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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Radio Call Sign: November - Charlie - Zulu - FOxtrot

Billfish (SSN-676)

Sturgeon Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 20 September 1968, at the Electric Boat Division, of General Dynamics, Groton, CT.; Launched, 1 May 1970; Commissioned, USS Billfish (SSN-676), 12 March 1971; Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 1 July 1999; Final Disposition, disposed of through the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program (NPSSRP) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., 26 April 2000.

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.

Size	Image Description	Source
49k	Entering the waters of the Thames River stern first, the Billfish (SSN-676) is launched at the Electric Boat Division, of General Dynamics, Groton, CT., 1 May 1970.	Courtesy of Electric Boat.
30k	Billfish (SSN-676), underway, probably during her sea trials off the coast of New England, 1970.	Submitted by Larry Bohn, courtesy of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, home of the Cobia SS-245.
43k	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.
145k	Submerged submarines in tandem.	U.S. Navy Photo courtesy of Robert Hall. Photo added 04/22/07.
110k	A technician checks the diesel backup engine aboard the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676), 1 Jul 1981.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-88-07347, by Fred Maroon, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
64k	An aerial port view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676), underway, 1 Jan 1984.	Official US Navy photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
28k	Billfish (SSN-676), above the Arctic Circle, 2 April 1987.	US Navy photo, courtesy of the US Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory.
156k	The sail of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676) protudes from the ice while the ship is surfaced at the North Pole. The sail-mounted diving planes are in the vertical position for breaking through the ice on 30 Mar 1987.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-87-06189, by PH 1 Mussi, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
83k	U.S. and British sailors explore the Arctic ice cap while conducting the first U.S./British coordinated surfacing at the North Pole. The ships are, left to right: the nuclear-powered attack submarine Sea Devil (SSN-664), the fleet submarine HMS Superb (S-109) , and the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676), 18 May 1987.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-87-09889, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
89	U.S. and British sailors explore the Arctic ice cap while conducting the first U.S./British coordinated surfacing at the North Pole. The ships are, left to right: the nuclear-powered attack submarine Sea Devil (SSN-664), the fleet submarine HMS Superb (S-109) , and the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676), 18 May 1987.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-87-09888, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
113k	Crewmen from the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676) chop a hole through ice covering the bow of the ship while it is surfaced at the North Pole. The sail-mounted diving planes are in the vertical position for breaking through the ice on 30 Mar 1987.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-87-06187, by PH1 Chuck Mussi, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
368k	The nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676) is silhouetted against the water while taking part in the joint U.S./French naval exercise Dasix Lafayette, 10 Jun 1992.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-92-09467, by PH3 Howard M. Arnold, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
761k	Members of a U.S. Navy Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) team prepare to dive from the deck of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676) during combat rescue training, part of the joint U.S./French naval exercise Dasix Lafayette, 10 Jun 1992.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-92-09468, by PH3 Howard M. Arnold, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
215k	A crewman inspects the pylons securing the deep submergence rescue vehicle Avalon (DSRV-2) to the deck of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676). Both are scheduled to participate in the NATO deep sea rescue exercise Sorbet Royal '92 on 2 Sep 1992.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-SC-93-00495, by PH3 Douglas L. Badders, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
749k	Crewmen inspect the deep submergence rescue vehicle Avalon (DSRV-2) secured to the deck of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Billfish (SSN-676) on 1 Sep 1992. Both are scheduled to participate in the NATO deep sea rescue exercise Sorbet Royal '92.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-SC-93-00499 by PH3 Douglas L. Badders, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
58k	Billfish (SSN-676), bow view at Groton CT, 1997.	Courtesy of Lester Palifka.
25k	Commemorative postal cover marking issued on the occasion of Billfish's (SSN-676) participation in Icex 1998, 17 Sept. 1998.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
88k	Billfish (SSN-676), during Special Warfare Ops. SEAL team launching inflatable boats, date and place unknown.	US Navy photo, courtesy of the Federation of American Scientists.
77k	Billfish (SSN-676), during Special Warfare Ops. SEAL team launching inflatable boats, date and place unknown.	US Navy photo, courtesy of the Federation of American Scientists.

There is no DANFS History currently available for Billfish (SSN-676) 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
USS Billfish SSN 676
FAS--SSN-637 Sturgeon class

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