>From the “Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,” 

(1968) Vol. 3, pp.211, 215.





HALIBUT



		Halibut:  A large species of flatfish found on 

both sides of the Atlantic.





SSGN-587



Displacement:  

	Surfaced:  3,655 t.

	Submerged:  5,000 t.

Length:  350’

Beam:  29’

Draft:  28’

Speed:  classified

Complement:  classified

Armament:  1 Regulus missile launcher, 6 21” torpedo tubes

Class:  HALIBUT



	HALIBUT (SSG(N)-587) was launched by Mare Island Naval 

Shipyard, Vallejo, California, 6 January 1959; sponsored by 

Mrs. Chet Holifield, wife of Congressman Holifield of 

California; and commissioned 4 January 1960, Lt. Comdr. 

Walter Dedrick in command.



	HALIBUT had the distinction to be the first submarine 

in the world designed and built from the keel up to launch 

guided missiles.  Intended to carry the Regulus I missile, 

HALIBUT departed for her shakedown cruise 11 March.  On the 

way to Australia, 25 March, she became the first nuclear 

powered submarine to successfully launch a guided missile.  

The submarine returned to Mare Island Shipyard 18 June 1960, 

and after short training cruises, departed 7 November for 

Pearl Harbor and active service with Pacific Fleet.  During 

her first deployment she successfully launched her seventh 

consecutive Regulus I missile during a major Southeast Asia 

Treaty Organization weapons demonstration.  Returning to 

Pearl Harbor 9 April 1961, HALIBUT began her second 

deployment 1 May.  During the months that followed she 

participated in several guided missile launching exercises 

and underwent intensive training.



	HALIBUT deployed for the third time to the Western 

Pacific in late 1961, establishing a pattern of training and 

readiness operations followed through 1964.  On 4 May 1964, 

HALIBUT departed Pearl Harbor for the last Regulus missile 

patrol to be made by a submarine in the Pacific.  Then, from 

September through December, HALIBUT joined eight other 

submarines in testing and evaluating the attack capabilities 

of the Permit Class submarines.



	In February 1965, HALIBUT entered Pearl Harbor Naval 

Shipyard for a mayor overhaul, and on 15 August she was 

redesignated SS(N)-587.  The nuclear attack submarine sailed 

from Pearl Harbor 6 September for the West Coast arriving 

Keyport, Wash., the 20th.  On 5 October she departed Keyport 

for Pearl Harbor and, after an 8-day stop over at Mare 

Island, Calif., arrived 21 October.  HALIBUT then began ASW 

operations in the area, continuing through 1966 and to date 

in 1967 adding powerfully to the deterrent strength of the 

United States in the Pacific.



	[Decommissioned on 30 June 1976 and stricken from the 

Navy Register on 30 April 1986, former HALIBUT entered the 

Navy’s nuclear powered ship and submarine recycling program 

on 12 July 1993 and completed it on 9 September 1994.  Upon 

completion, she ceased to exist as a complete ship.



Internet web site:  United States Naval & Shipbuilding 

Museum

	www.uss-salem.org/worldnav/usa/decom.htm

For detailed information on spy missions conducted by 

HALIBUT, see:

Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew, “Blind Man’s Bluff, The 

Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage;” published in 

1998 by Public Affairs.  ISBN 1-891620-08-8]





Transcribed by Michael Hansen

mhansen2@home.com