Fleet Plan of the Day
The USS GUITARRO (SSN 665) website at coldwarboats.org has been launched, and already has a few photos, a Commissioning Booklet from 1972. and a couple of interesting postal covers in the Ship’s Post Office.
The site is ready for fitting out - all it needs is your submissions of photos, stories, and artifacts. It can be found here: https://coldwarboats.org/the-boat-665/uss-guitarro-ssn-665/quarterdeck-665
Guitarro was a Sturgeon-class submarine, and boasted an impressive service career during the Cold War. She played a major role in developing tactics for prototype combat systems deployed to the Pacific submarine fleet, in particular the Submarine Towed Array Sensor System (STASS) along with its BQR-20 series digital sonar displays. In the mid-1970s, Guitarro also installed the first digital submarine combat system (BQQ-5 sonar and Mk-117 fire control system) and participated in the development of submarine-launched Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Despite her accolades, she is remembered for her pre-commissioning sinking at the pier during fitting out at Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 15 May 1969. Lack of oversight and communication between civilian construction testing groups resulted in a complete flooding of the boat, a rapid unrecoverable sinking, leaving her resting on the bottom showing nothing but sail.
Quick thinking by the crew of the nearby YTM 270 Santanta prevented the Guitarro from rolling over by nosing the tug up against the sail. No lives were lost and the amazing part of the story is the refloating of the Guitarro only three days later!
Damages exceeded $20 million dollars and added 32 months to her fitting out schedule. But, like the loss of the USS THRESHER (SSN 593) and her legacy of SUBSAFE, the sinking of the Guitarro would produces changes forever imbedded in the practices of the submarine community including changes in oversight and communication in ship-building, and requiring disconnects in all cables and hoses that would be run through watertight doors and hatches.
Photos of the disaster and recovery can be found here: https://coldwarboats.org/the-boat-665/up-scope-separator-665/the-sixties-665/the-sixties-index-665/1969-the-sinking-of-the-guitarro-665
If you have photos, stories, or artifacts related to the 665, reach out to me until we get a Site Lead volunteered! I'll make sure it gets on the Guitarro site. If you're planning a Guitarro reunion, again, let me know. The new Guitarro website has a reunion function already built in that will let you organize, promote, and keep track of attendees and events.
All Guitarro shipmates are invited to make the USS GUITARRO (SSN 665) site on Cold War Boats their new on-line home.
Welcome Aboard!
https://coldwarboats.org/the-boat-665/uss-guitarro-ssn-665/quarterdeck-665
The USS ARCHERFISH (SS/AGSS 311) website at coldwarboats.org has been launched, and is ready for fitting out with your submissions of photos, stories, and artifacts. It can be found here: https://coldwarboats.org/the-boat-311/uss-archerfish-ss-311/quarterdeck-311
Archerfish was a Balao-class submarine. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the archerfish.
Completing seven war patrols between December 1943 and September 1945, Archerfish is best known for sinking the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano in November 1944, the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine. She was decommissioned at the in JUN 1946 and placed in the Pacific Reserve Group at MINSY.
Her Cold War service began during the Korean War in 1952 and continued through OCT 1955 when she was again decommissioned and placed in reserve.
After a short respite, Archerfish was reactivated as an auxiliary submarine (AGSS) in JUL 1957 and performed oceanographic work, specifically Operation Sea Scan, gathering data on maritime weather, water composition, ocean depths and temperature ranges. She would pursue various other research in support of Cold War submarine operations until 1968. Declared unfit for further naval service, she was sunk off the coast of San Diego by the USS SNOOK (SSN 592) on 19 OCT 1968.
Cold War Boats has taken over responsibility for the USS SHARK (SSN 591) website. We are in the process of transferring all material from the old site (shark591.com) courtesy of Barry R. Trosper. Check in often as we will be added new material frequently.
If you were registered at shark591.com, you are already included in the Cold War Boats Master Sailing List. Simply attempt to log in using either the LOGIN/REGISTER button in the upper right corner of every page, or the LOG IN/LOG OUT link on the WATCH, QUARTER, AND STATION BILL menu midway down the right column. When the login popup appears, select"Forgot your username or password? Click here for a reminder." Enter your email address, and your user name will be sent to you. Follow the same steps to reset your password, and you will be able to create a new password for Cold War Boats.
Please contact me at
If you have photos, stories, or artifacts related to the 591, reach out to me until we get a Site Lead volunteered! I'll make sure it gets on the Shark site. If you're planning a Shark reunion, again, let me know. The new Shark website has a reunion function already built in that will let you organize, promote, and keep track of attendees and events.
All Shark shipmates are invited to make the USS SHARK (SSN 591) site on Cold War Boats their new on-line home.
Welcome Aboard!
Each of the 394 submarines on the Cold War Boats site has a Master Sailing List, which are intended to list every known shipmate that served on that boat.
When you register and list your commands on your user profile, you automatically appear on each boat's Master Sailing List.
As you might imagine, a project of this magnitude will always be a work in progress, which depends on shipmates like you registering, and volunteers inputing years of Enlisted and Officer Personnel Diaries.
The USS GRENADIER (SS 525) is an example of the one such volunteer effort. While many of these shipmates are still listed as missing, meaning not registered with Cold War Boats, many have already shipped their oars, and the Eternal Patrol lists are one way we honor their sacrifice.
I encourage you to visit your commands and count yourself among your shipmates.
You must be registered to view the Master Sailing Lists (privacy protection) but that is the point!
New ship's brochures posted for the USS RAY (SSN 653) courtesy of John Jones. Change of Command brochures from 83 and 86, a Launching brochure from 21 JUN 1966, and an undated Welcome Aboard brochure.
Let me know if you have any to add to the USS RAY (SSN 653) collection.
Click here to go to THE LOGROOM >> ARCHIVES >> SHIP'S BROCHURES.
Let your Skate shipmates know your plans for the USS SKATE (SSN 578) reunion at the USSVI Convention in Cleveland, OH this August.
RSVP by clicking here, and register with Cold War Boats while you are at it!
We are always looking to beef up our Logroom Archives at www.coldwarboats.org. This week, the specific artifact quest is watchbills.
A watchbill specified both section assignments and watch stations. As a result, each watchbill is a unique list of names; a snapshot in time of crew composition and assignments.
These are the kind of documents that would typically get discarded as they were replaced, so they seem to be relatively rare. If you are one of the dedicated hoarders that has held onto a watchbill spirited away during your time on board Cold War commands, we’d gladly help you join the ranks of contributors here at Cold War Boats by adding it to the Legroom Archives for a specific boat, ship, or shore facility.