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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


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Radio Call Sign: November - Bravo - Charlie - Mike

Puffer (SSN-652)

Sturgeon Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 8 February 1965, at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp, Pascagoula, MS.: Launched, 30 March 1968; Commissioned, USS Puffer (SSN-652), 9 August 1969; Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 12 July 1996; Final Disposition, disposed of through the NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., 28 March 1997.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 3,640 t., Submerged: 4,640 t.; Length 292' 3"; Beam 31' 8"; Draft 28' 8"; Speed, Surfaced 15 kts, Submerged 25 kts; Depth limit 1,300'; Complement 108; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes amidships aft of bow, MK 48 Torpedoes, UUM-44A SUBROC, UGM-84A/C Harpoon, MK 57 deep water mines, MK 60 CAPTOR mines; Combat Sensors, Radar, BPS-14/15 surface search, Sonars, BQQ-5 multi-function bow mounted, BQR-7 passive in submarines with BQQ-2, BQS-12 active 7, TB-16 or TB-23 towed array, EW Systems, WLQ-4(V), WLR-4(V), WLR-9; Propulsion System, one S5W nuclear reactor, two steam turbines, one propeller, 15,000 shp.
Click On Image
For Full Size		SizeImage DescriptionContributed By
Puffer61kThe Puffer (SSN-652) was sponsored by Virginia Grace (Arent) Colwell, the wife of Vice Admiral John Barr Colwell (pictured here).Photo courtesy of militaryhallofhonor.com
Puffer 736k Puffer (SSN-652) sliding down the launching ways at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula, Mississippi, 30 March 1968. Courtesy of Ingalls Shipbuilding via Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Puffer1.30k Puffer (SSN-652) on trial, 15 July 1969.USN photo # NPC 1140314 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Puffer1.24k Puffer (SSN-652) parts port in Pascagoula.Ingallis company photo courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
Puffer264k Puffer (SSN-652) on trial, 15 July 1969.USN photo # NPC 1140317 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Puffer201kPuffer (SSN-652) ports Pacific at Pearl on 28 September 1971.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Sturgeon Class43k Oil on canvas painting by the artist Jim Christley entitled "Trailing".
During the Cold War the US Naval Submarine Force was tasked with keeping tabs on Soviet Naval movements in particular, the Soviet Submarine Force. Submarines of the Sturgeon Class were well suited to this task and often trailed Soviet submarines for days reporting on their movements and recording noise signatures. In this image, such a trailing has turned into a close aboard encounter as a Soviet Viktor III Class has turned to port to check his baffles (to listen to see if anyone is immediately astern). A trailing Sturgeon has stopped his screw and gone quiet. Extending far behind the US submarine is its towed array sonar which assists in giving a clear picture of the ocean’s acoustics 		Photo & text courtesy of subart.net.
Submerged submarines145kSubmerged submarines in tandem.USN photo courtesy of Robert Hall.
Puffer 1.46kTwo eight page Welcome Aboard PDF's for the Puffer (SSN-652), circa early / mid 1970's.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Puffer 104k Capt. Howard W. Habermeyer was the commanding officer of the Puffer (SSN-652) from 7 February 1980 to 3 June 1983. He was the Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1987 to 1988. Courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
Puffer 2.91kTen photo PDF of the Puffer (SSN-652) over the years.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Puffer 319k A port view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Puffer (SSN-652) underway as it nears San Diego, 12 November 1989. USN photo # DN-SC-90-07283, courtesy PH3 Hogan, of dodmedia.osd.mil, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Puffer 23k Pointed upward like an arrow, the Puffer (SSN-652) breaks through the Polar ice in 1990. USN photo courtesy of US Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory & csp.navy.mil.
Puffer 19k The sun breaks through the Arctic summer during a visit by the Puffer (SSN-652), 1990. Courtesy of Jason Atkin, via usspuffer.org
Puffer 60k Commemorative postal cover issued on the occasion of the Puffer (SSN-652), surfacing at the North Pole, 27 April 1993. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Puffer90kPuffer (SSN-652) Polar parked, 1993.Photo courtesy of public.navy.mil
Puffer 75k The Puffer (SSN-652) on her way to celebrate Halloween at Guam in 1994. Photo by Jason M. Atkin & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Puffer 73k Puffer (SSN-652), at Guam for Halloween, 1994. Courtesy of Jason Atkin, via usspuffer.org
Puffer 5.17kTwenty page Inactivization Welcome Aboard PDF for the Puffer (SSN-652), 8 September 1995.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
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. Will Jr., John Mylin, USN09.08.1969 - 04.01.1972 First Date in Commission
02CDR. Cooper, Daniel Leander, USN (USNA 1957) :VADM04.01.1972 - 01.02.1974
03LCDR. Thompson, Alton Kenneth, USN (USNA 1960)01.02.1974 - 20.10.1976
04CDR. Mathiowetz, Donald Ray, USN20.10.1976 - 07.02.1980
05CDR. Habermeyer Jr., Howard William, USN (USNA 1964)07.02.1980 - 03.06.1983
06CDR. Greeson, Bernard Dandridge, USN (USNA 1964)03.06.1983 - 29.10.1984
07CDR. Wright, Clinton Ernest, USN (USNA 1967)29.10.1984 - 17.10.1986
08CDR. Reigner, Charles Buchanan, USN (USNA 1970)17.10.1986 - 10.08.1989
09CDR. Kyle, Thomas George, USN10.08.1989 - 12.05.1992
10CDR. Wright, Richard Allen, USN12.05.1992 - 10.04.1995
11CDR. Burkhard, David Alan, USN10.04.1995 - 12.07.1996 Last Date in Commission
Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
View the Puffer (SSN-652)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Puffer (SSN652)
FAS--SSN-637 Sturgeon class
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