underway to Australia, she became the first nuclear-powered submarine to successfully launch a guided missile. She returned to Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 18 June 1960, and after short training cruises sailed 7 November for Pearl Harbor to join the Pacific Fleet. During her first deployment she successfully launched her seventh consecutive Regulus I missile during a major Southeast Asia Treaty Organization weapons demonstration. Returning to Pearl Harbor on 9 April 1961, Halibut began her second deployment 1 May. During subsequent cruises, she participated in several missile firing exercises and underwent training.
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