USS Growler (SSG-577) (New York City, New York)

 military, submarine, United States Navy, museum ship

Laid down at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine in February 1955, USS Growler commissioned into US Navy service in August 1958 as the second and final member of the Grayback Class of Submarines. Built along the traditional lines of a diesel-electric Fleet Submarine of World War II vintage, the Growler and her sistership USS Grayback were given numerous modifications and upgrades to their onboard and external systems, most notably the addition of a massive dual-hangar enclosure and launching apparatus for the state-of-the-art SSM-N-8 Regulus Cruise Missile.

Departing on her shakedown and subsequent training cruises to the Caribbean, Growler and her crew engaged in top-secret training exercises which centered on the boat’s ability to operate clandestinely for long periods before surfacing to launch her payload of missiles. Conducting her first operational launch of a Regulus I missile in March 1959 off Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, the Growler and her crew continued their training with both the Regulus I and larger Regulus II missile systems until April when they returned to Kittery for overhaul and voyage repairs. Departing Atlantic waters in August 1959, the Growler transited the Panama Canal and joined the US Pacific Fleet, assuming command of Submarine Division 12 upon her arrival at Pearl Harbor in September. Resuming a busy schedule of intensive training and wargames, the Growler and her crew spent five months honing their skills before departing on her maiden Regulus Deterrent Patrol on March 12th, 1960.

Operating under a strict code of secrecy, the Growler and her crew formed part of the United State’s Nuclear Deterrent Force, aimed at providing primary or retaliatory nuclear strike capabilities against the Soviet Union should the Cold War go hot. Frequently operating within the 500 nautical mile range of her missiles from selected Soviet targets, the Growler and her crew were in constant states of alert as they operated in highly trafficked waters for nine full deterrent patrols between 1960 and 1963. On patrol as tensions between the US and USSR brought the world to the brink of nuclear war over Soviet Missiles on Cuba, the Growler and her crew were at the spear tip of a potential American nuclear strike, but were called back after Soviet forces backed down in November 1962.

Continuing her work in Pacific waters until the more powerful and capable George Washington Class of Ballistic Missile submarines began to arrive in force with the US Pacific Fleet, the Growler returned stateside where she decommissioned from active service at the Mare Island Navy Yard in May 1964. With the Regulus Missile phased out of frontline service in favor of the Polaris SLBM, Growler’s highly-specialized capabilities were no longer in demand and she was subsequently moved to long-term storage at the Bremerton Navy Yard, where she served as a parts source for her still-operational sistership which had been converted to deliver Navy SEAL teams via her missile hangars. Stricken from the Naval Register in 1980, the Growler was slated for use as a target ship but was instead purchased by Zachary Fisher in August 1988 and began a long tow from Bremerton to New York.

Stopping en route for an overhaul and painting at Tampa Shipbuilding, the Growler arrived in New York Harbor for the first time on September 29th, 1988 and took her place alongside the USS Intrepid (CV-11) as part of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, beginning her new life as a museum ship and monument to Ballistic Missile Submarine sailors. Given an extensive $11.5 Million dollar renovation from 2008-2009, the Growler re-opened to visitors on May 21st, 2009 wearing her original color scheme and continues to serve as a museum ship and the sole American nuclear missile submarine on public display.

www.intrepidmuseum.org/The-Intrepid-Experience/Exhibits...
www.navsource.org/archives/08/08577.htm
www.hnsa.org/ships/growler.htm