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USS Aspro (SSN 648)

One of the STURGEON - class fast attack submarines, the USS ASPRO was the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. After 26 years of service, the submarine was both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on March 31, 1995, and later entered the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash. On November 3, 2000, recycling was finished.

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Crew List:

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

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Accidents aboard USS ASPRO:

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USS ASPRO History:

USS ASPRO was the second United States Navy ship to bear the name ASPRO and one of the STURGEON-class nuclear-powered attack submarines built during the Cold War expansion of the American undersea force. The contract for USS ASPRO was awarded on March 26, 1963, to Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi. Her keel was laid there on November 23, 1964. She was part of a design developed from the earlier THRESHER/PERMIT line and shaped by the Navy's post-THRESHER (SSN 593) emphasis on submarine safety, quality assurance, seawater-system integrity, survivability, quieting, sonar performance, and the ability to conduct long submerged operations. USS ASPRO was launched at Pascagoula on November 29, 1967, sponsored by Mrs. Robert H. B. Baldwin, wife of Robert Hayes Burns Baldwin, who had served as Under Secretary of the Navy. After fitting out and trials, she was commissioned on February 20, 1969, with Commander Roy Ryan Wight in command.

Only days after commissioning, USS ASPRO left Pascagoula on February 26, 1969, for Key West, Florida, where she loaded torpedoes. She then headed for her assigned Pacific Fleet home port. She transited the Panama Canal on March 8, 1969, arrived at Oahu on March 24, 1969, and joined the Pacific Fleet as a member of Submarine Squadron One and Submarine Division Twelve at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The move placed her in the Pacific submarine force during the Vietnam War and during a period in which the Soviet Pacific Fleet was growing in importance. Pearl Harbor-based nuclear attack submarines supported Seventh Fleet operations, anti-submarine warfare training, surveillance, forward presence, and exercises across the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

After three weeks of upkeep at Pearl Harbor, USS ASPRO proceeded to Bangor, Washington, where she unloaded her torpedoes before entering Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, on April 23, 1969, for alignment of her fire-control system. She left dry dock on May 4, 1969, conducted tests along the United States West Coast for about a month, and returned to Pearl Harbor on June 8, 1969. Local operations occupied July 1969. In August 1969, she served as a school ship for prospective commanding officers and participated in Kilo 5-69 and Holdex 4-69 in the Hawaiian operating area. Weapons tests and a nuclear reactor safety examination followed, and that autumn she entered Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for post-shakedown repairs. These early months established the standard pattern for a new Pacific Fleet nuclear-powered attack submarine: weapons and fire-control work, prospective commanding officer training, local exercises, and shipyard correction of post-shakedown deficiencies.

USS ASPRO got underway again on March 6, 1970, for sea trials around Hawaii, followed by weapons trials in April. From May 18 to June 12, 1970, she was in upkeep at the Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor. After that, she prepared for her first major western Pacific deployment. On July 19, 1970, she departed Pearl Harbor for a six-month WestPac. She arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, on September 10, 1970, and began upkeep. On September 29, 1970, she visited Okinawa, and on the following day she began more than a month of United States Seventh Fleet operations. She returned to Okinawa on November 8, 1970, and shifted to Subic Bay, Philippines, on November 15, 1970, for about two weeks of upkeep. Late in November she sailed toward Hong Kong, providing services to aircraft while en route, and arrived there on December 1, 1970, for a week of leave and liberty.

After an anti-submarine warfare exercise between December 8 and December 17, 1970, USS ASPRO operated on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin, the major carrier operating area used by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. She returned to Subic Bay on December 31, 1970. On January 2, 1971, she left the Philippines for Guam, where she spent several weeks engaged in tests. She returned to Pearl Harbor on February 5, 1971. The remainder of 1971 was spent alternating in-port periods with exercises in the Hawaiian operating area. Commander Robert Henry Harris relieved Commander Wight on July 28, 1971.

On January 5, 1972, USS ASPRO began a restricted availability at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, followed by another month of upkeep. On March 11, 1972, she resumed operations in Hawaiian waters, and on April 15, 1972, she began preparations for another deployment. She got underway on May 13, 1972, and arrived at Yokosuka on June 24, 1972. After about a week in port, she left Yokosuka on July 4, 1972, for Seventh Fleet operations. She arrived at Pusan, South Korea, on August 13, 1972, for a two-day visit, then shifted to Sasebo, Japan, for three days. From August 18 to August 26, 1972, she exercised with USS HAWKBILL (SSN 666). On August 27, 1972, USS ASPRO arrived at Hong Kong. She departed on September 2, 1972, for Guam, arrived there on September 7, and began two weeks of upkeep. On September 21, 1972, she put to sea for the return to Hawaii and arrived at Pearl Harbor on November 18, 1972. She remained in port through the Christmas holidays.

USS ASPRO spent the first three months of 1973 conducting local tests and operations. On March 17, 1973, she departed Pearl Harbor for Pascagoula, Mississippi. She transited the Panama Canal on March 28, 1973, and began an overhaul at Ingalls Shipbuilding on April 1, 1973. Commander Edward Francis Wagner relieved Commander Harris on December 31, 1973, while the submarine was still in the yard. The overhaul ended on May 12, 1974. USS ASPRO departed Pascagoula on May 13, 1974, retransited the Panama Canal, made liberty stops at San Diego, California, and Bremerton, Washington, and conducted acoustic trials in Puget Sound from June 4 to June 7, 1974. She returned to Pearl Harbor on June 19, 1974, after an absence of more than fifteen months, and spent the rest of 1974 operating in the Hawaiian Islands.

The beginning of 1975 found USS ASPRO preparing for another deployment to the Far East. After final loadout, she left Pearl Harbor on May 29, 1975, and conducted an exercise with USS RATHBURNE (DE 1057) on May 30. She reached Yokosuka on June 10, 1975, for a week-long visit. On June 19, 1975, she began operations at sea that lasted until August 10, when she arrived at Guam. From August 24 to September 3, 1975, she participated in exercises with units of the Seventh Fleet. From September 4 to September 16, 1975, she made voyage repairs at Subic Bay. Between September 17 and September 29, 1975, she carried out exercises near Subic Bay with USS KITTY HAWK (CVA 63). USS ASPRO left the Philippines on October 1, 1975, bound for the Mariana Islands, arrived at Guam on October 5, and remained there until October 27, when she sailed for Hong Kong. From November 6 to November 18, 1975, she participated in anti-submarine warfare exercises with Seventh Fleet air and surface units. After pausing briefly at Guam, she returned to Pearl Harbor on December 4, 1975, and began post-deployment standdown.

USS ASPRO spent the first two and a half months of 1976 in upkeep and exercises. On March 15, 1976, she entered dry dock at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. When the work was completed on April 23, 1976, she began sea trials, exercises, and final preparations for a tour along the west coast of North America. She left Pearl Harbor on September 6, 1976, stopped at Esquimalt, British Columbia, on September 16 for a two-day liberty call, and arrived at Bangor, Washington, on September 23 to unload weapons.

On October 11, 1977, ASPRO commenced an overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. By that time, Commander Jonathan Carver Warthin had relieved Commander Wagner, taking command on July 30, 1977. The overhaul kept USS ASPRO away from Pearl Harbor for twenty-one months. During the yard period, on May 26, 1978, a small radioactive-water leak occurred aboard her at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard when a shipyard worker failed to close a valve tightly. Navy reporting described the amount as about two cups of radioactive water from a pipe fitting, stated that no personnel suffered skin exposure, and reported that no radioactivity escaped to the outside environment. The incident was limited, but it became one of the few publicly recorded safety events in the ship's history. The overhaul was completed on March 11, 1979, when USS ASPRO got underway for sea and acoustic trials. On April 28, 1979, she went to Bangor for weapons trials. From May 17 to May 22, 1979, she made the voyage to San Diego, conducting deep-water acoustic trials en route. On arrival at San Diego, she spent a week in availability with USS SAN ONOFRE (ARD 30). USS ASPRO returned to Pearl Harbor on June 8, 1979, and spent the remainder of the year conducting training exercises, anti-submarine warfare operations, and preparations for another deployment.

Those preparations continued through January and into February 1980. On February 24, 1980, USS ASPRO departed Pearl Harbor for her fourth western Pacific deployment. She arrived at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on March 9, 1980. On March 11, she put to sea for Exercise Sharem 35, returned briefly to Buckner Bay on March 16, then departed for the Philippines. She entered Subic Bay on March 20 and remained there until April 6, when she got underway for the Mariana Islands. USS ASPRO stayed at Guam from April 12 to April 24, then sailed for Japan. She made a brief stop at Yokosuka on May 4, 1980, before beginning about a month of operations at sea. She returned to Yokosuka on June 10, but put to sea again on June 12 for Hong Kong. The Hong Kong liberty call lasted from June 17 to June 21. She then headed back to Guam, where she remained from June 27 to July 16. On July 16, 1980, she departed for the final operational assignment of the deployment and concluded both that assignment and the deployment at Pearl Harbor on August 30, 1980.

Following post-deployment standdown, USS ASPRO resumed local operations in the Hawaiian Islands. On November 21, 1980, Commander Fred Perry "Gus" Gustavson relieved Commander Warthin. At the beginning of 1981, USS ASPRO began a restricted availability at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard that lasted until late March. On March 26, 1981, she left the shipyard and resumed normal operations from Pearl Harbor. That work occupied her until midsummer, when she began preparations for another Far Eastern deployment. On September 2, 1981, USS ASPRO stood out of Pearl Harbor for the western Pacific and Indian Ocean. She returned to Pearl Harbor on March 16, 1982, and began the normal post-deployment leave and upkeep period.

USS ASPRO resumed operations from Pearl Harbor in April 1982. She participated in the multinational exercise RIMPAC 82 and served as a training platform for prospective commanding officers and midshipmen. Early in July 1982, she began a five-week cruise to the California coast and back, during which she participated in anti-submarine warfare exercises and Fleet Exercise 1-82. She arrived back at Oahu on August 12, 1982, and began preparations for cold-weather operations. On October 15, 1982, USS ASPRO and USS TAUTOG (SSN 639) got underway for the Arctic region. In addition to cold-weather drills, the two submarines gathered scientific data to improve knowledge of the northern region. On November 20, 1982, they conducted the first two-submarine winter rendezvous at the North Pole. USS ASPRO was commanded during that Arctic operation by Commander Gustavson. The event was later commemorated through cachet envelopes and became one of the most visible public episodes of USS ASPRO's service. She returned to Pearl Harbor on December 15, 1982, and began holiday routine.

The holiday period blended into upkeep at Pearl Harbor during January 1983. In February, USS ASPRO resumed operations in the Hawaiian operating area, and those operations continued through March, April, and May. In June 1983, she began preparing for another tour with the Seventh Fleet. In July 1983, she departed Pearl Harbor for a deployment. She returned to Pearl Harbor on October 23, 1983, and, after post-deployment standdown, resumed local operations. Commander Michael Dean Martin relieved Commander Gustavson on November 10, 1983.

USS ASPRO continued local operations into 1984. On January 16, 1984, she entered the floating dry dock USS COMPETENT (AFDM 6) for a restricted availability. After later returning to sea, she deployed again to the western Pacific on July 24, 1984. During this deployment, she operated in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. She returned to Pearl Harbor in January 1985. After the usual leave and upkeep period, she resumed local operations. In April 1985, she visited the United States West Coast. That summer, she voyaged to Arctic regions for more cold-weather drills, returned to Hawaii at the end of September, and resumed local operations in October.

Local operations occupied USS ASPRO through the end of 1985 and the first four months of 1986. On May 10, 1986, Commander Thomas Harold Etter relieved Commander Martin. Later that month, USS ASPRO headed north for another round of cold-weather exercises. She returned to Pearl Harbor on July 11, 1986, and remained in the Hawaiian area until early September, when she cruised to the northern Pacific. She concluded that voyage on October 27, 1986, at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. On November 15, 1986, she began a regular overhaul there.

USS ASPRO's Mare Island overhaul lasted longer than originally planned. During the delay, new sonar and fire-control technologies became available and were installed. Public later summaries also associate the delay with installation of anechoic acoustic tiling on her hull, which improved her quieting relative to her earlier configuration. The overhaul took place during the final years of the Cold War, as the United States Navy was still operating at a high tempo against Soviet naval forces but was also modernizing older submarines to keep them useful alongside newer LOS ANGELES-class boats. At the conclusion of the overhaul, USS ASPRO and her crew achieved an Excellent on the Post-Overhaul Reactor Safeguards Examination, a demanding nuclear-propulsion inspection. She then performed well in tactical readiness examinations against newer submarines.

USS ASPRO returned to Pearl Harbor in October 1989. By then, the strategic world in which she had been commissioned was changing rapidly. The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, Eastern Europe was moving away from Soviet control, and the Cold War framework that had shaped the Pacific submarine force since the 1950s was beginning to dissolve. Commander John Andrew "Andy" Borchardt relieved Commander Etter on May 27, 1989, during the final phase of the overhaul and return-to-service period.

After her return, USS ASPRO deployed twice to the western Pacific and twice to the northern Pacific. Public summaries identify one western Pacific deployment during 1990 and early 1991. During the early 1990s, USS ASPRO won the Battle Efficiency "E" for Submarine Squadron One three times in four years, twice under Commander Borchardt and once under Commander James Michael "Mike" Willy. Commander Willy relieved Commander Borchardt on February 21, 1992.

USS ASPRO remained active in the post-Cold-War Pacific Fleet. Public summaries identify another western Pacific deployment in the 1992-1993 period, with northern Pacific operations also forming part of the late-career pattern. These deployments occurred after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but the United States still maintained submarine presence in the Pacific to support alliances, train with fleet forces, monitor regional maritime developments, and sustain undersea readiness.

USS ASPRO made her final western Pacific deployment in 1994. She was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for performance during a period in 1994 while deployed to the western Pacific. During this final WestPac, with Commander Willy in command, her recorded port calls included Hong Kong; Guam; Sasebo, Japan; and New Caledonia. This cruise took place in the early post-Cold-War environment, when the Navy was reducing force structure but continuing forward submarine operations in the western Pacific. It was also one of the last operational episodes in the service life of USS ASPRO and part of the broader retirement of older STURGEON-class submarines.

Commander Mitchell Keith Sauls relieved Commander Willy on September 23, 1994, and became USS ASPRO's final commanding officer. After returning from her final cruise, USS ASPRO entered the deactivation and decommissioning phase at Pearl Harbor. ASPRO held a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base Pearl Harbor in early 1995, while the formal decommissioning process was completed at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. USS ASPRO was formally decommissioned on March 31, 1995, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on the same date. After decommissioning, ex-USS ASPRO was assigned for disposal through the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. The recycling process began on October 1, 1999, and was completed on November 3, 2000. Her disposal closed a career of just over twenty-six years in commission, almost all of it associated with the Pacific Fleet and Pearl Harbor.

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