USS Albacore (AGSS-569) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

USS Albacore (AGSS-569) was a unique research submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

that pioneered the American version of the teardrop hull

Teardrop hull

A teardrop hull is a submarine hull design which emphasizes hydrodynamic flow above all other factors. Benefits over previous types include increased underwater speed and a smaller acoustic signature, making detection by sonar more difficult...

form (sometimes referred to as an "Albacore hull") of modern submarines. The revolutionary design was derived from extensive hydrodynamic and wind tunnel testing, with an emphasis on underwater speed and maneuverability. She was the third ship of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

to be named for the albacore

Albacore

The albacore, Thunnus alalunga, is a type of tuna in the family Scombridae. This species is also called albacore fish, albacore tuna, albicore, longfin, albies, pigfish, tombo ahi, binnaga, Pacific albacore, German bonito , longfin tuna, longfin tunny, or even just tuna...

, a small tuna

Tuna

Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...

found in temperate seas throughout the world.

Her keel was laid down on 15 March 1952 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...

of Kittery, Maine

Kittery, Maine

Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...

. She was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

on 1 August 1953, sponsored by Mrs. J.E. Jowers, the widow of Chief Motor Machinist's Mate Arthur L. Stanton, lost with the second Albacore (SS-218)

USS Albacore (SS-218)

was a Gato-class submarine which served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, winning four Presidential Unit Citations and nine battle stars for her service...

, and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

on 6 December 1953 with Lieutenant Commander Kenneth C. Gummerson in command.

The effectiveness of submarines in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

convinced both the Soviets and the United States Navy

United States Navy

that undersea warfare would play an even more important role in coming conflicts and dictated development of superior submarines. The advent of nuclear power

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

nourished the hope that such warship

Warship

A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...

s could be produced. The effort to achieve this goal involved the development of a nuclear propulsion system and the design of a streamlined submarine hull capable of optimum submerged performance.

Development

Late in World War II, committees on both sides of the Iron Curtain

Iron Curtain

The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...

studied postwar uses of atomic energy

Nuclear reaction

In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, a nuclear reaction is semantically considered to be the process in which two nuclei, or else a nucleus of an atom and a subatomic particle from outside the atom, collide to produce products different from the initial particles...

and recommended the development of nuclear propulsion for ships. Since nuclear power plants would operate without the oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

supply needed by conventional machinery, and since techniques were available for converting carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

back to oxygen, submarine designers turned their attention to vessels which could operate for long periods without surfacing. Veteran submariners visualized a new type of submarine in which surface performance characteristics would be completely subordinated to high submerged speed and agility. In 1949 a special committee began a series of hydrodynamic studies which led to a program within the IS Bureau of Ships to determine what hull form would be best for submerged operation. The David Taylor Model Basin

David Taylor Model Basin

The David Taylor Model Basin is one of the largest ship model basins — test facilities for the development of ship design — in the world...

tested a series of designs. The best two—one with a single propeller and the other with dual screws—were then tested in a wind tunnel at Langley Air Force Base. The single-screw version was adopted, and construction of an experimental submarine to this design was authorized on 25 November 1950. This ship was classified as an auxiliary submarine (AGSS-569) and named Albacore.

Evaluations

Following preliminary acceptance trials, the new submarine departed Portsmouth

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

on 8 April 1954 for shakedown training. She began the first cycle of a career in which she experimented extensively with a given configuration and then returned to Portsmouth for extensive modifications to evaluate different design concepts, to help the Navy develop better hull configurations for future submarines. On this initial cruise, she operated out of New London, Connecticut

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

, before sailing for Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

, to conduct operations out of that port and in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n waters. She returned to Portsmouth on 3 July for more than a year of trials in cooperation with the David Taylor Model Basin. Throughout these operations, she underwent repairs and modification to eliminate technical problems.

The submarine departed Portsmouth

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...

on 12 October 1955 and sailed via Block Island

Block Island

Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...

for Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

, where she arrived on 19 October 1955 to commence antisubmarine warfare evaluation and to provide target services to the Operational Development Force's Surface Antisubmarine Development Detachment. On 4 November 1955, Admiral Arleigh Burke

Arleigh Burke

Admiral Arleigh Albert '31-knot' Burke was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.-Early life and naval career:Burke was born in Boulder,...

, Chief of Naval Operations

Chief of Naval Operations

The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...

, embarked on Albacore for a brief demonstration cruise. On 19 November 1955, Albacore sailed for a rendezvous point off the Bahamas

The Bahamas

The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...

where she conducted special operations until 24 November 1955 and then returned to Portsmouth.

From December 1955 to March 1956, Albacore underwent stern renewal. Until this time, her propeller had been surrounded by the rudder and stern plane control surfaces. With her "new look", she resembled a blimp

Blimp

A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...

, with her propeller aft of all control surfaces.

Operation with her new stern configuration started in April 1956 and continued until late in the year. In May, Albacore visited New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

and participated in the television production Wide, Wide World, during which she submerged, with an underwater camera mounted on her forecastle, the first live telecast of a submarine while diving.

More tests

In November 1956, Albacore reentered the shipyard for engine conversion. She departed New London, Connecticut

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

, on 11 March 1957, for operations out of San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

Cuba

. The submarine returned to Boston, Massachusetts, on 2 April 1957 and operated locally out of Boston and Portsmouth until entering the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

early in 1958 for an overhaul which lasted until June.

The ensuing tests emphasized sound reduction and included extensive evaluation of Aqua-Plas, a sound-damping elastic which had been applied to the ship's superstructure and tank interiors. In October 1958, her bow planes were removed to further reduce noise. The submarine ended the year with a fortnight's run to Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, and back to serve as a target ship for Canadian warships

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

.

In 1959, a newly designed 14-foot propeller was installed and tested. Albacore sailed south late in May and, after operating in the British West Indies

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

for two weeks, proceeded to Key West to serve as a target for the Surface Antisubmarine Development Detachment. After returning north, she spent much of the remainder of 1959 and most of 1960 undergoing widely varied tests for the David Taylor Model Basin

David Taylor Model Basin

The David Taylor Model Basin is one of the largest ship model basins — test facilities for the development of ship design — in the world...

. One of the more unusual consisted of evaluating a concave bow sonar dome.

Testing more equipment

On 21 November 1960, the ship entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

for a major overhaul and conversion in which she received: a new, experimental, "X"-shaped tail for increased control; 10 dive brakes around her hull, a new bow which included modified forward ballast tanks, new sonar systems, and a large auxiliary rudder in the after part of her sail. following the completion of this work in August 1961, she operated along the east coast learning the effect of her new configuration and equipment upon her capabilities and performance.

In 1962, she received a newly developed DIMUS sonar

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

system and, on 7 December 1962, work began on her fourth major conversion which included the installation of concentric contra-rotating propellers, a high-capacity silver-zinc battery and a larger main motor. New radio equipment, BQS and BQR sonars, an emergency recovery system, and a new main ballast tank blow system were also added. After the work was completed in March 1965, Albacore prepared for deployment to Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

waters to study the results of her changes. She returned to Portsmouth on 8 October 1962 and continued to evaluate her capabilities under the new configuration. On 1 August, she reentered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

to replace the silver-zinc battery and to shorten the distance between the contra-rotating propellers—work which lasted into August 1967.

Standardization and machinery tests in the Gulf of Maine

Gulf of Maine

The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...

during September were followed by evaluation of towed sonar arrays off Port Everglades, Florida, in October and November. Then came acoustics trials in the Tongue of the Ocean

Tongue of the Ocean

The Tongue of the Ocean is the name of a deep oceanic trench in the Bahamas separating the islands of Andros and New Providence. The depth of the water drops from roughly along Andros' east offshore barrier reef to over , and the drop is roughly long....

, a deep channel in the Central Bahama Islands.

On 1 January 1968, the submarine returned to Portsmouth for a modification of her propulsion system which kept her in the navy yard until 19 April. Then, following a month of trials in the Gulf of Maine

Gulf of Maine

, she headed south for evaluation of her new MONOB I and AUTEC systems and of Fly-Around-Body (FAB), Phase I, equipment on Tongue of the Ocean. She returned to Portsmouth on 24 August 1968 for AUTEC deinstrumentation and installation of FAB Phase II equipment. Then, following evaluation of this new gear in the Gulf of Maine, the Albacore returned to Portsmouth on 30 September and went into reduced operating status pending the results of further studies on the feasibility of using her thereafter for further research.

The ship remained for the most part inactive until 2 February 1970 when she began an overhaul in drydock and modifications to prepare her for Project Surpass, a research and development project sponsored by the Naval Ship Research and Development Center at Carderock, Maryland

Carderock, Maryland

Carderock, Maryland, is located in Montgomery County, Maryland, along the Potomac River. Carderock is just west of Bethesda.It is the location of a division of the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center ....

. The ship left drydock on 16 April 1971, commenced sea trials on 22 July 1971, and completed them on August, 1971. Early in October, she operated off Provincetown, Massachusetts

Provincetown, Massachusetts

Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...

, to calibrate her sonar and radar equipment.

Decommissioning, becomes historic landmark

After frequent diesel engine failures had caused repeated delays in her operations, her deployment in support of Project SURPASS was canceled and preparations for her deactivation were begun. Albacore was decommissioned on 9 December 1972 and laid up at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

on 1 May 1980, and she was towed back to Portsmouth late in April 1984. When being towed to her drydock, the Albacore became stuck in the mud of Portsmouth Harbor. In 1985, she was dedicated as a memorial.

Albacores service as an active experimental submersible for more than two decades steadily increased the Navy's knowledge of both theoretical and applied hydrodynamics which it used in designing faster, quieter, more maneuverable and safer submarines. The Navy's effort to build hulls capable of optimum operation while submerged was wedded to its nuclear propulsion program in the submarine Skipjack

USS Skipjack (SSN-585)

USS Skipjack , the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after the Skipjack tuna fish....

which was laid down in the spring of 1956, and these two concepts have complemented each other in the design of all of the Navy's subsequent submarines.

Albacore is located at the Port of Portsmouth Maritime Museum and Albacore Park, 600 Market Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

. She is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

, reference number 89001077. She was designated a National Historic Landmark on 11 April 1989.

External links

USSAlbacore.org
Albacore Museum and Park, from Portsmouthnh.com
HNSA Web Page: USS Albacore
USS Albacore Photos on board the Submarine USS Albacore in Portsmouth, NH

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