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USS Trout (SS 566)

USS TROUT was the fourth TANG - class Diesel submarine and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on December 19, 1978, the TROUT was transferred to the Iranian Navy and renamed KOUSSEH the same day. However, due to the Iranian revolution, the submarine's Iranian crew abandoned the ship at New London, CT, in March 1979, and the TROUT was subsequently retained at Philadelphia, Penn. In 1992, the submarine returned to US custody and served as an experimental ship in 1994 and finally as target ship at NAWCAD Key West, Fla.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS TROUT. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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History of USS TROUT:

USS TROUT was one of the six TANG-class submarines developed after World War II as the Navy sought substantially improved submerged speed, endurance, hydrodynamic performance, and underwater fighting capability compared with the large force of wartime fleet submarines then still in service. Her keel was laid by the Electric Boat Co. at Groton, Connecticut, on December 1, 1949. She was launched on August 21, 1951, sponsored by Mrs. Albert H. Clark, widow of Lieutenant Commander Albert H. Clark, who had commanded the previous USS TROUT (SS 202) when that submarine was lost during World War II. The new TROUT was commissioned at New London, Connecticut, on June 27, 1952, with Commander George W. Kittredge as her first commanding officer.

After commissioning, TROUT was assigned to Submarine Squadron 10 at New London. During the 1950s, she carried out the mixture of tactical training, antisubmarine-warfare support, exercises, evaluation work, and readiness operations typical of the newer conventional attack submarines of the Atlantic Fleet. Her activities took her along the U.S. East Coast, into the Caribbean, and into the North Atlantic, where submarines such as TROUT played an important part in providing realistic opposition for surface ships and aircraft developing techniques against the growing Soviet submarine force. A photograph from December 1953 shows TROUT at New London among other submarines moored alongside the submarine tender USS FULTON (AS 11), with USS COBIA (SS 245) among the boats present. TROUT continued operating from New London through most of the decade and was used extensively in exercises and antisubmarine training.

In March 1959, TROUT, then commanded by Lieutenant Commander Carvel H. Blair, participated with the sister submarine USS HARDER (SS 568) in operations beneath ice floes in the Newfoundland area. During these exercises, TROUT traveled 268 miles beneath the ice, establishing a record for a conventionally powered submarine. The achievement was particularly significant during a period when the U.S. Navy was rapidly increasing its interest in Arctic submarine operations. Nuclear propulsion was beginning to make prolonged under-ice operations feasible, but diesel-electric submarines such as TROUT remained constrained by battery endurance and the eventual requirement to ventilate and recharge their batteries. The 1959 work therefore provided experience in navigation, control, and submarine operation in an environment that was becoming strategically important in Cold War planning.

In August 1959, TROUT's home port was changed from New London to Charleston, South Carolina, and she became part of Submarine Squadron 4. Shortly thereafter, she began her first deployment with the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The deployment lasted approximately four months and represented the beginning of a recurring Mediterranean commitment during her Atlantic Fleet career. On the return journey TROUT visited Bergen, Norway, from November 27 to November 30, 1959. She was present there during ceremonies commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Norwegian Navy's submarine service. The British submarine HMS TRUMP was also present. TROUT's visit took place at a time when Norway's position on NATO's northern maritime flank gave submarine and antisubmarine operations in the Norwegian and North Atlantic areas considerable strategic importance.

In February 1960, TROUT participated in a Bureau of Ships underwater-explosion shock-test program. She remained fully manned and operational during the tests. Explosive charges were suspended from a moored buoy, and TROUT passed them at periscope depth. After each detonation the distance between the submarine and the explosive charge was reduced, progressively increasing the shock experienced by the hull, machinery, fittings, and equipment. Six detonations had originally been planned, but testing was stopped after the fifth. The trials were intended to identify vulnerabilities and improve the resistance of submarine equipment and installations to the effects of nearby underwater explosions. TROUT thus contributed to the Navy's broader work on shock qualification and survivability at a time when improved underwater weapons were increasing the destructive environment in which submarines might have to operate.

Lieutenant Commander William J. Crowe Jr. commanded TROUT from 1960 until 1962. Crowe, who later became an admiral and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled an intensive operating schedule during his time aboard. TROUT frequently operated between Charleston and locations including Guantanamo Bay, Key West, New London, Bermuda, Nassau, Jamaica, and the waters around the Bahamas. Much of this work involved serving as a target or opposing submarine for antisubmarine forces while simultaneously allowing TROUT's crew to practice evasion, submerged maneuvering, approach techniques, and tactical employment. Guantanamo Bay was particularly important as a training area, and TROUT was repeatedly employed there against surface ships and maritime patrol aircraft. In 1961, she earned the Battle Efficiency "E" for her performance within Submarine Squadron 4.

Early in 1963, TROUT was assigned projects for the Operational Test and Evaluation Force. Her duties included acting as a simulated hostile submarine against surface antisubmarine forces and participating in exercises in which submarines attempted to penetrate defended waters or interfere with amphibious forces. Such assignments reflected one of the principal uses of conventional submarines during this period: their quiet running on battery power made them demanding targets for the ships and aircraft responsible for locating and tracking submarines. In July 1963, TROUT entered Charleston Naval Shipyard for an overhaul lasting approximately six months. After completing the overhaul, she proceeded to New London for post-overhaul fire-control checks and subsequently prepared for renewed Sixth Fleet operations.

TROUT returned to the Mediterranean in 1964. A documented port call places her at Lisbon, Portugal, on April 17, 1964, as she entered the European phase of the deployment. On April 30, she was at Barcelona, Spain, where photographs show her in company with USS CORPORAL (SS 346), USS GRAMPUS (SS 523), and USS CUTLASS (SS 478). During the Mediterranean cruise, TROUT participated in exercises conducted within the wider Sixth Fleet and NATO environment. The deployment occurred during a period when American naval forces in the Mediterranean were required both to maintain readiness against Soviet forces and to demonstrate a continuing U.S. presence amid repeated political crises around the Mediterranean basin. Following the deployment, TROUT continued operating in Atlantic Fleet exercises. During the latter part of 1964, she took part in a joint Canadian-American exercise along the East Coast and supported work by the U.S. Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory involving the evaluation of electronic equipment.

During March and April 1965, TROUT spent an extended period operating from Guantanamo Bay in support of antisubmarine forces. Her Caribbean activity during this period included visits to Jamaica, including Port Antonio, Montego Bay, and Kingston. In May 1965, she received a new main storage battery and underwent interim docking at Charleston Naval Shipyard. In July, she earned another Battle Efficiency "E", this time after achieving the highest competitive standing within Submarine Division 42. During the second half of the year, TROUT participated in exercises designed to test both offensive and defensive submarine techniques. In one evolution, she took part in a simulated minelaying operation opposed by aircraft and surface units. Another exercise required her to make an undetected submerged passage through an area defended by surface ships, aircraft, and submarines. These scenarios mirrored the operational problems that submarines and antisubmarine forces expected to encounter in a major conflict.

In February and March 1966, TROUT again operated for approximately six weeks in the Caribbean. She provided submarine services for antisubmarine forces working from Guantanamo Bay and supported Operational Test and Evaluation Force activities near St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Key West, Florida. Lieutenant Commander E. L. Willever was her commanding officer during 1966, with Lieutenant Commander E. J. Sabol Jr. serving as executive officer. TROUT continued to alternate Atlantic Fleet exercises, Caribbean operations, evaluation work, and Mediterranean deployments through the remainder of the decade. Official Navy historical material credits her with four Mediterranean deployments during her Atlantic Fleet service.

One later Mediterranean visit is precisely documented. On December 31, 1967, TROUT was at Genoa, Italy, where photographs record her alongside during her Sixth Fleet service. During 1968, she underwent an overhaul in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard area at Portsmouth, Virginia. After completing this maintenance period, she resumed Atlantic Fleet operations. Between 1968 and 1969, she also completed another Mediterranean deployment. By this period, nuclear-powered attack submarines had become increasingly important to U.S. front-line submarine operations, but diesel-electric boats such as TROUT continued to perform valuable roles in tactical exercises, antisubmarine training, weapons evaluation, and other assignments for which their acoustic characteristics and conventional propulsion made them particularly useful.

Lieutenant Commander John Beatty assumed command of TROUT on April 25, 1970. In July 1970, the submarine was transferred from the Atlantic Fleet to the Pacific Fleet, and her home port was changed to San Diego, California. She joined Submarine Squadron 3 and thereafter concentrated her operations in the eastern and western Pacific. From San Diego, TROUT participated in local exercises and antisubmarine-warfare training in the Southern California operating areas. She also operated periodically in the Pacific Northwest, including work connected with weapons testing in the Puget Sound region.

TROUT played an important part in the evaluation of a major new U.S. submarine weapon in 1971. During that year, she served as the primary firing submarine in the operational and technical evaluation of the Mk 48 torpedo. The Mk 48 was being developed as the principal heavyweight torpedo for U.S. attack submarines and was intended for use against both submarines and surface ships.

In 1972, TROUT made her first Western Pacific deployment. Her documented mission centered on antisubmarine-warfare exercises involving U.S. Navy units and forces of allied Asian navies, particularly the Republic of Korea Navy and the Republic of China Navy. TROUT provided the submarine component against which allied surface and air forces could train. The deployment occurred while the Vietnam War was still under way. Lieutenant Commander John Beatty's command tour ended on July 15, 1972, after which TROUT continued her Pacific Fleet service.

A major overhaul began at Mare Island Naval Shipyard on February 22, 1973. TROUT and the TANG-class USS GUDGEON (SS 567) were placed together in Dry Dock No. 4 and remained there until October 3, 1973. TROUT's overhaul continued after she left dry dock and was completed on January 28, 1974. After completion of the overhaul she returned to operational duty from San Diego, conducting local exercises, antisubmarine-warfare training, and weapons-related operations.

In 1975, TROUT undertook her second Western Pacific deployment. Captain Barton E. Bacon commanded her during this period. As during the 1972 deployment, her principal documented function was participation in antisubmarine exercises involving U.S. forces and naval units of South Korea and the Republic of China. These exercises formed part of the continuing U.S. effort to maintain allied interoperability and antisubmarine proficiency in the western Pacific. The geopolitical setting had changed markedly since TROUT's previous deployment: Saigon had fallen on April 30, 1975, ending the Republic of Vietnam and bringing the long period of direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War to a close. U.S. naval operations nevertheless continued throughout the western Pacific in support of regional alliances and forward presence.

TROUT returned to San Diego on January 29, 1976. She thereafter resumed Pacific Coast operations. Her performance during this final phase of active fleet service was recognized when she received the Battle Efficiency "E" for 1976 under Captain Bacon, distinguishing her among the Navy's remaining diesel-electric submarines. By then, the United States was rapidly approaching the end of its use of conventional attack submarines. Nuclear-powered boats possessed major advantages in sustained speed, endurance, and worldwide deployment capability, while older diesel-electric submarines increasingly served in specialized training, test, and allied-support roles.

On December 1, 1976, TROUT received orders changing her home port from San Diego to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She subsequently transferred from the Pacific to the East Coast by way of the Panama Canal and entered the final phase of her U.S. Navy career. At Philadelphia, she underwent extensive work in preparation for transfer to the Imperial Iranian Navy. This program formed part of the close military relationship between the United States and Iran under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose government was acquiring large quantities of American military equipment and expanding Iran's naval capabilities.

USS WAHOO (SS 565), a sister ship of TROUT, played a direct part in preparing Iranian personnel to operate the submarine. WAHOO arrived at New London on October 15, 1977, and on November 1 began training the Iranian crew intended eventually to take over TROUT. The training continued into 1978 and included a six-week Caribbean deployment during ReadEx 1-78. Using WAHOO allowed the Iranian sailors to become familiar with TANG-class machinery, operating procedures, and submarine routines while TROUT remained under preparation for transfer. Once TROUT became available, the final stages of Iranian training were conducted in connection with the submarine they were to receive.

On December 19, 1978, TROUT was decommissioned, struck from the Naval Vessel Register, and transferred to Iran. She was renamed IIS KOUSSEH (SS-101). The transfer occurred during the final months of the Iranian monarchy, when widespread demonstrations and political unrest were already threatening the Shah's government. Although the submarine had formally become Iranian property, she never reached Iran. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left the country on January 16, 1979, and the Iranian Revolution brought the monarchy to an end shortly afterward. In March 1979, the Iranian crew abandoned the former TROUT at New London. The submarine remained in the United States and therefore never entered operational service from an Iranian naval base.

The former TROUT remained in the United States for many years after the failed transfer. In 1992, she was formally returned to U.S. custody. Rather than immediately being disposed of, the submarine subsequently received an experimental role. In 1994, she was acquired for use in connection with U.S. Navy test and evaluation work and was later employed as a target submarine in support of activities associated with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Key West, Florida. Her continued use reflected the value of an actual submarine hull for testing and training even long after the design had ceased to be suitable for normal operational service.

After her experimental use ended, the former TROUT eventually returned to the inactive fleet at Philadelphia. Efforts were made to explore the possibility of preserving the submarine, but no museum project capable of taking permanent responsibility for the vessel was completed. TROUT remained visible at Philadelphia into the 2000s. The Navy ultimately selected her for disposal, and she was transferred to ESCO Marine at Brownsville, Texas, for dismantling and recycling. The scrapping process was completed on February 27, 2009.

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