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| USS Trout SS-566 Needs Your Help |
6/28/2003 update: From shipmate Michael Wheeler: HOME WANTED. WILLING TO RELOCATE. This is an appeal to all submariners to assist in saving the United States Navy’s last Tang Class submarine, the USS TROUT SS-566. The USS Trout is currently under the control of NAVAIR, Marine and Targets Detachment, and docked in Key West, Florida. Over the next several months I have been tasked by the Navy with preparing the Trout for towing to INACTSHIPS in Philadelphia and subsequent De-Mil for the Ship Donation Program. Trout’s donation status will represent the last opportunity in the foreseeable future for any foundation to acquire a submarine memorial from the United States Navy. As many groups have discovered, there are a number of ”insurmountable problems” with accessing a nuclear submarine for use as a memorial and it may well be prudent for these groups to address the possibility of acquiring the Trout in lieu of a nuclear boat.
Please help find a home for this magnificent boat and feel free to contact me for additional information or direction. And keep in mind; all costs associated with the donation of a USN vessel are the responsibility of the acquiring organization. V/R, Michael
Wheeler Trout photos: Clickety Click From shipmate Joe Most:
More Information on USS Trout The keel was laid down by Electric Boat Division in Groton Connecticut on December 1, 1949. It was launched August 21, 1951. From 1952-1978, the USS Trout conducted training and readiness operations with ships from the US fleet and NATO nations, operating from the North Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea. She engaged in sonar evaluation tests, ASW exercises, and submerged simulated attack exercises. It was decommissioned and struck from the Navy's inventory list December 19, 1978. The sub was sent to rest at the Philadelphia Shipyard, her last homeport. The Trout was sold to the Shah of Iran. She was rebuilt in 1979-1980 and restored to near perfect condition. Restoration included $26 million in upgrades, new engines, three sets of batteries, and all systems totally reconditioned. Before the transfer could take place the Iranians seized American hostages and the vessel was seized by the US along with other Iranian assets. The vessel lay at Inactive Ships Facilities in the Philadelphia Shipyard while legal and diplomatic efforts ensued. The USS Trout was sold at scrap value to the Program Executive Office for Undersea Warfare (PEO USW) in 1994 and moored at Newport, Rhode Island. The vessel was then acquired by the NAWCAD Key West Detachment as an underwater acoustic target for ASW research and development, operational testing and training requirements for the US Navy. Based on ASW fleet input, NAWCAD felt there existed a need for an underwater acoustic target. The US Navy has had a difficult time obtaining required test and training time on realistic ASW acoustic targets. It was thought the USS Trout II could provide necessary and timely services as a dedicated asset. It could allow unrestricted active search, with no standoff required. It can operate in less than 300 feet of water and is capable of bottoming. It will operate at one to three knots and will allow torpedo terminal homing algorithm testing.
Statistics: Surface displacement:2050 tons For an onboard tour of USS Trout in Key West (created by Naval Air Warfare Center - Key West), visit http://www.nawcad.navy.mil/key_west/tour/ (<== link down as of 6/2003) (Thanks to Pat Householder for assembling this information) |
