USS Finback (SSN-670)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Finback.

USS Finback (SSN-670) off Norfolk, Virginia, probably during sea trials in 1969-1970.
History
United States
Name	USS Finback (SSN-670)
Namesake	The finback, a whale
Ordered	9 March 1965
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia
Laid down	26 June 1967
Launched	7 December 1968
Sponsored by	Mrs. Charles F. Bird
Commissioned	4 February 1970
Decommissioned	28 March 1997
Stricken	28 March 1997
Motto	All Good Men
Honors and awards	Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for U.S. Atlantic Fleet 1986
Fate	Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program completed 30 October 1997
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Sturgeon-class attack submarine
Displacement	4,001 long tons (4,065 t) light 4,292 long tons (4,361 t) full 291 long tons (296 t) dead
Length	292 ft (89 m)
Beam	32 ft (9.8 m)
Draft	29 ft (8.8 m)
Installed power	15,000 shaft horsepower (11.2 megawatts)
Propulsion	One S5W nuclear reactor, two steam turbines, one screw
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) submerged
Test depth	1,300 feet (396 meters)
Complement	109 (14 officers, 95 enlisted men)
Armament	4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Finback (SSN-670), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the finback, the common whale of the Atlantic coast of the United States.

Construction and commissioning

The contract to build Finback was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, on 9 March 1965 and her keel was laid down there on 26 June 1967. She was launched on 7 December 1968, sponsored by Mrs. Charles F. Baird, wife of the Under Secretary of the Navy, and commissioned on 4 February 1970.

Service history

Topless dancer incident

On 10 July 1975, Finback's commanding officer, (a commander with the courtesy title of "captain"), permitted a topless dancer to perform on the diving plane of the sail as the vessel departed Port Canaveral, Florida.[1] The captain had given permission for the act as a reward for performance by his crew during a major overhaul at the Naval shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, the preceding year which cut two months off of a scheduled 12-month overhaul at considerable savings to the government.[2] On 1 August 1975, when Navy command learned of the incident, the submarine was ordered back to port and the captain was relieved of his command,[3] "pending the investigation of an incident of a non-operational nature."[4]

On 2 October 1975, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James L. Holloway III found the captain of Finback "guilty of permitting an action, which could have distracted the attention of those responsible for the safe navigation of the nuclear-powered submarine maneuvering in restricted waters." Holloway agreed with subordinates that the captain had failed to exercise good judgement and did not follow the regulations governing civilian visitors to naval vessels.[5] An article in the February 2010 issue of Naval History, published by the United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, categorizes this episode as "one of the most notorious incidents in the history of the Navy's nuclear-powered submarine force."

Refueling Overhaul

In June 1978, the Finback entered Newport News shipyard for a scheduled refueling overhaul. The overhaul was completed in January 1981 and the Finback sailed to the Bahamas for testing and made port calls in Port Canaveral, Frederiksted, St Croix and St Maarten.

Awards

In 1986, Finback won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the United States Atlantic Fleet.

Decommissioning and disposal

Finback was decommissioned on 28 March 1997 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, was completed on 30 October 1997.

References

1. United Press International, "Topless Submarine Dancer Now Wowing Them in Boston", Playground Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Wednesday 8 October 1975, Volume 30, Number 209, p. 10A.
2. United Press International, "Sub Captain Fights Loss of Command", Playground Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Thursday 11 September 1975, Volume 30, Number 186, p. 7D.
3. United Press International, "Go-Go Girl Gives Sub Fond Farewell", Playground Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Wednesday 10 September 1975, Volume 30, Number 185, p. 3A.
4. Taylor, Robert A., "Cat on a Cold Steel Dive Plane", Naval History, United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, February 2010, p. 41.
5. Taylor, Robert A., "Cat on a Cold Steel Dive Plane", Naval History, United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, February 2010, p. 43.

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Finback (SSN-670)

Further reading

• Waldman, Martin R. (22 June 2018). "Finback II (SSN-670)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 15 November 2019.