USS Tautog (SSN-639)
USS Tautog (SSN-639) off the Hawaiian Islands.
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Tautog (SSN-639) |
| Namesake: | The tautog, a type of wrasse. |
| Ordered: | 30 November 1961 |
| Builder: | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
| Laid down: | 27 January 1964 |
| Launched: | 15 April 1967 |
| Sponsored by: | Pauline Lafon Gore |
| Commissioned: | 17 August 1968 |
| Decommissioned: | 31 March 1997 |
| Struck: | 31 March 1997 |
| Motto: | Silent Vigilance |
| Nickname(s): | "The Terrible T" |
| Fate: | Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program completed 30 November 2004 |
| Status: | Recycled |
| Badge: |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Sturgeon-class attack submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 89 m (292 ft) |
| Beam: | 9.7 m (32 ft) |
| Draft: | 8.8 m (29 ft) |
| Propulsion: | S5W nuclear reactor |
| Speed: | >20kt |
| Test depth: | >400ft |
| Complement: |
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USS Tautog (SSN-639), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Tautog (Tautoga Onitis), a wrasse commonly found along the Northern Atlantic coast. The submarine was in service from 17 August 1968 to 31 March 1997.
The contract to build Tautog was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on 30 November 1961 and her keel was laid down there on 27 January 1964. She was commissioned on 15 March 1967, sponsored by Pauline Lafon Gore, wife of United States Senator Albert Gore, Sr. (1907–1998) of Tennessee. Under sunny skies, a crowd of thousands watched as Mrs. Gore took a hearty swing with a bottle of champagne and intoned the memorial words, "In the name of the United States of America, I christen thee Tautog."Tautog was commissioned 17 August 1968 under the command of Commander Buele G. Balderston.
On 30 August 1968, Tautog departed Pascagoula on her way to join the United States Pacific Fleet. She transited the Panama Canal on 8 September 1968 and arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 23 September 1968. There, she joined Submarine Squadron 12, serving as its flagship. Throughout 1969, Tautog completed her post-commissioning tests and sea trials, followed by her shakedown training cruise. She conducted the majority of these operations in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands, although in January and February 1969 she berthed in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington, for trials and repairs. She completed her shakedown training in September 1969 and, on 15 September 1969, began post-shakedown repairs and alterations which were protracted by the necessity of replacing her entire diesel generator. Tautog's repairs finally were completed on 19 February 1970, and she began normal operations out of Pearl Harbor, involving torpedo and sonar tracking exercises, culminating in Tautog earning the Battle Efficiency "E" in 1970 for outstanding performance.Tautog received a Navy Unit Commendation for service on or about 1 June 1969. According to Drew, 2008, Tautog monitored a test of new cruise missiles launched from an Echo II class Soviet submarine in the summer of 1969.
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