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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Silversides (SSN-679)

Sturgeon Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 28 November 1969, at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT.; Launched, 4 June 1971; Commissioned, USS Silversides (SSN-679), 5 May 1972; Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 22 July 1994; Final Disposition, disposed of through the NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., 1 October 2001.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 3,640 t., Submerged: 4,640 t.; Length 302'; 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	Contributed By
7k	Menidia menidia, the Atlantic Silverside, which spawned the Silversides (SSN-679).	Photo courtesy of fisheries.vims.edu, & submitted by Scott Estey.
82k	The crew of the Silversides (SSN-679) salute the flag as she slides down the launching ways at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 4 June 1971.	General Dynamics Electric Boat photo.
64k	The Silversides (SSN-679) cuts through the sea, possibly during her seatrials off the New England coast, early 1970's.	USN photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.
222k	The Silversides (SSN-679) early in her career, perhaps on sea trials, with her sail painted gray.	USN photo courtesy of Fred Tannenbaum collection.
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.
31k	Commemorative post mark of the Silversides (SSN-679), 1978.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
151k	The Silversides (SSN-679) and ex-Tiru (SS-416) lie alongside each other circa July 1979. The *Tiru* was being prepared as a remote-controlled target for the *Silversides. Volunteers from the Silversides* (SS-236) preservation group also removed spare parts from the *Tiru*.	USN photo courtesy of Fred Tannenbaum collection.
229k	The sail of the Silversides (SSN-679) churns up a mass of foam as she slices through the sea, early 1980's.	Photo courtesy of Scott Estey.
150k	The Silversides (SSN-679) circa 1981.	USN photo courtesy of Fred Tannenbaum collection.
85k	The Silversides (SSN-679) surfaced at the North Pole on 11 October 1981.	USN photo courtesy of Fred Tannenbaum collection.
77k	The Silversides (SSN-679) underway off the Virginia coast on 15 July 1982.	USN photo courtesy of Fred Tannenbaum collection.
143k	The Silversides (SSN-679) cuts through the sea, with an experimental towed communications buoy housing (this housing was commonly referred to as the "bustle") immediately aft of the sail, circa 1984. It was removed in late 1986 at the pier of Sub Squadron 6, Norfolk, VA.	Official US Navy photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr. Photo i.d. & text courtesy of Scott Estey.
130k	A "Busseled" Silversides (SSN-679) from a starboard side perspective in 1984.	USN photo courtesy of Fred Tannenbaum collection.
158k	The Silversides (SSN-679) following a refueling and overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, circa 1986.	USN photo courtesy of Fred Tannenbaum collection.
29k	Silversides (SSN-679) at St. Croix in December 1986.	Photo courtesy of Scott Estey.
822k	A starboard view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Silversides (SSN-679) departing Narragansett Bay, R.I., with unidentified sub in the background, 1 Feb 1991.	USN photo # DN-ST-91-05707, by E.F. Capece, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
95k	Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) team members of Swimmer Delivery Team 2 prepare to launch a swimmer delivery vehicle from a dry deck shelter aboard thesubmerged nuclear-powered attack submarine Silversides (SSN-679). Members are taking part in lock-out procedures off the coast of Key West, Fla., during exercise Phantom Striker, 1 May 1992.	USN photo # DN-SC-92-09758, by PH3 Tom Dolan, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
182k	Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) team members of Swimmer Delivery Team 2 prepare a DM-8 minisub for launch from the deck of the submerged nuclear-powered attack submarine Silversides (SSN-679). Members are taking part in lock-out procedures off the coast of Key West, Fla., during exercise Phantom Striker, 1 May 1992.	USN photo # DN-SC-92-09760, by PHC Reinhard, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
90k	Members of the Navy Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) team emerge from a dry deck shelter aboard the submerged nuclear-powered attack submarine Silversides (SSN-679) off the coast of Key West, Fla., during exercise Phantom Striker, 1 May 1992.	USN photo # DN-SC-92-09762, by PH2(DV) D.M. Tilton, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
240k	A port quarter view of the of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Silversides (SSN-679) at Port Everglades FA, 7 Mar 1993. A dry deck shelter (DDS) is mounted on deck.	USN photo # DN-SC-93-02933, by OS2 John Bouvia, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
31k	Haddock (SSN-621), at top, followed by Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), Aspro (SSN-648), Bergal (SSN-667) and Silversides (SSN-679) at bottom, awaiting scrapping at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., 1997.	Photo courtesy of Don Shelton.