Awarded: 21 July 1952
Builder: Electric Boat division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut
Laid down: 7 September 1953
Launched: 21 July 1955
Commissioned: 30 March 1957
Decommissioned: 30 March 1987
Struck: 10 July 1987
Fate: Disposed of by submarine recycling
Worst Moment I received a set of message orders to report in nine days to the USS SEAWOLF (SSN 575) in Groton, CT because they lost their YNC due to injuries in a bar fight in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. They had been without a Yeoman or striker for almost two months when I reported aboard and had to leave on a five month MED Cruise four days after reporting aboard. There were several bags of mail stacked outside the ships office that had not been opened, about 20 service records of shipmates that needed to be transferred off the ship or reported on board properly prior to departure, and no pre-deployment reports had been submitted yet. I walked into the Ship's Office in time to catch the XO trying to "hunt and peck" type a report to Admiral Rickover. You get the picture of what kind of tour that was going to be! Upon returning from the MED Cruise (which crew members had less than 15 liberty days and only three liberty ports) within a few weeks they were sent on a six-week Northern Run. Upon returning they found out SEAWOLF had been picked to be a Special Project Boat and would be changing home port to Mare Island, CA within a couple of months. Shortly after arriving in Mare Island, the Division Commander came aboard and was not happy with the pre-overhaul nuclear testing. He relieved the CO, sent the entire engineering department Chiefs and about 12 petty officers to the Submarine Group for disqualification and NEC removal. Shortly after that, the XO was transferred early to another XO tour and later the Engineer was also canned. The whole engineering department was on 12-hour watches and port and starboard duty for over six months until we could start getting some qualified reliefs. The morale was terrible! I would have done anything to get back to a diesel boat!
Other Memories I had been selected to attend junior college for two years under the ADCOP Program in mid-1970. At the end of his SEAWOLF tour in July 1972, they continued to tell me that they couldn't let me go to college because they did not have enough Yeoman in the Submarine Force to provide a relief, so I made the decision to get out of the Navy. Strangely enough, just before I got transferred to separations, the detailers found a YNCS(SS) and YNSN to relieve me.