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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Patch at left contributed by Ric Hedman, at center by Jack Treutle, at right by Mike Smolinski

Flasher (SSN-613)


Radio Call Sign: November - Uniform - Romeo - Tango

Thresher Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 14 April 1961, at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT.; Launched, 22 June 1963; Commissioned, USS Flasher (SSN-613), 22 July 1966; Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 26 May 1992; Final Disposition, disposed of through the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program (NPSSRP) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., 11 May 1994.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 3,540 t., Submerged: 4,200 t.; Length 292'; Beam 31' 8"; ; Speed, Surfaced 15 kts, Submerged 28+ kts; Operating Depth 400'; Complement, 143; Sensors, BQR-5 bow mounted sonar, 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 DescriptionSource
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
Flasher22kNameplate of the Flasher (SSN-613) being engraved 14 April 1961, at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT. Courtesy of Ric Hedman, TN, (SS) Flasher (SSN-613) Plankowner.
Flasher 567k EB photo of Flasher (SSN-613) (left) and Tecumseh (SSBN-628) are seen on the building ways at General Dynamics Electric Boat on 21 June 1963. They would be launched simultaneously on the following day. Photo courtesy of Valllejo Naval and Historical Museum via Darryl L. Baker.
Flasher782kThe Flasher (SSN-613) was sponsored by Mrs. Paul R. Fay, wife of the Under Secretary of the Navy.
Caption: Swearing-in ceremony for Under Secretary of the Navy Paul "Red" Fay in the Blue Room, White House, Washington, D.C. President John F. Kennedy shakes hands with Fay as Fay’s wife Anita Marcus Fay and daughter Sally Fay look on. Unidentified clerk (holding Bible) stands at right.
Photo by Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.
Photo JFKWHP-KN-C17212 courtesy of jfklibrary.org
Flasher273kThe Flasher (SSN-613) slides down the launching ways at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 22 June 1963. Courtesy of Ric Hedman TN(SS)Flasher (SSN-613)Plankowner / Boston Herald.
Flasher117kTecumseh (SSBN-628) (top) and Flasher (SSN-613) (bottom) going down the ways together, 22 June 1963 at Electric Boat in Groton CT. This is the only twin launching of Nuclear Powered submarines from the same yard. Also on the same day Daniel Boone (SSBN-629) was launched from Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA. John C. Calhoun (SSBN-630) was launched from Newport News, VA. shipyard.Courtesy of Ric Hedman, TN, (SS) Flasher (SSN-613) Plankowner.
Flasher97k Commissioning of the Flasher (SSN-613) at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 22 June 1963. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Tecumseh222kCover of the dual launching program for the Tecumseh (SSBN-628) (top) and Flasher (SSN-613) at Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 22 June 1963.Photo courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
Flasher25kCommemorative post card marking the launching of the Flasher (SSN-613) at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 22 June 1963. Courtesy of Richard Leonhardt.
Flasher565k12 page Commemorative commissioning PDF of the Flasher (SSN-613) at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 22 July 1966. Courtesy of Ric Hedman, TN, (SS) Flasher (SSN-613) Plankowner.
Flasher24kCommemorative post card marking the commissioning of the Flasher (SSN-613) at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 22 July 1966. Courtesy of Richard Leonhardt.
Flasher773kFlasher (SSN-613) on sea trials in Long Island Sound on 11 June 1966 running a Flank Speed Bell. The four men on the bridge are, from left to right and front to back: Richard Greene SN, Lookout; Lt Robert Pierce, Duty Officer; Captain (Commander) Kenneth M. Carr and behind him is Jimmy L. Spear SN, Lookout. The dome shapes on the hull are shipyard strain gages for recording strains and stresses on the hull. The Flasher was the first built from scratch submarine with SUBSAFE so much testing was done. Small pads can be seen on the side of the sail. These were brackets for mounting scaffolding. Once commissioned these were removed. I was aboard in the hull when this was taken. General Dynamics Photo courtesy of Ric Hedman, TN, (SS) Flasher (SSN-613) Plankowner.
Service - Decommissioning
7Flasher56k Commemorative post mark of the Panama Canal transit of Flasher (SSN-613), 9 September 1966. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Flasher57kPhoto of the crews mess aboard the Flasher (SSN-613). The view is looking forward. The table directly below the battle flag was the chiefs table. The bulkhead that the flag is hanging on separates the crews mess from the scullery and galley. The crew's mess was on the second platform deck starboard side in the operations compartment. The crew's movie 16mm projector in on the table. There were 6 tables in the crew's mess seating 6 people at a time. Circa 1966.Courtesy of Ric Hedman, TN, (SS) Flasher (SSN-613) Plankowner.
Flasher32k The Flasher (SSN-613) at Pearl Harbor, probably circa mid 1960's. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Flasher45kFlasher (SSN-613), off Diamond Head,Hawaii in September 1966.Courtesy of Ric Hedman, TN, (SS) Flasher (SSN-613) Plankowner.
Flasher65kFlasher (SSN-613), docking at the Sierra 10 mooring in front of COMSUBPAC for the first time. Fresh from new construction and commissioning and having just made her first Panama Canal transit. (I'm just to the right of the right hand hula dancers hip, almost off the page). Photo is the Cover of the November 1966 issue of Polaris magazine. Courtesy of Ric Hedman, TN, (SS) Flasher (SSN-613) Plankowner.
Flasher142kFlasher (SSN-613) entering Pearl Harbor for the first time. The date is mid-September of 1966. It took a while for us to round Diamond Head and get into Pearl because there was a huge burial at sea for the famous Hawaiian singer and musician Alfred Apaka off Waikiki. Courtesy of Ric Hedman, TN, (SS) Flasher (SSN-613) Plankowner.
Plunger 192k Four Thresher Class boats exercise on 20 May 1968:
Plunger (SSN-595), Barb (SSN-596), Guardfish (SSN-612) & Flasher (SSN-613).
USN 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).
USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Flasher41k Flasher (SSN-613) off Oahu, Hawaii on 12 October 1971. USN photo # 19373, courtesy of Darry Baker. Photo was published by Subase Pearl Harbor Photo Lab.
Haddock & Flasher376kHaddock (SSN-621) & Flasher (SSN-613) at the Sub Base pier in Pearl Harbor during the summer of 1974. Photo courtesy of Allan Kozak.
Thomas Jefferson
0861821
2.34kEight submarines plus a deep-diving submersible were at Mare Island during March 1975. Skippers of the submarines are from the left CDR Noel B. Henderson, Flasher (SSN-613); LCDR Ronald J. Doyle, Wahoo (SS-565); CDR Russell Knowles, Jr., Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618); CDR Charles R. Larson, Halibut (SSGN-587) ; CDR John A. Webster, Jr., Seawolf (SSN-575); CDR Thomas H. Bond, John Marshall (SSN-611); CDR John J. Hummer, Barb (SSN-596); LCDR Roger B. Whitaker; Trieste II and CDR James D. Cossey, Snook (SSN-592). All vessels were under overhaul at the yard. Photo MINSY 128732-3-75, via Darryl L. Baker.
Flasher 2.70k Flasher (SSN-613) Welcome Aboard PDF's of 1978 & 1983. PDF courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Flasher819k Flasher (SSN-613) passing under the Golden Gate Bridge.USN photo courtesy of Jim Stats and submitted by 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.
Darter, Flasher & Swordfish364kSwordfish (SSN-579), Flasher (SSN-613) & Darter (SS-576) alongside at Subic Bay Naval Station, February, 1986. It was pretty unusual to see three boats moored abreast in those days, much less three distinct generations of submarine design. Photo by David Johnston (USN, retired) .
Darter, Flasher & Swordfish62kSwordfish (SSN-579), Flasher (SSN-613) & Darter (SS-576) alongside at Subic Bay Naval Station, June, 1986. Photo by David Johnston (USN, retired) .
Flasher66k Commemorative post mark of the decommissioning of Flasher (SSN-613), 18 June 1991. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Inactivation Ceremony Program
Flasher1.72k27 page PDF of Flasher's (SSN-613) Inactivation Ceremony Program, held at the US Naval Submarine Base, Point Loma, San Diego, CA on 18 June 1991. Courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
Tolling The Boats 669k Active duty and veteran submariners stand together at the 29th annual "Tolling The Boats" Memorial Service held at the World War II National Submarine Memorial-West, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. 29 May 2006. The ceremony honored members of the Silent Service who gave their lives during World War II and the Cold War for their country and the cause of freedom.
On 7 May 1963 at the Electric Boat Shipyard, Groton, Conn. A fire occurred aboard the Flasher (SSN-613), killing three and injuring two. Damage to the submarine is reportedly negligible. The fire occurred in the trimming tank of the boat, five weeks before launching.
USN photo # N-1159B-052 by Journalist 1st Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of navy.news.mil. Partial text courtesy of navysite.de.
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. Carr, Kenneth Monroe, USN (USNA 1949) :VADM22.07.1966 - 14.07.1967
02CDR. Johnson, Arne Christian, USN14.07.1967 - 08.07.1969
03CDR. Cobb, Emsley Foster, USN08.07.1969 - 19.08.1972
04CDR. Bacon, Roger Francis, USN (USNA 1959) :VADM19.08.1972 - 18.01.1975
05CDR. Henderson, Noel Barry, USN (USNA 1958)18.01.1975 - 20.03.1976
06CDR. Rothert, William Carl, USN (USNA 1961)20.03.1976 - 13.07.1979
07CDR. Hughes Jr., William Charles, USN (USNA 1963)13.07.1979 - 27.11.1982
08CDR. Morris, Ralph Richard, USN27.11.1982 - 01.08.1986
08CDR. Papineau, Paul William, USN01.08.1986 - 01.03.1989
10CDR. Weber, Joel Nathan, CDR USN01.03.1989 - 18.06.1991 Last Date in Commission
Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler

There is no DANFS History currently available for Flasher (SSN-613) 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
SSN-594 Permit Class - FAS web site

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