USS Sea Devil (SSN-664)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Sea Devil.
USS Sea Devil (SSN-664), possibly during her sea trials off Virginia in 1968
Career
Name: USS Sea Devil
Namesake: The sea devil (Manta birostria), also known as the manta ray and devil ray
Ordered: 28 May 1964
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia
Laid down: 12 April 1966
Launched: 5 October 1967
Sponsored by: Mrs. Ignatius J. Galantin
Commissioned: 30 January 1969
Decommissioned: 16 October 1991
Struck: 16 October 1991
Fate: Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program begun 1 March 1998, completed 7 September 1999
General characteristics
Class and type:Sturgeon-class attack submarine
Displacement:3,860 long tons (3,922 t) light
4,268 long tons (4,336 t) full
408 long tons (415 t) dead
Length:292 ft 3 in (89.08 m)
Beam:31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft:28 ft 8 in (8.74 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:108
Armament:4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Sea Devil (SSN-664), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea devil (Manta birostria), also known as the manta ray or devil ray, the largest of all living rays, noted for power and endurance.

Construction and commissioning

Sea Devil off the Virginia Capes on 1 February 1991.

The contract to build Sea Devil was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia. on 28 May 1964, and her keel was laid down there on 12 April 1966. She was launched on 5 October 1967, sponsored by Mrs. Ignatius J. Galantin, the wife of Admiral Ignatius J. "Pete" Galantin (1910–2004), and commissioned on 30 January 1969 with Commander Richard A. Currier in command.

Service history

Sea Devil was assigned to Submarine Division 62 at Norfolk, Virginia. She operated out of Norfolk into at least 1977. She was assigned to Submarine Squadron 4 in Charleston SC from the mid 1980s until her decommissioning in 1991. She was a 637 class fast attack hunter killer. She also surfaced multiple times through the ice in the arctic.

Decommissioning and disposal

Sea Devil was decommissioned on 16 October 1991 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, began on 1 March 1998 and was completed on 7 September 1999.

References