USS Greenling (SSN-614)

History of USS Greenlin (SSN-614)

In the 1960s, the United States Navy (USN) committed to building a new fleet of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines through the Longtail class. Fourteen ships have been completed and the series is notable for its angled torpedo tubes (middle ships) and spherical bows containing sonar mounts (BQQ-2/BQQ-5 low frequency sonar balls). Lead ship USS Thresher (SSN-593) as a tier 10 ship.

USS Greenling is one of three ships (along with USS Flasher and USS Gato) selected for the "Improved Thresher Class" upgrade.

The

Permit class followed shortly after the outgoing Skipjack class, and the Sturgeon class ships followed.

The contract to build the USS Greenling (SSN-614) was awarded June 9, 1960 to General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. Her keel was laid on 15 August 1961 and the ship was launched on 4 April 1964.

Official commissioning on November 3, 1967, the ship received the battle motto "Steel is true sword straight".

The design of the boat is standard for this class: the sails are positioned towards the bow, and the bow itself is rounded to cut into the water. The sails contain the usual telescopic sights, sensors and communications masts, as well as diving aircraft.

The fuselage tapers towards the stern and features a cross-shaped fin for control.

The dimensions of the boat include a length of 292.2 feet, a beam of 31.7 feet and a draft of 24 feet. The displacement reached 3800 tons. The aforementioned "improved thresher grade" plan increased her length by nearly 14 feet, which in turn allowed for greater interior volume.

In this way, working and living spaces can be expanded accordingly.

There were 114 officers and men on board. Armament includes 4 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes located near midship and angled outwards to clear the hull when fired. Initially, 12 to 18 Mk 37 series torpedoes were reloaded.

Later, 44 anti-submarine missiles SUBROC and anti-ship missiles UGN-84 in support of UUM also arrived.

Electricity comes from a single S5W (S = Submarine; 5 = Generation 5; W = Westinghouse) Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). The same powerplant powered the Bonito class until the introduction of the 6th generation S6G series on Los Angeles-class ships in the 1970s. The USS Greenling can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots, making her ideal for quick strikes and escapes against Soviet ships and unsuspecting warships.

Due to the nature of nuclear power, the ship has essentially unlimited range and excellent underwater performance.

The USS Greenlin, commissioned in November 1967, made her home outside of New London, Connecticut, and gave her free access to the Atlantic Ocean. She is assigned to SUBRON 10 (SUBmarine Squadron #10) for most of her services.

Her only notable action occurred in May 1968 in response to the loss of the USS Scorpion (SSN-589) - which was mysteriously silent. The USS Scorpion, a bonito-class ship commissioned in July 1960, sank in the Atlantic Ocean with a crew of 99 on May 22, 1968. The ship ended up missing 400 nautical miles southwest of the Azores for no reason.

Greenlin did what he could, but in the end it all failed.

Greenlin served in the U.S. Navy until his official retirement on April 18, 1994. That same year, her name was dropped, and she quickly joined the ship-to-submarine recovery program to properly dispose of her reactor package.

Only a handful of components in her control room were not affected by the waste burner flare, which is on display at the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington.

The

Thresher/Permit class as a whole remained in service until the decommissioning of the last ship (USS Gato (SSN-615)) in 1996 (25 April 1996). The Sturgeon class followed the fleet, with 37 built for the U.S. Navy. These were in service until 2004 and were replaced by the Los Angeles class.

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