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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Contributed by Mike Smolinski
Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Hotel - Delta

Seahorse (SSN-669)

Sturgeon Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 13 August 1966, at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT.; Launched, 15 June 1968; Commissioned, USS Seahorse (SSN-669), 19 September 1969; Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 17 August 1995; Final Disposition, entered the NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., 1 March 1995, completed program, 30 September 1996.

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
Seahorse 219k Seahorse (SSN-669), sliding down the ways at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 15 June 1968. Courtesy of John Hummel.
Seahorse 127k Seahorse (SSN-669) being towed to dock after launching. USN photo # NPC 1133392 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 05/15/11.
Seahorse 310k Seahorse (SSN-669) on sea trials,7 August 1969 USN photo # NPC 1130985 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 05/15/11.
Seahorse 234k Seahorse (SSN-669) on sea trials,7 August 1969 USN photo # NPC 1140984 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Photo added 05/15/11.
Seahorse 23k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Seahorse's (SSN-669) first day in commission, 19 September 1969.
 Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Seahorse 22k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Seahorse's (SSN-669) first day in commission, 19 September 1969.
 Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Seahorse 47k Starboard view of the Seahorse (SSN-669), possibly in St. Croix sometime after commissioning, circa 1970.
Photo courtesy of Joe Kubenka, courtesy of ussseahorse.org.
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.
Seahorse 55k Starboard view of the Seahorse (SSN-669), underway in 1985, location unknown.
Courtesy of ussseahorse.org.
Seahorse 32k Sail of the Seahorse (SSN-669), protruding through the Arctic ice, July 1986.
 Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Seahorse 50k The Seahorse (SSN-669), with ice floes through the Arctic ice, July 1986.
 Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Seahorse 166k A port beam view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Seahorse (SSN-669) at sunrise, headed for the Panama Canal, 20 May 1989.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-89-10061 by PH2 Mark S. Kettenhofen, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse 383k A PBR Mark 2 riverine patrol boat from Special Boat Unit 26 (SBU-26) accompanies the nuclear-powered attack submarine Seahorse (SSN-669) into the Miraflores locks, 20 May 1989.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-89-10059 by PH2 Mark S. Kettenhofen, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse 307k Officers and crew stand on the deck and sail of the nuclear powered attack submarine Seahorse (SSN-669) as the boat waits in a canal lock.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-89-10068 by PH2 Mark S. Kettenhofen, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse 33k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Seahorse (SSN-669) participation in Ice Ex '90.
 Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Seahorse 171k Naval personnel stand on the deck of the nuclear-powered submarines Seahorse (SSN-669), during operations in the Arctic ice off of Alaska.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-90-07309 by PH1 Harry Gerwien, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.& submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Seahorse 441k Naval personnel stand by the sail structure of the nuclear-powered submarine Seahorse (SSN-669), which has broken through the Arctic ice off of Alaska, 24 Mar 1990.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-90-07303 by PH1 Harry Gerwien, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse 479k Crew members emerge from the nuclear-powered submarine Seahorse (SSN-669) shortly after the vessel surfaced at the North Pole during exercise Ice Ex '90.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-90-08030, by PH1 Harry Gerwien, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Seahorse & Gurnard 346k Crew members stand on the bow of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Gurnard (SSN-662), background, as others gather nearby to watch the nuclear-powered attack submarine Seahorse (SSN-669) surface through the ice during exercise Ice Ex '90, 25 Mar 1990.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-90-08033 by PH1 Harry Gerwien, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse & Gurnard 480k Crew members emerge from the nuclear-powered attack submarine Seahorse (SSN-669) shortly after the vessel surfaced through the ice at the North Pole during exercise Ice Ex '90. The sail of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Gurnard (SSN-662), which also just surfaced, can be seen on the horizon.
 Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-90-08032 by PH1 Harry Gerwien, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse & Gurnard 563k The camp, used as a support base for under-ice operations of the nuclear-powered submarines Gurnard (SSN-662) and Seahorse (SSN-669), is dwarfed by the snow and icebound seascape.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-90-07317 by PH1 Harry Gerwien, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse 323k With a P-3 Orion aircraft patrolling overhead, the nuclear-powered submarine Seahorse (SSN-669) surfaces through the Arctic ice off of Alaska, 31 Mar 1990.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-90-07300 by PH1 Harry Gerwien, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse 384k An overhead view of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CV-67) battle group underway en route to the Mediterranean Sea on 16 Oct 1992. The other ships in the group are: the nuclear-powered attack submarines Albuquerque (SSN-706) and Seahorse (SSN-669); the guided missile cruisers Gettysburg (CG-64), Leyte Gulf (CG-55) and Wainwright (CG-28); the destroyer Caron (DD-970); the frigates Capodanno (FF-1093), Halyburton (FFG-40) and Mcinerney (FFG-8); the destroyer tender Puget Sound (AD-38); the ammunition ship Santa Barbara (AE-28); and the replenishment oiler Kalamazoo (AOR-6).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-SC-93-00851 by CWO2 Kenneth H. Brewer, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse 313k A starboard bow view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Seahorse (SSN-669) underway. The Seahorse is en route to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CV-67) battle group.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-SC-93-00865 by CWO2 Kenneth H. Brewer, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Seahorse 55k The Seahorse (SSN-669) underway, date unknown.
 Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Seahorse 46k Starboard side view of the Seahorse (SSN-669) underway, date unknown.
 Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Seahorse 24k Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Seahorse's (SSN-669) decommissioning, 17 August 1995.
 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.
View the Seahorse (SSN-669)
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
Seahorse SS-304 SSN-669
FAS--SSN-637 Sturgeon class
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