USS Simon Lake (AS-33)

Simon Lake at Kings Bay in 1981
History
Name:	USS Simon Lake
Namesake:	Simon Lake
Builder:	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington
Laid down:	7 January 1963
Launched:	8 February 1964
Commissioned:	7 November 1964
Decommissioned:	31 July 1999
Fate:	Moored at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia
General characteristics
Class and type:	Simon Lake-class submarine tender
Displacement:	12,686 long tons (12,890 t)
Length:	644 ft (196 m)
Beam:	85 ft (26 m)
Draft:	30 ft (9.1 m)
Propulsion:	2 boilers, steam turbine, single shaft
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:	1,420
Armament:	4 x 25mm Mk38 cannons, 2 x 40mm grenade launchers, 2 x .50 caliber guns

USS Simon Lake (AS-33) was the lead ship of her class of submarine tenders in the United States Navy, named for Simon Lake, a pioneering designer of early submarines.

The ship was laid down on 7 January 1963 by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington; launched on 8 February 1964; sponsored by Mrs. Cecil Ford and Mrs. Herbert Diamond; and commissioned on 7 November 1964, Captain James B. Osborn in command.

Simon Lake sailed from Bremerton on 16 January 1965 for Pearl Harbor on her shakedown cruise and returned to Bremerton on 17 February for a six-week yard availability period. The Polaris submarine tender stood out of Bremerton on 16 April and proceeded to Charleston, South Carolina, via the Panama Canal.

Simon Lake arrived at Charleston on 1 May and tended submarines there until 11 July 1966. On that date, she sailed for Holy Loch, Scotland, where she relieved Hunley (AS-31) as tender for Submarine Squadron 14. She operated from there until 24 May 1970 when she got underway for Charleston. In June, she sailed for Bremerton for her first overhaul since commissioning. The tender was in the yard from 6 July 1970 to March 1971 and, while there, was also converted to Poseidon missile capability.

Simon Lake returned to Charleston on 3 April and tended submarines there until 19 November 1972 when she sailed for Rota, Spain, as the relief for Holland (AS-32).

The Simon Lake arrived at the Charleston Naval Shipyard in North Charleston, South Carolina, January 1977 for extensive overhaul in one of the three drydocks. Over a year later, the drydock was flooded, the heavy ICBM missile cranes were weight tested, and the ship sent out on a "shakedown" cruise.