USS Bluefish (SSN-675)

History of USS Bluefish (SSN-675)

The USS Bluefish (SSN-675) was a Cold War-era (1947-1991) nuclear-powered attack submarine, commissioned by the United States Navy (USN) as part of a key group of Sturgeon-class ships in service. The Sturgeon class entered service in the 1960s and maintained its active duty through the early 2000s, which was valuable at a time when the enemy was the Soviet Union and its proud submarine fleet.

A total of 37 ships were completed to Sturgeon standards, an evolution of the earlier Thresher/Permit classes.

The USS Bluefish (SSN-675) was ordered July 15, 1966 by General Dynamics Electric Boat Company of Groton, CT, and launched March 13, 1968. The ship was officially launched on January 10, 1970, and entered service on January 8, 1971, serving with the U.S. Navy.

She received the motto "Blue Thunder from Down Under!" their time at sea.

SSN-675 became the second U.S. Navy ship to be named "Blue Fish". Formerly a World War II veteran (1939-1945) (detailed elsewhere on this page).

The Bluefish has a displacement of 4,340 tons, a length of 292.2 feet, a beam of 31.7 feet, and a draft of up to 28.7 feet. Power comes from a single S5W series water-cooled nuclear reactor that fuels twin steam turbines producing 15,000 shaft horsepower for the 1 x propeller stern.

All in all, the boat is capable of 15 knots when surfaced and 25 knots underwater. The hull has been tested to a depth of 1,300 feet.

There were 109 officers and men on board. The armament is concentrated on 4 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes mounted amidships in the bow section. These support the Mark 48 torpedo family and eventually the UUM-44A SUBROC (thermonuclear anti-submarine) and UGM-84A/C Harpoon (anti-ship) missile families.

In addition, the ship has been approved for use with Mark 57 deepwater mines and Mark 60 CAPTOR mines, as required.

Due to her armament capabilities, as well as her unobtrusive acoustics and performance, the USS Bluefish became the workhorse of U.S. Navy operations in the Cold War for decades. Thanks to its extensive weapons support, the ship is capable of fighting enemy submarines and surface fighters.

Their onboard systems also enabled a number of surveillance capabilities - which proved invaluable when both sides were trying to outsmart the other.

The service life of the USS Bluefish continued into the 1990s, when the ship was decommissioned from front-line service on May 31, 1996. That same day, she was shot from the Navy registry, officially ending her days in the U.S. Navy.

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