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USS Ray (SSN 653)

USS RAY was the eleventh STURGEON - class fast attack submarine and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on March 16, 1993, the RAY spent the following years at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Wash., awaiting her turn in the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program. Recycling of the RAY was finished in 2001.

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Crew List:

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

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Accidents aboard USS RAY:

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USS RAY History:

USS RAY was the second United States Navy ship to bear the name RAY and the eleventh STURGEON-class nuclear-powered attack submarine. The contract for USS RAY was awarded on March 26, 1963, to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at Newport News, Virginia. Her keel was laid there on January 4, 1965. She belonged to a design developed from the earlier THRESHER/PERMIT lineage and shaped by the Navy's post-THRESHER (SSN 593) emphasis on submarine safety, quality assurance, seawater-system integrity, quieting, sonar performance, and operational survivability. The class was intended to give the Navy a more capable nuclear-powered attack submarine for the increasingly demanding contest with Soviet submarines and surface forces. USS RAY was launched at Newport News on June 21, 1966. Her sponsor was Mrs. Thomas H. Kuchel, wife of Senator Thomas H. Kuchel of California. After fitting out and trials, including sea trials in early 1967, she was commissioned on April 12, 1967, with Commander Albert Lee Kelln in command.

USS RAY's first home port was Norfolk, Virginia, and she initially served with Submarine Squadron Six. After commissioning, she underwent shakedown training and weapons and sonar testing. That initial period continued into the autumn of 1967. On October 6, 1967, she deployed for Atlantic submarine operations, returning on December 12, 1967. The deployment came during a period when the United States was heavily engaged in Vietnam but also deeply committed to North Atlantic and Mediterranean anti-submarine warfare. Soviet nuclear submarines were becoming more capable, and Atlantic Fleet attack submarines were central to the Navy's ability to track, train against, and, if required, counter them.

USS RAY deployed again for Atlantic submarine operations from April 8, 1968, to June 10, 1968, and once more from November 13, 1968, to December 20, 1968. Award summaries credit her with Navy Unit Commendation recognition in 1967 and Meritorious Unit Commendation recognition twice in 1968, indicating that the submarine's early operations were significant enough to receive formal command-level recognition. Commander Jonathan Swift Hurt relieved Commander Kelln on February 10, 1969.

From January through May 1969, USS RAY conducted attack-submarine training and fleet exercises off the United States East Coast and in the Caribbean Sea. On June 6, 1969, she departed Norfolk on a special operation before proceeding to Holy Loch, Scotland, where she arrived on June 26, 1969. Holy Loch was a major American submarine support site in Scotland, especially important for the U.S. Navy's ballistic-missile submarine presence and broader Atlantic submarine operations. USS RAY departed Holy Loch on July 31, 1969, and returned to Norfolk on August 12, 1969. The remainder of 1969 and the opening months of 1970 were spent training in the Atlantic with other fleet units. During this period, USS RAY received a Navy Unit Commendation for 1969 service.

USS RAY spent most of 1970 operating from Norfolk in the Atlantic. Her operations were concentrated mainly on training and testing. The year also brought another Meritorious Unit Commendation. In December 1970, USS RAY entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, Virginia, for a 14-month overhaul. This first major yard period removed her from the operating cycle and gave the Navy an opportunity to correct, inspect, and modernize an early STURGEON-class boat after several years of demanding Atlantic operations.

After completion of the Norfolk overhaul, USS RAY departed Norfolk on March 5, 1972. During the remainder of 1972 she engaged in tests and exercises, including two NATO exercises, Strong Express and Escort Deep. These exercises fit the wider NATO maritime strategy of the period. The alliance was concerned with the reinforcement of Europe across the Atlantic in wartime, the defense of sea lines of communication, and the ability of surface ships, aircraft, and submarines to detect and counter Soviet submarines. USS RAY returned to Norfolk on December 12, 1972. Commander Kenneth Alan Strahm relieved Commander Hurt on January 25, 1973.

In late February 1973, USS RAY departed Norfolk for a Mediterranean cruise that lasted until mid-summer. The Mediterranean remained one of the central naval theaters of the Cold War. The United States Sixth Fleet supported NATO's southern flank, monitored Soviet naval activity, and maintained a presence near the Middle East and North Africa. USS RAY returned from the Mediterranean and resumed normal Atlantic operations from Norfolk. In 1974 and 1975, she received Navy Unit Commendations, confirming that the early and mid-1970s included operational periods of recognized significance.

USS RAY continued Atlantic operations until August 1975, when she was transferred to Submarine Squadron Four at Charleston, South Carolina. The move marked a major shift in her career. Charleston became her principal operating base for the remainder of her service life. After her transfer to Charleston, USS RAY underwent an extensive overhaul and refueling period at Charleston Naval Shipyard. This was an 18-month overhaul and refueling. After completion, she proceeded to New London, Connecticut, for refresher training, and then to the Caribbean for approximately a month of shakedown and sonar calibration, including operations associated with Puerto Rico and St. Croix. These post-overhaul training and calibration events were necessary before the submarine could resume full operational deployment. On January 4, 1977, Commander Elmer Joseph "Buzz" Galbraith Jr. relieved Commander Strahm.

In August 1977, USS RAY deployed to the Mediterranean. On September 20, 1977, while submerged during that deployment, she struck the bottom south of Sardinia, Italy, and suffered damage to the bow area. USS RAY surfaced, proceeded to La Maddalena, Sardinia, and was escorted by USS GRAYLING (SSN 646). After initial stabilization and inspection, USS RAY made a surface transit back to the United States. Repairs at Charleston Naval Shipyard required about a year of work.

After repairs, USS RAY resumed service with Submarine Squadron Four. USS RAY received a Meritorious Unit Commendation in 1979. Commander Charles Leighton Moore III relieved Commander Galbraith on November 20, 1979. During the early 1980s, USS RAY operated from Charleston in the Atlantic Fleet at a time of renewed Cold War tension. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, the Iranian Revolution, and increased Soviet naval activity placed new emphasis on forward naval operations, submarine readiness, and the ability to conduct surveillance and anti-submarine warfare in the North Atlantic, Central Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Arctic approaches.

USS RAY received another Navy Unit Commendation in 1981 and an Engineering "E" in 1982. Her public record also identifies her as the first 637-class hull to become Tomahawk certified, capable of firing both TLAM and TLAM-N missiles. This was significant because the Tomahawk brought a new land-attack and strike dimension to submarines originally designed primarily for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare. The integration of Tomahawk into older attack submarines was part of the Navy's broader 1980s modernization effort, intended to keep STURGEON-class boats operationally useful alongside newer LOS ANGELES-class submarines.

Commander Stephen Alger Johnson relieved Commander Moore on April 3, 1983. From November 1983 to February 1985, USS RAY completed an overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard ahead of the original Chief of Naval Operations scheduled completion date. She received a Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation for completion of that overhaul 66 days ahead of schedule. This yard period modernized the boat for continued late-Cold-War service. After overhaul, USS RAY returned to operations in an Atlantic Fleet that was still heavily focused on the Soviet submarine threat, North Atlantic reinforcement routes, and Mediterranean crisis-response requirements.

One of USS RAY's best-known public operations came in 1986. During ICEX 86, USS RAY, commanded by Commander Johnson, operated in the Arctic with USS HAWKBILL (SSN 666), commanded by Commander Stephen A. Arndt, and USS ARCHERFISH (SSN 678), commanded by Commander Michael G. Riegel. On May 6, 1986, the three submarines surfaced together at the geographic North Pole. This was publicly described as the first three-ship rendezvous at the North Pole. Navy photographs show the three nuclear-powered attack submarines surfaced close together in the ice. The event had both operational and symbolic significance. Operationally, it demonstrated under-ice navigation, coordination, communications, and surfacing capability by multiple submarines. Strategically, it showed that the U.S. Navy could operate attack submarines in the Arctic environment near the northern approaches to Soviet submarine operating areas. Commander Patrick Henry Lawless relieved Commander Johnson on August 11, 1986.

After ICEX 86, USS RAY continued Atlantic Fleet and Arctic-related service. The late 1980s were a period of changing but still intense U.S.-Soviet naval competition. Even as arms-control negotiations advanced and Soviet reforms began, American attack submarines continued to operate in the areas most relevant to Soviet submarine movements.

Commander John Walker Fisher relieved Commander Lawless on August 15, 1989. From October 1989 to April 1990, USS RAY conducted a six-month Mediterranean deployment as part of the USS FORRESTAL (CV 59) aircraft carrier battle group. During this deployment, she participated in exercises and undersea operations, including operations in the Gulf of Sidra inside the line claimed by Libya as the "Line of Death". The United States did not recognize Libya's claim to the area as territorial waters, and U.S. naval operations there belonged to a broader pattern of freedom-of-navigation and presence operations in a politically sensitive region. USS RAY made liberty visits during the deployment to La Maddalena, Italy; Cannes, France; Toulon, France; and Gibraltar. After returning to Charleston, she underwent routine dry-dock repairs at Charleston Naval Shipyard.

The 1989-1990 deployment occurred during a major geopolitical transition. The Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 while USS RAY was deployed, and by the time she returned in April 1990, the Cold War order in Europe was visibly weakening. Nevertheless, the Mediterranean remained strategically important because of NATO commitments, Soviet naval activity, Libya-related tensions, and the continuing need for American carrier and submarine presence.

USS RAY again deployed north of the Arctic Circle in 1991. She earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Expeditionary Medal, and Arctic Service Ribbon for that deployment. The year 1991 was the final year of the Soviet Union and a period of rapid strategic change. The Gulf War had just demonstrated the importance of American power projection, while the Navy was beginning to reduce force structure and reassess missions in a post-Cold-War setting. Arctic operations still mattered because they preserved under-ice competence, contributed to environmental and tactical knowledge, and maintained access to a region that had been central to Cold War submarine operations.

Commander William Henry Jordan relieved Commander Fisher on November 18, 1991, and became USS RAY's final commanding officer. By this point, the STURGEON-class boats were entering the drawdown phase. At the time of her inactivation, USS RAY was as one of the most highly decorated attack submarines in the Atlantic Fleet. Award summaries credit her with five Navy Unit Commendations, six Meritorious Unit Commendations, six Navy Expeditionary Medals, and at least three Arctic Service Ribbon awards, although documentation for the later Arctic ribbon awards is less explicit than for ICEX 86. The exact missions behind many of those awards remain either classified or publicly undescribed, but the number of awards reflects sustained operational use across Atlantic, Mediterranean, Central Atlantic, and Arctic environments.

USS RAY was inactivated at Charleston Naval Station, South Carolina, on July 24, 1992. She was formally decommissioned on March 16, 1993, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on the same date. After decommissioning, ex-USS RAY was assigned for disposal through the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. A plaque associated with USS RAY was later displayed at the Naval and Maritime Museum at Patriots Point, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

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