USS Plunger (SSN-595)
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| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | USS Plunger |
| Ordered: | 23 March 1959 |
| Builder: | Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California |
| Laid down: | 2 March 1960 |
| Launched: | 9 December 1961 |
| Commissioned: | 21 November 1962 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 February 1990 |
| Struck: | 2 February 1990 |
| Fate: | Entered Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 5 January 1995 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Thresher/Permit-class submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 295 ft (90 m) |
| Beam: | 31 ft 8 in (9.65 m) |
| Propulsion: | 1 S5W PWR |
| Speed: | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)+ |
| Complement: | 100 officers and men |
| Armament: | 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
USS Plunger (SSN-595), a Permit-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named "plunger", meaning a diver or a daring gambler.
The contract to build her as a guided-missile submarine (SSGN) was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 23 March 1959, but by the time her keel was laid down on 2 March 1960 she had been redesigned as an attack submarine (SSN). She was launched on 9 December 1961 (sponsored by Mrs. Clinton P. Anderson), and commissioned on 21 November 1962, with Commander William M. Adams, Jr., in command.
Following a trip to Puget Sound on 27 November to test torpedo tubes and sound gear, Plunger departed Mare Island on 5 January 1963 for shakedown to Pearl Harbor. Plunger next was homeported at Mare Island and operated to test the performance of sonar and the fire control system. In April she changed homeport to Pearl Harbor, where she became flagship of ComSubDiv 71, on 1 April.
Continuing in a testing capacity, Plunger evaluated the most advanced class of nuclear attack submarines. Operating off the U.S. West Coast during the spring and summer, she proceeded to Wake Island on 15 September 1964 for SubRon Operational Evaluation missile firing.
At Pearl Harbor again in January 1965, Plunger was selected to demonstrate the capability of the Navy's latest ASW weapon system to Dr. Donald Hornig, Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. At Wake Island in May, Plunger participated in C/S-17, the SubRon Operational Training Test. In September, she prepared for WestPac deployment, which continued into mid 1966. During this deployment, Plunger conducted evaluation exercises of the AN/BQQ-1 sonar systems and traveled as far east as Okinawa and Subic Bay. She also conducted ASW exercises and executed oceanographic and port surveys.
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