USS Skipjack (SSN-585)
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| History | |
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 United States of America
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| Name: | USS Skipjack |
| Namesake: | The Skipjack, a type of Tuna |
| Awarded: | 5 October 1955 |
| Builder: | General Dynamics Electric Boat |
| Laid down: | 29 May 1956 |
| Launched: | 26 May 1958 |
| Commissioned: | 15 April 1959 |
| Decommissioned: | 19 April 1990 |
| Struck: | 19 April 1990 |
| Motto: |
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| Fate: | Entered the Submarine Recycling Program, 17 March 1996 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Skipjack-class submarine |
| Type: | Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 252 ft (77 m) |
| Beam: | 31 ft 7 in (9.63 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft 5 in (8.97 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Complement: | 93 officers & men |
| Armament: | 6 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes |
USS Skipjack (SSN-585), the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the Skipjack tuna.
Her keel was laid down on 29 May 1956 by the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 26 May 1958, sponsored by Helen Mahon, wife of Representative George H. Mahon from the 19th District of Texas, and commissioned on 15 April 1959 with Commander W. W. Behrens, Jr., in command.
On the Skipjack, there were many design changes that were products of new scientific insight into submarine design. The submarine industry, now with nuclear power, had wanted to make a "true" submarine. This required a design in its element underwater, not solely one theoretically able to remain submerged indefinitely. The greatest alteration was the new tear-drop hull, pioneered by the conventionally powered USS Albacore, and designed for optimum performance underwater. The new hull's only protrusions were the sail and diving planes. The 23-foot sail, resembling a shark's dorsal fin, rose at a point midway in the hull to keep the ship stable. The diving planes, similar in function to the wings of an airplane, were moved from the hull to this new sail, with the periscopes and antenna masts. Thus, they could only be useful when the submarine is in its natural environment—like the control surfaces on an airplane. Also, a single propeller behind the rudder now propelled Skipjack, making it more maneuverable.
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