USS Plunger (SSN-595)
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| Career |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 23 March 1959 |
| Laid down: | 2 March 1960 |
| Launched: | 9 December 1961 |
| Commissioned: | 21 November 1962 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 February 1990 |
| Fate: | submarine recycling |
| Stricken: | 2 February 1990 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 3700 tons surfaced, 4300 tons submerged, 3540 tons light |
| Length: | 89.9 meters (295 feet) |
| Beam: | 31 feet 8 inches |
| Draft: | |
| Propulsion: | S5W reactor |
| Speed: | 20+ knots |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 100 officers and men |
| Armament: | four 21-inch torpedo tubes |
USS Plunger (SSN-595), a Permit-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the plunger, a diver, a daring gambler, or a device for clearing blockages in toilets. 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, 1 April.
Continuing in a testing capacity, Plunger evaluated the most advanced class of nuclear attack subs. 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 AN/SQS-36 sonar and traveled as far east as Okinawa and Subic Bay. She also conducted ASW exercises and executed oceanographic and port surveys.
At Pearl Harbor with SubRon 7 in 1967, Plunger operated to improve the ASW readiness of the Pacific fleet; from 6 March to 22 March, she participated in ASW exercises and later continued in advanced type-training work. During inport periods at Pearl Harbor, Plunger provided services to Fleet Training Program Pearl Harbor. Homeporting at Puget Sound the last six months of 1967, Plunger returned to Pearl Harbor 1 February 1968.
- 19 years of history go here.
Plunger was deactivated, in commission, on 10 February 1989, decommissioned on 3 January 1990 and stricken from the Navy Register the following 2 February. Ex-Plunger entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, on 5 January 1995 and on 8 March 1996 ceased to exist.
See USS Plunger for other ships of the same name.
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.