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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

Barb (SSN-596)

Radio Call Sign: November - Foxtrot - Charlie - Juliet
Thresher Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 9 November 1959, at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp, Pascagoula, MS.; Launched, 12 February 1962; Commissioned, USS Barb (SSN-596), 24 August 1963; Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 20 December 1989; Laid up at Bremerton Naval Shipyard; Final Disposition, entered the NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., completed 14 March 1996.

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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For Full Size Image		Size Image Description Contributed 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.
U.S. Navy Photograph 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. 		US Navy photo courtesy of Ron Titus courtesy of Ingersoll-Rand. Corp. Photo i.d. courtesy of Dave Johnston.
Barb 1.20k Barb (SSN-596) sliding down the launching ways at the Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, 12 February 1962. Courtesy of Ingalls Shipbuilding & Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 08/24/12.
Barb 26k Pre-commissioning photo of the Barb (SSN-596), during her alpha trials on 16 July 1963. Admiral Rickover, USN, is shown at far right on the sub's sail planes. USN photo courtesy of USNI.
Thresher745kCirca commissioning era, summer of 1963 showing the Barb (SSN-596)underway. USN photo # NPC 1071535 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
PDF added 08/24/12.
Barb 99k Commemorative post mark issued on the occasion of the Barb's (SSN-596) commissioning, 24 August 1963. Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Plunger 192k Four Thresher Class boats exercise on 20 May 1968:
Plunger (SSN-595), Barb (SSN-596), Guardfish (SSN-612) & Flasher (SSN-613). 		US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Plunger 345k Four Thresher Class boats exercise on 20 May 1968 in color:
Plunger (SSN-595), Barb (SSN-596), Guardfish (SSN-612) & Flasher (SSN-613). 		US Navy photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Barb 41k Barb (SSN-596) rescues the crew of a B-52 off Guam during Typhoon Rita, June 1972. Courtesy of members.aol.com.
Barb 73k Oil on canvas by the artist Tom Freeman entitled "Rescue by USS Barb, June 1972" in which Barb (SSN-596) rescues the crew of a B-52 off Guam during Typhoon Rita, June 1972. Courtesy of usni.org
Barb3.80k Barb's (SSN-596) history, 1963 - 1972 PDF courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Thresher954kSixteen page PDF Welcome Aboard progam for the Barb (SSN-596). Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
PDF added 08/24/12.
Barb4.10kSeven page PDF Welcome Aborad the Barb (SSN-596), 1973. Photo courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Barb 104k Photo on the back of the welcome aboard pamphlet - She is off Diamond Head; the date is between 1963-73. Official U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Barb618kFront paper of Mare Island's Newspaper on 8 March 1974 announcing the arrival of Barb (SSN-596) with Commanding Officer photo. PDF courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Unitas XX 264k A bow view possibly of the attack submarine Barb (SSN-596) in the harbor during exercise Unitas XX in 1979. Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-SN-82-09744, by PH2 J. Vinson, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Barb580kFront paper of Mare Island's Newspaper on 1 August 1980 announcing the arrival of Barb (SSN-596) with Commanding Officer photo. PDF courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Barb 261k San Diego, May 1983: Barb (SSN-596) tied up inboard of Flasher (SSN-613) at Dixon pier (so named because that was the pier where the Dixon (AS-37) always tied up.) Photo taken from the deck of the sub tender Sperry (AS-12). Photo courtesy of John MacKay.
Barb 329k Barb (SSN-596) tied up outboard Pogy (SSN-647). Photo was taken from the deck of the sub tender Dixon (AS-37) on 29 July 1984. Photo courtesy of John MacKay.
Barb 143k Broadside view of the Barb (SSN-596), underway out of Pearl Harbor, date unknown. Official US Navy photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
Barb 91k The Barb (SSN-596) wearing the "E" for excellence on her sail executing a high-speed turn on the surface, date and location unknown. USN photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Barb 121k The Barb (SSN-596), underway against a beautiful backdrop of the Pacific coast, date and location unknown. Courtesy of John Hummel.
Thresher2.64kTwenty two page PDF Deactivation Ceremony for the Barb (SSN-596) on 10 March 1989. Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
PDF added 08/24/12.
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 U.S. Navy Photograph # 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 (USN).
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 & partial text courtesy of home.flash.net/~tomj/tunny/chop/rx. & submitted by Jack Treutle.
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.
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).
USN photo & partial text courtesy of home.flash.net/~tomj/tunny/chop/rx. & submitted by Jack Treutle.
There is no DANFS History currently available for Barb (SSN-596) 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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