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USS Aspro (SSN-648)
Encyclopedia
USS Aspro (SSN-648), a , was the second 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 aspro, a fish of the Zingel
Zingel
Zingel is a genus of fish in the Percidae family. They are long and slender, reaching 12 to 48 centimetres in length. They are found in rivers and streams in Europe. They feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans and insect larvae and will also eat small fish...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
found abundantly in the upper Rhone River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
.
Construction and commissioning
The contract to build Aspro was awarded to Ingalls ShipbuildingIngalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
in Pascagoula
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, on 26 March 1963 and her keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
was laid down there on 23 November 1964. 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 29 November 1967, sponsored by Mrs. Robert H. B. Baldwin, 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 20 February 1969 with Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Roy Wight in command.
1969
Aspro departed Pascagoula on 26 February 1969 for Key WestKey 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...
, 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...
, where she loaded torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es. She then headed to her home port
Home port
A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull...
, Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
on 8 March 1969, and arriving at Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
on 24 March 1969. She joined the United States Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
as a member of Submarine Squadron 1
Submarine Squadron 1
Submarine Squadron 1 is a squadron of submarines of the United States Navy based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Pearl Harbor, HI under the command of Captain Robinson . The submarines that make up SUBRON 1 include:-See also:...
in Submarine Division 12. Following three weeks of upkeep at Pearl Harbor, she proceeded to Bangor, Washington, where she unloaded her torpedoes before entering the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
at Bremerton
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, Washington, on 23 April 1969 for alignment of her fire-control system
Fire-control system
A fire-control system is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more...
. Leaving drydock on 4 May 1969, she held tests along the United States West Coast for one month before returning to Pearl Harbor on 8 June 1969.
Local operations occupied Aspros time during the month of July 1969. In August 1969, she served as a school ship for prospective commanding officer
Prospective Commanding Officer
A Prospective Commanding Officer is a United States Submarine Officer who has been selected for the specialized training to attain his/her own command.-References:...
s and took part in two exercises, "Kilo 5-69" and "Holdex 4-69", carried out in the Hawaiian operating area. Weapons tests and a nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
safety examination preceded her entry into the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard that autumn for post-shakedown
Shakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
repairs.
1970
Aspro got underway again on 6 March 1970 to conduct sea trials around HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, followed by weapons trials during April. From 18 May through 12 June 1970, upkeep at the Submarine Base Pearl Harbor occupied her time. She then began to prepare for a deployment.
On 19 July 1970, Aspro departed Pearl Harbor for a six-month Western Pacific deployment. She arrived in Yokosuka, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, on 10 September 1970 and commenced upkeep. On 29 September 1970, she visited Okinawa and, the next day, began more than a month of United States Seventh Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
operations. She returned to Okinawa on 8 November 1970 and shifted to Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
on 15 November for two weeks of upkeep. She sailed to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
late in November, providing services to aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
along the way, and arrived at Hong Kong on 1 December 1970 for a week of leave and liberty. After an antisubmarine warfare exercise between 8 December and 17 December 1970, she operated on "Yankee Station
Yankee Station
Yankee Station was a point in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam used by the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes in the Vietnam War. While its official designation was "Point Yankee," it was universally referred to as Yankee Station...
" in the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
in support of Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
operations before returning to Subic Bay on 31 December 1970.
1971
Aspro left the Philippines on 2 January 1971 bound for GuamGuam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, where she spent several weeks engaged in tests before returning to Pearl Harbor on 5 February 1971. She spent the remainder of 1971 in Hawaii, alternating periods in port with exercises in the Hawaiian operating area.
1972
On 5 January 1972, Aspro commenced a restricted shipyardShipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
availability for alterations and repairs at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, which was followed by another month in upkeep. On 11 March 1972, she resumed operations in Hawaiian waters and, on 15 April, began preparations to deploy.
Aspro got underway for her second Western Pacific deployment on 13 May 1972 and arrived at Yokosuka on 24 June. After a week in port, she departed on 4 July 1972 to begin Seventh Fleet operations. She arrived at Pusan, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, on 13 August 1972 for a two-day visit, then shifted to Sasebo, Japan, for three days. Following an exercise with one of her sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s, the attack submarine , from 18 to 26 August, Aspro arrived at Hong Kong on 27 August 1972. On 2 September, she was underway for Guam, where she arrived on 7 September and began two weeks of upkeep. On 21 September, she put to sea to return to Pearl Harbor, arriving there on 18 November 1972. She remained in port there through the end of 1972.
1973–1974
Aspro operated in the Hawaiian area conducting tests until she left Pearl Harbor on 17 March 1973 bound for Pascagoula. She transited the Panama Canal on 28 March 1973 and commenced an overhaulOverhaul
Overhaul may refer to:*Overhaul , a Transformers character*The process of overhauling...
at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation's yards in Pascagoula on 1 April 1973.
The shipyard work ended on 12 May 1974, and Aspro departed Pascagoula the next day. After re-transiting the Panama Canal, she made liberty stops at San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Bremerton, then held acoustic trials in Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
from 4 to 7 June 1974. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 19 June after an absence of more than 15 months and spent the rest of 1974 conducting operations in the Hawaiian Islands.
1975
The beginning of 1975 found Aspro preparing for her third deployment to the Western Pacific. After loading weapons, she left Pearl Harbor on 29 May 1975, conducted an exercise with the destroyer escortDestroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
the next day, and reached Yokosuka on 10 June 1975 for a weeks visit. On 19 June, she began operations at sea that lasted until 10 August 1975 when she arrived at Guam. She participated in exercises with units of the Seventh Fleet from 24 August to 3 September 1975, made voyage repairs at Subic Bay from 4 to 16 September, and carried out exercises near Subic Bay with the attack aircraft carrier between 17 and 29 September 1975.
Aspro left the Philippines on 1 October 1975, bound for the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
. She arrived at Guam in the Marianas on 5 October and remained there until 27 October, when she departed for Hong Kong. From 6 to 18 November 1975, she took part in antisubmarine warfare exercises with Seventh Fleet air and surface units. After pausing briefly at Guam, she returned to Pearl Harbor on 4 December 1975 and commenced a post-deployment stand down to allow her crew to rest and recuperate.
1976–1978
Aspro spent the first two and one-half months of 1976 in upkeep and on exercises. On 15 March 1976, she entered drydock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Upon completion of this work on 23 April 1976, she began sea trials, exercises, and final preparations for a tour of duty along the west coast of North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Aspro left Pearl Harbor on 6 September 1976 and stopped at Esquimalt
Esquimalt, British Columbia
The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquimalt Harbour and Royal Roads, to the northwest by the...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, on 16 September for a two-day liberty call. She arrived at Bangor on 23 September 1976 to unload her weapons.
Aspro commenced an overhaul on 11 October 1977.
1979
Aspros overhaul was completed on 11 March 1979, when she got underway for sea and acoustic trials. On 28 April, she went to Bangor for weapons trials. She departed Bangor on 17 May 1979 and made a voyage to San Diego, conducting deep-water acoustic trials en route. Upon her arrival in San Diego on 22 May, she spent one week undergoing repairs by auxiliary repair dockAuxiliary repair dock
An Auxiliary repair dock is a type of vessel employed by the U.S. Navy, especially during World War II, when it commissioned 33 such vessels.- Primary Use :...
.
Aspro returned to Pearl Harbor on 8 June 1979 after an absence of 21 months and spent the remainder of 1979 conducting training exercises and antisubmarine warfare operations and preparing for a deployment in 1980.
1980
Aspros pre-deployment preparations continued well into February 1980. She departed Pearl Harbor to begin her fourth Western Pacific deployment on 24 February 1980 and arrived in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on 9 March. On 11 March, she put to sea to take part in Exercise "SHAREM 35." She returned briefly to Buckner Bay on 16 March then set out for the Philippines. She entered Subic Bay on 20 March 1980 and remained there until 6 April; when she got underway for Guamn in the Mariana Islands. Aspro stayed at Guam from 12 to 24 April 1980, then departed for Japan. She made a brief stop at Yokosuka on 4 May 1980 before embarking upon a month of operations at sea. She returned to Yokosuka on 10 June 1980 but put to sea again on 12 June on her way to Hong Kong for a liberty call there that lasted from 17 to 21 June. Aspro then headed back to Guam, where arrived on 27 June. She put back to sea on 16 July 1980 for her last operational assignment of the deployment. She concluded both that operation and the overall deployment by returning to Pearl Harbor on 30 August 1980.Following the usual post-deployment stand-down period, Aspro resumed local operations in the Hawaiian Islands for the remainder of 1980.
1981
At the beginning of 1981, Aspro began a restricted shipyard availability for repairs and alterations at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard that lasted until late in March 1981. On 26 March, she left the shipyard and resumed normal operations out of Pearl Harbor until midsummer 1981, when she began getting ready for another tour of duty in the Western Pacific.Aspro stood out of Pearl Harbor to commence her fifth Western Pacific deployment on 2 September 1981. During the deployment, she visited a variety of ports in the Western Pacific and in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and successfully prosecuted all her operational missions. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 16 March 1982 and commenced the normal month of post-deployment leave and upkeep.
1982
Aspro resumed operations out of Pearl Harbor in April 1982. She participated in the multinational exercise Operation "RIMPACRIMPAC
RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime exercise. Conducted biennially , it is hosted and administered by the United States Navy, with the United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the leadership of...
82" and served as a training platform for both prospective commanding officers and midshipmen. Early in July 1982, she embarked upon a five-week cruise that took her to the California coast and back, during which she participated in antisubmarine exercises and in the fleet exercise FLEETEX 1-82. Aspro returned to Pearl Harbor on 12 August 1982 and began preparations for a cold-weather deployment.
On 15 October 1982, Aspro and one of her sister ships, the attack submarine , got underway for the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
. In addition to cold-weather drills, the two submarines gathered scientific data. They also made a winter rendezvous at the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
on 20 November 1982, celebrated by the mailing of cachet
Cachet
In philately, a cachet is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a cancellation or pre-printed postage, on an envelope, postcard, or postal card to commemorate a postal or philatelic event. There are official and private cachets. They commemorate everything from the first flight...
envelopes prepared especially for the occasion. Aspro returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 December 1982 and began a period of stand-down and upkeep.
1983-1984
In February 1983, Aspro resumed duty in the Hawaiian operating area, which continued through May. In June 1983, Aspro began preparations for her sixth tour of duty with the Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific.Aspro departed Pearl Harbor in July 1983 for the deployment, which was highlighted by visits to many of the exotic ports of East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
and successful completion of all assigned missions. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 23 October 1983 and, after the post-deployment stand-down, took up local operations. That duty continued into the beginning of 1984.
On 16 January 1984, Aspro entered the medium auxiliary floating drydock for a restricted availability for repairs and alterations. Later, she resumed operations at sea.
On 24 July 1984, Aspro began her seventh deployment to the Western Pacific. Operating both in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Aspro carried her assignments to successful conclusions and made a number of port calls.
1985–1986
Aspro returned to Pearl Harbor from her deployment in January 1985 and, following the usual leave and upkeep period, embarked upon local operations in the Hawaiian Islands once more. In April 1985, she visited the United States West Coast again. That summer, she voyaged to the Arctic for more cold-weather drills. She returned to HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
at the end of September and resumed local operations in October, which she continued through April 1986.
In May 1986, Aspro headed north for another round of cold-weather exercises in the Arctic. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 11 July 1986 and remained in the Hawaiian Islands until early September 1986, when she cruised to the Northern Pacific Ocean. Aspro concluded that voyage on 27 October 1986 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
at Vallejo
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
, California, where she began a regular overhaul on 15 November 1986.
1987–1994
Aspro spent a significantly longer time at Mare Island Naval Shipyard than originally scheduled. During her overhaul, new sonarSonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
and fire-control system technologies became available and were installed during the delay. The delay also allowed Aspro to have anechoic (acoustic) tiling
Anechoic tile
Anechoic tiles are rubber or synthetic polymer tiles containing thousands of tiny voids, applied to the outer hulls of military ships and submarines, as well as anechoic chambers...
installed on her hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
, making her one of the quietest attack submarines in the United States Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
.
At the conclusion of her overhaul, Aspro and her crew scored an EXCELLENT on the Post-Overhaul Reactor Safeguards Examination (PORSE), a rare feat for any nuclear-powered ship. She followed up this extraordinary achievement with outstanding performances on Tactical Readiness Examinations against much newer ships.
Aspro returned to Pearl Harbor in October 1989. As she rounded the bend into the submarine base, the other moored submarines, led by her sister ship , sounded their whistles for over four minutes, welcoming Aspro back to her home port.
After her return, Aspro deployed twice to the Western Pacific and twice to the Northern Pacific. She won the Battle Efficiency Award
Battle Efficiency Award
The Battle Effectiveness Award , commonly known as the Battle "E", is awarded annually to the small number of U.S...
(Battle "E") for Submarine Squadron 1
Submarine Squadron 1
Submarine Squadron 1 is a squadron of submarines of the United States Navy based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Pearl Harbor, HI under the command of Captain Robinson . The submarines that make up SUBRON 1 include:-See also:...
three times in the next four years, and was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation
Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions....
for performance during a period in 1994 while deployed to the Western Pacific.
Decommissioning and disposal
Aspro was decommissionedShip decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
on 31 March 1995 and stricken 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...
the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton began on 1 October 1999 and was completed on 3 November 2000.