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USS Archerfish (SSN 678)

Named to commemorate the career of USS ARCHER-FISH (SS 311) whose name, by the end of her career, had been arbitrarily changed to ARCHERFISH, SSN 678 was one of the STURGEON - class attack submarines. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on March 31, 1998, the USS ARCHERFISH was disposed of by submarine recycling at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wa., on 6 November 1998.

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Crew List:

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

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Accidents aboard USS ARCHERFISH:

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USS ARCHERFISH History:

ARCHERFISH was laid down on 19 June 1969 at Groton, Conn., by the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp.; launched on 16 January 1971; sponsored by Miss Mary Conover Warner; and commissioned at New London, Conn., on 17 December 1971, Comdr. Ralph Gordon Bird in command.

Following her commissioning, the nuclear submarine proceeded to Newport, R. I., in late January 1972 and then to the Caribbean for shakedown training. She held acoustic sea trials in Exuma Sound and weapons systems acceptance trials at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, and at St. Croix, Virgin Islands. The submarine carried out tests off the Bahamas in April and May.

From 5 to 15 June, ARCHERFISH participated in NATO Exercise "Pink Lace" in the mid-Atlantic. In August, she took part in antisubmarine warfare (ASW) Exercise 1-73. On 5 September, the warship began post-shakedown availability in the Electric Boat Division yards at Groton where she received extensive modifications and new equipment. The nuclear submarine left the shipyard on 26 October and spent the rest of the year in local operations and preparation for overseas movement.

On 6 January 1973, ARCHERFISH left Groton and shaped a course for the Mediterranean. During her deployment, the submarine conducted two special operations and visited Rota, Spain, and Naples, Italy. She arrived back at New London on 19 June. The warship got underway again in August for the Bahamas to participate in LANTSUBEX KILO 1-74. Archerfish provided services in support of a special project under the direction of the Chief of Naval Operations in the western Atlantic during the last half of September. She then traveled to a testing range off the Bahamas, held torpedo certification trials, and arrived back at New London on 12 October for extensive training in preparation for deployment.

The submarine left her home port on 7 January 1974 for special operations in the North Atlantic. During this cruise, she visited Faslane, Scotland, before returning to New London on 8 March. Following upkeep, she sailed to the Narragansett Bay in early May to carry out sonar evaluation projects. On 27 May, she proceeded to Port Everglades, Fla., for further testing. The submarine then continued on to the Caribbean to take part in LANTSUBEX KILO 2-74 near the Bahamas. On 10 June, ARCHERFISH arrived back at her home port and began testing and evaluating new sonar equipment.

ARCHERFISH set sail for the Bahamas once again on 9 September to participate in LANTSUBEX KILO 1-75. Upon its completion, she took part in mine testing near Port Everglades. The submarine returned to the Caribbean on 30 October for torpedo proficiency firings. From 5 to 18 November, she participated in SUBASWEX 1-75 and then returned to New London for a period of leave and upkeep.

In February and March 1975, ARCHERFISH carried out special operations in the western Atlantic. She then took part in Operation "Agate Punch" from 14 to 28 April. That exercise involved the development and utilization of tactics in direct support of other ships of the Atlantic Fleet. During the summer months, ARCHERFISH carried out a western Atlantic deployment, which also included a port call at Halifax, Nova Scotia. In November and December, the vessel was involved in two additional tactical development exercises, RANGEX 2-76 and SECEX 3-75. She also conducted torpedo tests.

After a period of holiday leave and upkeep, ARCHERFISH took part in SUBASWEX 1-76 in February 1976 before commencing a deployment to the North Atlantic in March. During April and May, she carried out independent operations and returned to her home port in June. The warship moved to Portsmouth, Va., where she began overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 7 July.

During her sea trials in May of 1977, the submarine's home port was changed from New London to Norfolk on the 12th. ARCHERFISH began shakedown on 8 June. She held torpedo proficiency firings and made port visits at Port Everglades and Port Canaveral, Fla. The nuclear submarine returned to Norfolk on 8 July and began upkeep. The warship got underway again on 21 August for a cruise during which she hosted a class of prospective commanding officers. She also carried out torpedo tests and made a stop at Port Everglades. ARCHERFISH arrived back at Norfolk on 6 September but set sail again on the 12th, bound for the West Indies to conduct torpedo test firings off the Bahamas and to perform special sonar tests in the Atlantic.

Upon returning to Norfolk on 28 September, the submarine began preparations for overseas movement. She left Norfolk on 12 December; crossed the Atlantic; spent the Christmas holidays in port at Lisbon, Portugal; and entered the Mediterranean on 28 December. While operating with the 6th Fleet, the submarine participated in CNO Project "Over the Horizon Testing" and, during the month of March 1978, took part in Exercise "Dogfish." She arrived back at her home port in May.

During the period from 2 July to 4 August, ARCHERFISH conducted a midshipman training cruise. On 23 August, she began participation in Exercise "Northern Wedding" a NATO exercise that occupied the nuclear submarine through 8 October. She then returned to Norfolk for leave and upkeep followed by preparations for cold weather drills in early 1979. ARCHERFISH got underway for the Arctic on 14 March 1979. During her cruise, the submarine traveled over 9,000 miles under the ice and surfaced through the polar ice pack 23 times, once at the North Pole. ARCHERFISH arrived in Plymouth, England, on 11 May for a six-day visit and then proceeded to Zeebrugge, Belgium. She left Belgium on 21 May; sailed westward across the Atlantic; and arrived at New London, her new home port, on 5 June.

In mid-July, ARCHERFISH entered the Portsmouth (N.H.) Naval Shipyard for a restricted availability. She got underway again on 3 October and headed to the West Indies for acoustic trials and weapons testing. The warship arrived back at New London on 21 November and ended the year there in upkeep.

On 23 January 1980, the submarine got underway to take part in RANGEX 1-80, a multi-ship ASW exercise held in the Atlantic. She returned to New London on 10 February, and remained there until proceeding to Hampton Roads in mid-March to enter the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. for the replacement of a sonar dome. That work was completed on 1 April, and ARCHERFISH returned to her home port to prepare for another deployment. On 23 May, she set sail for the North Atlantic to conduct special operations. During the cruise, the submarine made port calls in Norway and West Germany before arriving back at New London on 25 August.

ARCHERFISH returned to the West Indies in mid-October for torpedo testing off the Bahamas. The nuclear submarine paused at Norfolk for deperming before returning to New London on 30 October. She got underway on 17 November to take part in LANTSUBASWEX 2-81. Upon completing the exercise on the 26th, the submarine returned to her home port to begin a series of inspections. ARCHERFISH continued operations from New London into early 1981. During the years 1981 and 1982, the nuclear submarine alternated two spring deployments to the Mediterranean Sea with normal operations out of New London during the fall and winter. In February 1983, ARCHERFISH began regular overhaul at the Portsmouth (N.H.) Naval Shipyard. The extended repair period lasted until October of 1984 at which time she resumed duty out of New London.

At the beginning of 1985, USS ARCHERFISH was back in Atlantic Fleet service and conducted a North Atlantic deployment after her return from overhaul. That deployment took place during the final years of the Cold War, when the North Atlantic remained one of the central maritime operating areas for the United States Navy and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On 19 April 1985, Commander Michael G. Riegel relieved Commander John S. Almon as commanding officer, and USS ARCHERFISH continued the post-overhaul operating cycle of training, inspections, local operations, and deployed service from New London.

In 1986, USS ARCHERFISH returned to the Arctic, an operating environment that had long been central to United States submarine operations. Arctic work required under-ice navigation, careful interpretation of sonar returns beneath the ice canopy, knowledge of ice thickness and pressure ridges, and the ability to operate for extended periods without ordinary surface support. During Ice Exercise 1-86, USS ARCHERFISH, commanded by Commander Michael G. Riegel, operated with USS RAY (SSN 653), commanded by Commander Steve A. Johnson, and USS HAWKBILL (SSN 666), commanded by Commander Stephen A. Arndt. On 6 May 1986, the three nuclear-powered attack submarines surfaced simultaneously at the North Pole. It was the first time three submarines had surfaced at the pole at the same time. The operation was intended both to collect scientific data and to test submarine-force readiness under Arctic conditions without logistics support. USS ARCHERFISH returned to New London on 1 July 1986.

USS ARCHERFISH continued local operations into 1987 until she deployed to the Mediterranean Sea during the summer. The deployment placed USS ARCHERFISH in the operating environment of the United States Sixth Fleet during the final phase of the Cold War. The Mediterranean remained a major area of alliance naval activity, Soviet naval presence, Middle Eastern tension, North African instability, and post-1986 concern over Libya. The Iran-Iraq War was still in progress, and American naval forces in the broader region were increasingly involved in protecting freedom of navigation and responding to regional crises.

On 11 March 1988, Commander Siegfried L. Shalles relieved Commander Riegel as commanding officer. In 1988, USS ARCHERFISH again conducted Arctic operations, this time under Commander Shalles. The public Arctic record confirms her Arctic activity for that year. In September 1988, after that Arctic operating period, USS ARCHERFISH sailed to Puget Sound, Washington, where she was drydocked and overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton. This became the third and final overhaul of her career.

During the Puget Sound overhaul, USS ARCHERFISH received a new reactor core intended to last for the remainder of her service life. In 1989, during that overhaul period, she was also configured to carry a Dry Deck Shelter, a change that significantly shaped the final years of her career. The Dry Deck Shelter allowed the submarine to support Naval Special Warfare personnel and equipment while remaining a covert submerged platform. It enabled operations with Sea-Air-Land personnel and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two and gave USS ARCHERFISH a special-operations support role in addition to her traditional attack-submarine missions.

The Puget Sound overhaul ended in August 1990, and USS ARCHERFISH returned to the Atlantic Fleet from New London. Her return came during a period of major geopolitical change. The Cold War was ending, the Soviet Union was weakening, and the United States Navy was beginning to adapt attack-submarine employment to a future in which regional crises, special operations, intelligence-related missions, joint exercises, and littoral operations would become more prominent.

On 15 March 1991, Commander Kevin B. Leahy relieved Commander Shalles as commanding officer. The year 1991 marked the end of the Cold War strategic order in which USS ARCHERFISH had spent most of her service. Operation Desert Storm ended in February 1991, and the Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991. USS ARCHERFISH returned to the normal Atlantic Fleet cycle of upkeep, training, certifications, exercises, and deployment preparation. Sources credit her with four Mediterranean deployments between 1992 and 1997 after completion of the Puget Sound overhaul.

The first of those post-overhaul Mediterranean deployments began in the early 1990s. These deployments took place in a Mediterranean environment that had changed from Cold War confrontation to post-Cold-War crisis management. The breakup of Yugoslavia, operations connected with the Bosnian War, continuing concern over Iraq, instability in North Africa, and the alliance's continued southern-flank responsibilities all kept the Sixth Fleet active. A Dry Deck Shelter-capable submarine such as USS ARCHERFISH could support traditional attack-submarine tasks while also providing Naval Special Warfare support and training capability.

On 5 May 1993, USS ARCHERFISH was documented off Puerto Rico during the joint-service exercise Ocean Venture '93. Photographs show rigid-hull inflatable boats from Special Boat Unit 4 operating alongside USS ARCHERFISH, with a Dry Deck Shelter secured on the submarine's deck. Ocean Venture '93 demonstrated practical coordination between a nuclear-powered submarine and Naval Special Warfare support craft. On 5 August 1993, Commander Robert D. Holland relieved Commander Leahy as commanding officer.

USS ARCHERFISH remained active from New London and continued the cycle of maintenance, training, exercises, and deployment activity that supported her 1992-1997 Mediterranean deployments. In 1995, USS ARCHERFISH is visible in the public record through both photographic and operational references. Photographs from that period show her with the Dry Deck Shelter fitted, confirming the continued use of the configuration in the middle of the decade. On 16 September 1995, USS ARCHERFISH participated in an encounter exercise with USS DE WERT (FFG 45) during the transatlantic phase of USS DE WERT's deployment with the USS AMERICA (CV 66) battle group. This was an anti-submarine-warfare training event in which a surface combatant and a nuclear-powered attack submarine could practice detection, tracking, tactics, and coordination before the battle group entered the Mediterranean operating area. A later first-person account by a former USS ARCHERFISH executive officer records a fall 1995 port visit to Bizerte, Tunisia, during a routine Mediterranean deployment.

On 13 February 1996, Commander Steven R. Kremer relieved Commander Holland and became the final commanding officer of USS ARCHERFISH. His command covered the submarine's last Mediterranean deployment, Science Ice Exercise 1997, and decommissioning. During 1996 and 1997, USS ARCHERFISH completed another Mediterranean deployment. A later official biography of Commander Edward B. Seal, who served as executive officer of USS ARCHERFISH from April 1996 to April 1998, states that during his tour he completed a Mediterranean deployment, Science Ice Exercise 1997, and the ship's decommissioning. This supports the placement of a final or late Mediterranean cruise in the last two years of the submarine's service. The cruise occurred in a Mediterranean theater shaped by post-Bosnia alliance operations, continuing concern over Iraq and Libya, and a broader shift from Cold War fleet confrontation to regional crisis response and coalition operations.

In 1997, USS ARCHERFISH conducted Science Ice Exercise 1997, commonly identified as SCICEX 97. The Arctic research records identify USS ARCHERFISH, commanded by Commander Steve R. Kremer, as the submarine that conducted the SCICEX 1997 science cruise to the Arctic. The listed dates for SCICEX 97 are 3 September to 2 October 1997, with a civilian science party led by Terry Whitledge. Scientific descriptions identify the cruise as a thirty-day deployment that began in the Eurasian Basin on 3 September 1997 and ended in the Chukchi Sea on 2 October 1997. During the cruise, researchers collected hydrographic, oceanographic, ice, and bathymetric data using the submarine's ability to operate under sea ice where surface vessels could not easily work. The program used submarines to acquire data on Arctic sea ice, water properties, biology, chemistry, hydrography, and water depth. During SCICEX 97, USS ARCHERFISH's scientific work included a cross-basin transect, surveys linked to physical and chemical water properties, an ice survey around a drifting buoy placed in 1996, a detailed survey of a cold-core eddy, work along the Chukchi and Siberian margins, and support for the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean program. The submarine surfaced twice during the cruise, once near the North Pole and once for operational purposes. Personnel aboard USS ARCHERFISH launched 138 expendable oceanographic probes, and the thirty-day operation covered roughly 14,000 kilometers of survey track.

After SCICEX 97, USS ARCHERFISH entered her final phase of service at New London. Her late-career ship-history material summarized more than two decades of service across the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. It credited the submarine with four Navy Unit Commendations, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, and three Commander Sixth Fleet "Hook 'em" trophies for anti-submarine-warfare excellence. At squadron level, she was credited with multiple years of Battle Efficiency "E", Engineering "E", Antisubmarine Warfare "A", Communications "C", Medical Readiness "M", Seamanship awards, and Damage Control recognition.

USS ARCHERFISH was decommissioned on 31 March 1998 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. After decommissioning, ex-USS ARCHERFISH entered the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. Recycling was completed on 6 November 1998.

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