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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Contributed by Mike Smolinski
Radio Call Sign: November - Juliet - Tango - Sierra

Dace (SSN-607)


Thresher Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 6 June 1960, at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp, Pascagoula, MS.; Launched, 18 August 1962; Commissioned, USS Dace (SSN-607), 4 April 1964; Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 2 December 1988; Laid up at Bremerton Naval Shipyard; Final Disposition, disposed of through the NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 3,540 t., Submerged: 4,200 t.; Length 278' 5"; Beam 31' 8"; ; Speed, Surfaced 15 kts, Submerged 28+ kts; Operating Depth 400'; Complement, 143; Sensors: Raytheon BQS-6A or -6B active/passive systems BQQ-1 and the Edo BQR-7 passive, conformal array, TB-26 Towed Sonar Array; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes, forward, MK 48 torpedoes, UUM-44A SUBROC, UGM-84A/C Harpoon, MK 57 deep water mines, Mk 60 CAPTOR mines; Propulsion System, one S5W nuclear reactor, two Westinghouse steam turbines, one propeller 15,000 shp.
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SizeImage DescriptionContributed By
Thresher50kPlatform plan of Thresher (SSN-593) class submarines. PDF courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Submarine Silhouettes 1960179kSubmarine Silhouettes of 1960:
Nautilus (SSN-571), Seawolf (SSN-575), Skate (SSN-578), Skipjack (SS-585), Triton (SSRN-586), Halibut (SSGN-587), Thresher (SSN-593), Tullibee (SSN-597), George Washington (SSBN-598), & Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) classes.
USN photo submitted by Ron Titus, courtesy of Ingersoll-Rand. Corp.
Nuclear Submarine Profiles187kNuclear Submarine Profiles 1960:
Nautilus (SSN-571),
Seawolf (SSN-575),
Triton (SSRN-586),
Skate (SSN-578) & Skipjack (SS-585) classes,
Halibut (SSGN-587) & Tullibee (SSN-597) classes,
George Washington (SSBN-598) &
Thresher (SSN-593) classes.
USN photo courtesy of Ron Titus courtesy of Ingersoll-Rand. Corp. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston
Dace573kThe Dace (SSN-607) was sponsored by Mrs. Betty Ford, wife of Gerald R. Ford, former Lieutenant Commander (USN), Congressman from Michigan's 5th Congressional District, & otherwise known as the 38th President of the United States.
Photo Caption: Mrs. Betty Ford christens Dace at Pascagoula, 18 August 1962. Looking on are (left to right) Mrs. Thomas G. Ford, matron of honor; the Honorable Kenneth E. BeLieu, Assistant Secretary of the Navy; and Mr. Fred J. Mayo, President of Ingalls Shipbuilding.
USN photo courtesy of history.navy.mil
Dace257kThe Dace (SSN-607) backs down the launching ways at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp,Pascagoula, MS. on 18 August 1962. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Dace620k5 photo PDF showing significant events in Dace's (SSN-607) history:
Launching invitation & Cover
Future First Lady Betty Ford preparing to christen Dace & her christening
& the cover of the commissioning program.
Photos courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
Dace94kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of Dace's (SSN-607) launching at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp,Pascagoula, MS. on 18 August 1962. Photo courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
Reception
0860724
NRPRESIDENT F. J. MAYO OF JACKSON COUNTY PORT.
Authority presented plaques to visiting commanders of ships at Pascagoula at a reception last week at Longfellow House. The reception honored officers of Huse (DE-145). Fran left are C. W. Grojean, Barb (SSN-596), O. Kimzey, Holland (AS-32), Mayo, J. A. Walsh , Dace (SSN-607) and Dale Kerfoot, commander of Huse.
Image and text provided by Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
(Chronicle staff photo)
Photo from The Chronicle. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1961-1966, 10 July 1963, Image 1, via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Dace129kPre-commissioning photo of the Dace (SSN-607) underway in the Gulf of Mexico, 2 April 1964. Official USN photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
Dace44kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of Dace's (SSN-607) first day in commission, 4 April 1964. Event Cachet is one of 484 items mailed by BECK-(B432) sponsored for event.Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Dace137kDace (SSN-607) as an art form.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Dace28kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of builders sea trials for the Dace (SSN-607) at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp, Pascagoula, MS, 4 April 1964.Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Dace2.02kTwenty page PDF Commissioning pamphlet for the Dace (SSN-607).USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Dace1.89kNine page PDF Welcome Aboard pamphlet for the Dace (SSN-607).USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
McKee 88k Admiral Kinnaird Rowe McKee was born in Louisville, Kentucky on 14 August 1929 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1951. He served in the Pacific fleet destroyer Marshall (DD-676) during the Korean War and in eight submarines of the Atlantic fleet since that time. After completion of submarine training in 1953, he served in three diesel-powered submarines: Picuda (SS-382), Sea Cat (SS-399), and Marlin (SST-2). In 1956, Admiral McKee was ordered to command of X-1, a small experimental submarine. He graduated from nuclear power training in 1958 and joined the commissioning crew of Skipjack (SSN-585), the Navy’s first high performance nuclear-powered attack submarine. Assignment as Executive Officer of Nautilus (SSN-571) followed in 1961, then of the Sam Houston (SSBN-609) in late 1962. After three deterrent patrols on the Sam Houston, he served in the Naval Reactors Division of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1964 to 1966. Admiral McKee served as Commanding Officer of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Dace (SSN-607) from 1966 through 1969. The ship was twice awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and three times the Battle Efficiency Pennant for operations during that period. Text & USN photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
Dace284kBroadside Dace (SSN-607), 1965.USN photo # NPC K-35687a courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
GNATS1.70kThis shows the submarine tender Fulton (AS-11) alongside the State Pier, New London, CT. The date is approximately 1967-69. At the end of the pier is the submarine rescue vessel Skylark (ASR-20). Aft of the Fulton is the Gato (SSN-615), and moored in the nest next to the Fulton is Dace (SSN-607), Jack (SSN-605), and an unknown Thresher/Permit class boat (inboard in the nest). The unknown boat has a teardrop shaped sonar dome on the bow, an unusual installation for a 593 class boat. It is for the General Noise and Tonal System (GNATS), a jamming/decoy sonar system. Normally the dome is found mounted aft. A rough guess as to the identity of the unknown boat is Pollack (SSN-603). USN photo courtesy of David Johnston
Ric Hedman and Jim Christley contributed information for this photo.
Dace132kDace (SSN-607) somewhere in the Atlantic on 30 March 1974.USN photo # NPC 1093072 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Tinosa284kDocked Dace (SSN-607) & Tinosa (SSN-606), sub base New London.Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Dace204kDace (SSN-607) billows through the Atlantic.USN photo # NPC K-35687a courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Dace71k Dace (SSN-607) at Roosevelt Roads, PR in 1979. It wasn't really for R&R (although we got some) we had to put in for repairs to our AC (off loaded 16 men in critical condition upon arrival). We called it "Death Run '79".
We were on a liberty cruise on our way around to Mare Island for overhaul. Our first port was Antigua, West Indies. While there, the CW pump for the Lithbro seized. We started to work on it there but couldn't get it fixed before our scheduled underway time. We were to go to Curasal next so we headed that way. As you probably know, ships on there way to overhaul are not in the best of shape. One of our problems was that the mechanical seal for #1 R-12 CW/SW pump leaked. Sometimes it had a tendency to spray a little extra and would short out the pressure switches causing #1 to shut down. After a bit of drying, we could get it back up. Finally, it shut down for good so all we had was #2 R-12. The implications of having a broken down nuclear sub in a foreign port did not set well with our CO, so he got us re-routed to Rosie Roads. We were only 2 hours out of Curasal when we changed. As you can imagine, by now the temperatures are soaring throughout the boat but particularly in the ER. To top it off, #2 R-12 couldn't handle the load so it kept tripping off line about every 30 minutes and it would take about 30 minutes to get it back. If you stood in one spot for more than a minute, you left a puddle where you stood. The mess decks became an emergency ward with IV's running everywhere. Temperatures peaked at about 185F between the TGs in UL. We tried to go deep to find cold water, but Hurricanes David and Frederick were passing through and had it all stirred up. These also meant surfacing was not an option. We did however get a small reprieve when we managed to surface in the eye of Frederick and got to ventilate for about 45 minutes. ER watch rotation was down to less than 15 minutes and at the end of that you were usually carried forward to Mess decks to be revived. Those who could not manage it any more were left there under the supervision of the Doc and his team.
We managed to make it into Rosie Roads but Frederick had just passed over the island so it was without services meaning we could not shutdown. They had 4 large ambulances waiting on the pier for us and 16 members were transported to the hospital in critical condition from various stages of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. SUBLANT diverted the Seahorse (SSN-669) to PR and she pulled in about 30 minutes after us to provide us with shore-power and watch-standers so we could shut down. All those sent to the hospital made a full recovery and came back to the Boat. We had a tiger team flown in from the Fulton (AS-11) to help with repairs and they brought us a new CW pump. We were there about 3 weeks so we did manage to get some R&R. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to any other liberty ports and had to hurry around to Mare Island to start our overhaul on time.
So there is the story, or as best as I can recall it. It was quite a few years ago and one tries to forget the bad times. I can tell you though that they put us up in the barracks and in my room with 3 other guys, we went through 62 gallons of beer. Most of the other rooms had similar totals.
Courtesy of Dusty Wilson (MMCSS Ret.)
Dace1.40k8 photo PDF showing: A rigger gang is working on a cofferdam used to repair the sonar towed array stowage tube while the Dace (SSN-607) is waterborne, April 1981.
View from the bottom of a cofferdam for the sonar towed array stowage to allow for work on the stowage tube while the Dace is waterborne, April 1981.
Cofferdam delivered from the structural shop on a trailer.
JO = Job Order
* 39 = Non-nuclear work
* 607 = Ships hull number
* 426 = Active sonar boundary number
* 02 = Indicates that work was done for a Shipalt (BQQ-5 System installation) * 012 = 12th Key operations of this Shipalt Job Order.
Cofferdam standing upright on the dock.
View of pumped out cofferdam with submersible pumps in place.
The cofferdam is in place and diver is ready to enter the cofferdam to start work on the sonar towed array aboard the Dace
View of pumped out cofferdam with submersible pumps in place.
Aft view of the seal against the submarine's hull and the stowage tube.
USN photos # 176163-4- thru 176187-4-81, courtesy of Darrly Baker.
Dace997kThe Dace (SSN-607) at Mare Island under going overhaul in December 1981.USN photo # 183141-12-81, courtesy of Darrly Baker.
7Dace93kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of Dace's (SSN-607) deactivation, at Naval Submarine Base at Bremerton, Washington, 27 February 1988.Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Dace51kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of Dace's (SSN-607) decommissioning at Bremerton,WA on 2 December 1988. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
PSNSY 683k An aerial view of a section of the Ship Intermediate Maintenance Facility at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 17 May 1993. One submarine tender and 16 decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines are shown including the Seawolf (SSN-575); six George Washington, and Lafayette class SSBN's (with their missile sections cut out) plus several Skate, Skipjack, Permit and Sturgeon class SSN's. All are awaiting scrapping.
Bottom row, from left to right Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610), Skipjack (SS-585), Snook (SSN-592), Henry Clay (SSBN-625), Lapon (SSN-661), Dace (SSN-607), Skate (SSN-578), Swordfish (SSN-579), Sargo (SSN-583), Seadragon (SSN-584).
Across the pier are Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618), and not in view, Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), George Washington (SSBN-598), Barb (SSN-596) & Sea Devil (SSN-664).
Official USN photo # DN-ST-95-01863, by Calvin Larsen, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston.
PSNSY291k"Sign of the times." March 1994 photo of Nuclear submarines at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard waiting in line for scrapping.
Top row left to right are Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), Seawolf (SSN-575) Plunger (SSN-595), Shark (SSN-591), Nathanael Greene (SSBN-636), Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN-685) alongside Sperry (AS-12), with Triton (SSRN-586) across the pier from the Sperry .
Bottom row, from left to right Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610), Skipjack (SS-585), Snook (SSN-592), Henry Clay (SSBN-625), Lapon (SSN-661), Dace (SSN-607), Skate (SSN-578), Swordfish (SSN-579), Sargo (SSN-583), Seadragon (SSN-584).
Across the pier are Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618), and not in view, Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), George Washington (SSBN-598), Barb (SSN-596) & Sea Devil (SSN-664).
There are so many submarines at PSNSY that the yard is running out of pier space.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Reactor Compartments83kTrench 94, Hanford Site, Washington, 1994. Hull sections containing defueled reactor compartments of decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines are put in disposal trenches. Once full, the trench will be filled with dirt and buried. The compartments are expected to retain their integrity for more than 600 years. USN photo submitted by Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Spent Fuel569kSealed reactor compartments are shipped by barge out of Puget Sound Naval Base down the coast and along the Columbia River to the port of Benton. There the radioactively-contaminated hull sections are transferred to special multiwheeled high-load trailers for transport to the Hanford Reservation in Washington State. Pictured below is the burial ground for spent fuel of the following 77 nuclear reactor submarines as of March 2003:
Patrick Henry (SSBN-599),
Snook (SSN-592),
George Washington (SSBN-598),
Scamp (SSN-588),
Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601),
Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618),
Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN-600),
Dace (SSN-607),
John Adams (SSBN-620),
Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602),
Barb (SSN-596),
Ethan Allen (SSBN-608),
Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610),
Pollack (SSN-603),
Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN-685),
James Monroe (SSBN-622),
Skipjack (SS-585),
Nathan Hale (SSBN-623),
Plunger (SSN-595),
Shark (SSN-591),
Lafayette (SSBN-616),
Sam Houston (SSBN-609),
Jack (SSN-605),
Haddo (SSN-604),
Tinosa (SSN-606),
Guardfish (SSN-612),
Permit (SSN-594),
Queenfish (SSN-651),
Ulysses S. Grant (SSBN-631),
John Marshall (SSBN-611),
George C. Marshall (SSBN-654),
Flasher (SSN-613),
Guitarro (SSN-665),
Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617),
George Washington Carver (SSBN-656),
Tecumseh (SSBN-628),
Halibut (SSGN-587),
Will Rogers (SSBN-659),
Henry L. Stimson (SSBN-655),
Daniel Boone (SSBN-629),
Greenling (SSN-614),
John C. Calhoun (SSBN-630),
Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633),
Skate (SSN-578),
Sargo (SSN-583),
Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657),
Sturgeon (SSN-637),
Benjamin Franklin (SSBN-640),
Swordfish (SSN-579),
Seadragon (SSN-584),
Stonewall Jackson (SSBN-634),
Simon Bolivar (SSBN-641),
Hammerhead (SSN-663),
Mariano G. Vallejo (SSBN-658) ,
Tullibee (SSN-597),
Lewis & Clark (SSBN-644),
Pargo (SSN-650),
Seahorse (SSN-669),
Gurnard (SSN-662),
Flying Fish (SSN-673),
Gato (SSN-615),
Puffer (SSN-652),
Seawolf (SSN-575),
Baton Rouge (SSN-689),
Bergall (SSN-667),
Whale (SSN-638),
Henry Clay (SSBN-625),
James Madison (SSBN-627),
Finback (SSN-670),
Spadefish (SSN-668),
Sunfish (SSN-649),
George Bancroft (SSBN-643),
Grayling (SSN-646),
Pintado (SSN-672),
Tunny (SSN-682),
Archerfish (SSN-678),
& Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624).
As time passes & more boats are retired from service and their reactors are brought here, so the numbers rise. In this photo dated November 2009, 98 nuclear submarines and six nuclear cruisers have been recycled. For an up to date view, click here
USN photo submitted by Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Insert link courtesy of wikimedia.org

Commanding Officers
01CDR. Walsh, John Amand, USN (USNA 1946) :RADM04.04.1964 - 15.06.1965 First Date in Commission
02CDR. Cowhill, William Joseph, USN :VADM15.06.1965 - 15.10.1966
03CDR. McKee, Kinnaird Rowe, USN (USNA 1951) :ADM15.10.1966 - 17.08.1969
04CDR. Bayne, John Phillip, USN (USNA 1954)17.08.1969 - 22.09.1972
05CDR. Nolan, Thomas Edward, USN22.09.1972 - 23.07.1976
06CDR. Fitch, Robert Stuart, USN (USNA 1961)23.07.1976 - 09.02.1979
07CDR. Tindal II, Ralph Lawrence, USN :RADM09.02.1979 - 10.06.1982
08CDR. Glover Jr., William Stewart, USN10.06.1982 - 09.04.1985
09CDR. Kadlick, Richard Mark, USN (USNA 1968)09.04.1985 - 02.12.1988 Last Date in Commission
Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler

There is no DANFS History currently available for Dace (SSN-607) at the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site, the main archive for the DANFS Online Project.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
FAS - SSN-594 Permit Class


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