The Nautilus spent 15 month at Portmouth refueling the reactor. Being the first reactor in a sub, BUSHIPS had progressed and tightened specification such that the Nautilus could never have met them at all. There were lots of BUSHIP alts, like every three days. That is why a 105 day refueling lasted 15 months. EB would be good. We got our sail repaired there.

I don’t envy you the trip home, unless you can submerge safely. I was on the Halibut back in 1964, when it was still a missle boat. It could only go 15 knots flank submerged. Any trip took many weeks.

Good luck.

Hartford, I believe, just underwent a major overhaul recently. I have heard all sorts of rumors flying around, I know that we are trying to get the work up here in Portsmouth. Thank god no one was killed.

Is that bean wagon still there in Portsmouth? How about the Frosted Glass? They used to be good and I spent many a night in the Glass. The guys on the work barge made cannons on the lathe. We did lots of comshaw with the yard birds. Jiggs even had a barrel of an antique Sharp’s buffalo rifle chromed. It was an accident, of course. He took it up to a shop to get it polished but they misunderstood and chromed it. Jiggs was sick! Bruce (Binding Energy) Johnson even comshawed a cleaning crew for field day in the reactor compartment every Friday. Friday was the day we had “bugs” (fresh lobsters.) Portsmouth is good duty.

How can something like this occur? Was there not a sonar scan and scope check prior to ascending? Or is it possible the surface ship changed direction at the last minute as she started up and then she could not blow negative in time? I am not a submarine sailor but am familiar with the attack sub Ops and just do not see how such happens. Can someone enlighten me? Not trying to blame anyone just wanting some knowledge. Thanks. Dennis

We got along with the yardbirds for the most part. One day the old man wanted to move the boat down the pier about 100 feet or so. Well, that meant the electricians had to move the shore power cables. There were some barricades and other crap that had to be moved. Shop 51, shop 72 and shop 99 (I think those are the shops) would not do any work that was not the function of their shop. Meanwhile, nobody could get coordinated. A 1/2 hour job was escalating into a 1/2 day ordeal. The old man told the Electrical Officer to move the cables. They were moving the boat on the capstan. After waiting for a time, the E-officer said move the barricades and cables, which we did. The unions were unhappy (mostly the shop stewards) but they decided that their lack of coordination was not worth a brawl on the pier. Those were the days!

Been a while but if I remember correctly there is not a heck of a lot of room ( depth ) in the gulf to put around in a sub and angle of dive or rise was limited to 7 degrees to keep from scraping bottom. Really dicey there with the amount of traffic too and Sonar at passive is heavily dependent on where everyone is and what they are doing IE super dangerous place to be. Damage looks pretty extensive and expensive. Don’t know if they still have the floating dry docks in Guam or even Japan for some get me home repairs but in any eventuality it is going to be a long, slow, super uncomfortable ride home. I cannot see them making 15knots all the way. The crew would be too sick to function most of the time, best place for a sub to be is underwater, otherwise it is like riding in a beer can. I can see it being termed “Barf Pac”. At least they are on their own steam remember USS Helena’s “Tow Pac” after their reduction gear fiasco?

Well the bridge truck has a dogleg. they wont even open the weapons shipping hatch to inspect it. the clamshells were opened with a torch.

PNSYer do you guys have a dock for us?

Byron, there are good yardies and bad yardies. My family worked Chas. Naval Shipyard till BRAC took it away. sorry but the memories of the (poop)heads linger better than the ones of the good guys.

RC-div’er, we’ll make room here at PNSY. As you can imagine, we are pretty solidly filled up RIGHT now, but that doesn’t mean by the time you get over here that we wouldn’t have a hole to put you in. Where there would be so much work on the hull, and that is truly a PNSY specialty now, I would think that NAVSEA would lean in our direction, but…Another scenario would be us traveling to where ever you make dock to do the work, like we did on Newport News. I know not to many people here about this, but PNSY did the ripout and reinstall on Newport News Casualty damage @ Newport News Shipyard. We did it WAYYYYYY UNDER TIME AND WELLLL UNDER BUDGET TOO! And Newport News Shipyard was more than willing to work with us, as they did, and things went GREAT! The one thing you can bet on, is that no matter where you go, you will be treated as a #1 top priority, unlike just another DMP, SRA, etc…

It’s unfortunate that you have had bad memories of some of us ‘yarbirds,’ but in the end, as a whole, I would have to say that as a group, PNSY is not so bad. Most of us try so hard to follow the rules Navsea puts forward for us, that we end up chasing our tails most of the time. The rules are so strict, and expected to be followed to a letter of the law, that it makes following them and staying on budget/schedule a difficult thing. I have been to all 3 other yards, and, in my opinion, Norfolk was a joke, because the only way they can get work done, is buy the volume of people. That place is packed, and not much bigger than PNSY! Puget Sound Naval is pretty damn good. They have done a good job of juggling surface craft and subs, but the sub work they are use to is scrapping…Not a bad business to be in these days…And finally, this leads me to Pearl. Pearl has been claiming MAJOR successes in the last few recent months with their new Shipyard Commander, Commander Gregg Thomas. His last area that he worked at was PNSY, during our most successful years. He has done a good job of making Pearl look pretty damn good. BUT, as my recent experience there has proven, PHNSY is NOT doing MOST of the work. They have been farming it out to other shipyards. For example, a recent overhaul there had NNSY doing a SHIPALT, PNSY doing another SHIPALT and EB doing literally 75% of the maintenance work. I was also amazed to see such a lazy, ‘I’m untouchable’ attitude there. But hey, as Commamder Thomas will attest, they are setting goals and meeting them every time now, which is all that the government will care about the next BRAC…

Your right, PSNS’r, I’m sorry if I seemed short at description above. I really didn’t give everyone the positive credit they deserve…Puget ABSOLUTELY can handle this work! In fact, I’ve been more impressed with Puget, than any other yard, including my own!

The scuttlebutt around here, is that the Hartford will end up in a floating dock at EB…

By the way does anybody have pictures of the USS Newport News damage

Why relieve the COB? You can bet there will be more. Has the Board of Inquiry convened? It will be “fun.” The surface vessel will also suffer.

Are they on the surface?

Keeper,
YES, they are officially on their way to the east coast of the US.

EB must be working on a new sail right now. I’d bet they’re grateful for the work

Simply photo gallery of USS Hartford arriving at Sub Base NL with shots of tower bracing for the trip.

COB adn CO were both relieved..one guy got reduction in rate..one guy is no longer ss qualed and others just got slapped on the hand. which in my opponion isnt right. I mean there were alot of lives in there hands..annd if my hubby was augmitted he would have been there..I would really be pissed if he was there and this is all that happened..

Re; Grayback…would you be referring to the Grayback SSG574 that we built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo back in ’57? I got out of the Navy in ’57 and went to work at Mare Island in ’58 and had an occasion to board Grayback one time to retrieve some equipment. Also in ’58 I had the pleasure of watching the Halibut (SSN 587) slide down the ways and had the privilage of working her for many years afterward.

A periscope will run a cool million – I would guess there are 7 masts and antennas bent over.

Not to mention the quality assurance to try to fix this disaster in the yard. And this wreck isn’t running home with no sail – that’s were lots of the nav gear is located.

Too bad . . . I was on the San Juan – 751 boat and these are good boats.

peaceout, Submariners

peace time tonnage?

gotta paint this on the sail, after they get one!

I remember when the George Washington (the 1st of 41) surfaced under a Japanese Maru & sank her it Thank the big guy for HY 80 & EB