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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski
Radio Call Sign: November - Delta - Foxtrot - Yankee

Sand Lance (SSN-660)

Sturgeon Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 28 October 1967, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 11 November 1969; Commissioned, USS Sand Lance (SSN-660), 25 September 1971; Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 7 August 1998; Final Disposition, to be disposed of through NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.

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.
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For Full Size Image		SizeImage DescriptionContributed By
Sand Lance82kSand Lance (SSN-660), on building ways at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME., 27 September 1969.
Courtesy of USN.
Sand Lance313kStern view of the Sand Lance (SSN-660) on building ways at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME., ready for launching on 11 November 1969.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 03/18/11.
Sand Lance172kStarboard bow view of the Sand Lance (SSN-660) on building ways at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME., ready for launching on 11 November 1969.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 03/18/11.
Sand Lance177kBow view of the Sand Lance (SSN-660) on building ways at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME., ready for launching on 11 November 1969.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 03/18/11.
Sand Lance425kSand Lance (SSN-660) meets the water with a big splash that sends some too close on lookers to seek some distance on 11 November 1969.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 03/18/11.
Sand Lance164kLots of bunting envelops Sand Lance (SSN-660) on her launching as tugs await to tow her to the dock.USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 03/18/11.
Sand Lance108kSand Lance (SSN-660) underway, possibly during her sea trials off the coast of New England, circa 1970-71.
Official US Navy photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
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.U.S. Navy Photo courtesy of Robert Hall.
Sand Lance557k A port view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Sand Lance (SSN-660), underway on 1 Feb 1991.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-91-05699, by D. Parnham, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Sand Lance563k Line handlers tie up the nuclear-powered attack submarine Sand Lance (SSN-660) alongside a tender following its arrival at the naval station during on 5 Aug 1991 for Unitas XXII, a combined exercise involving the naval forces of the United States and nine South American nations. The guided missile destroyer Dahlgren (DDG-43) is in the background.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-92-03551, by PH2 John D. Rivera, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Sand Lance238k The nuclear-powered attack submarine Sand Lance (SSN-660) passes the guided missile destroyer Dahlgren (DDG-43), foreground, and the tank landing ship Barnstable County (LST-1197).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-92-03553, by PH2 John D. Rivera, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Sand Lance225k A crew member aboard the nuclear-powered attack submarine Sand Lance (SSN-660) tosses a messenger line alongside the O'Bannon (DD-987) on 14 Sept 1991 during Unitas XXXII.Photo i.d. courtesy of Rich Comer.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-92-10350, by JO1 Marc Boyd, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Sand Lance57kSand Lance (SSN-660), in Gibraltar 25th Dec 1993.
Courtesy of Daniel Ferro.
Sand Lance22kSand Lance (SSN-660), alongside at Groton CT, in 1994.
Courtesy of Ken Hart.
Sand Lance53kSand Lance (SSN-660), underway, in Charleston, South Carolina with Fort Sumter in the background.
US Navy photo courtesy of American Federation of Scientists. Text i.d. courtesy of Mike Nardelli.
Sand Lance28k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Sand Lance's (SSN-660) first trip to the North Pole, 12 July 1996.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Sand Lance16k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Sand Lance's (SSN-660) first trip to the North Pole, 12 July 1996.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
James K. Polk76k A full-scale mock-up of a typical nuclear-powered submarine's maneuvering room (possibly) James K. Polk (SSBN-645), Pogy (SSN-647), Sand Lance (SSN-660), or Hawkbill (SSN-666) in which the ship's engineers control the power plant and electrical and steam systems is displayed as part of the submarine exhibit which opened 12 April 2000 to the public at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
The maneuvering room control panels were significantly modified (read: declassified) for public exhibit. 		U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Tim Altevogt, courtesy of the Navy Office of Information.
Text courtesy of Paul F. Johnston, Ph.D. Curator of Maritime History.
National Museum of American History
Pogy95k The forward control station aboard a typical U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine (possibly) the James K. Polk (SSBN-645), Pogy (SSN-647), Sand Lance (SSN-660), or Hawkbill (SSN-666) of the Cold War era, showing the ballast control panel, the helm and bow plane controls, is displayed as part of the exhibition which opened 12 April 2000 to the public at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
U.S. Navy photo N-5670G-001 by Alan P. Goldstein, Navy Office of Information.
View the Sand Lance (SSN-660)
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
FAS--SSN-637 Sturgeon class
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