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USS Sea Devil (SSN 664)

USS SEA DEVIL was the 16^th STURGEON - class attack submarine and the second ship in the Navy named after the Manta birostria, the largest of all rays, which is noted for power and endurance.

The USS SEA DEVIL was deactivated on February 25, 1991, and on October 16, 1991 was both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list. The SEA DEVIL entered the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Wash., on March 1, 1998. Recycling of the submarine was finished on September 7, 1999.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS SEA DEVIL. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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USS SEA DEVIL History:

USS SEA DEVIL was the second United States Navy ship to carry the name SEA DEVIL, following the World War II submarine USS SEA DEVIL (SS 400). Her construction contract was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at Newport News, Virginia, on May 28, 1964. Her keel was laid on April 12, 1966. She was launched on October 5, 1967, sponsored by Mrs. Ignatius J. Galantin, wife of Admiral Ignatius J. Galantin. USS SEA DEVIL was commissioned at Newport News on January 30, 1969, with Commander Richard A. Currier in command.

After commissioning on January 30, 1969, USS SEA DEVIL was assigned to Submarine Division 62 at Norfolk, Virginia. She entered service during a period when the United States submarine force was still shaped by the losses of USS THRESHER (SSN 593) in 1963 and USS SCORPION (SSN 589) in 1968, by the continuing development of Subsafe procedures, and by the expanding Soviet submarine threat. Her earliest months included the normal post-commissioning sequence of sea trials, shakedown work, engineering certification, crew qualification, weapons and sonar training, and integration into Atlantic Fleet operations. A public photograph places USS SEA DEVIL inbound off the Virginia Capes in March 1969, confirming her early activity off the United States East Coast shortly after commissioning.

During 1969 and 1970, USS SEA DEVIL settled into the operating pattern of a Norfolk-based nuclear attack submarine. Her main mission area was anti-submarine warfare, and the strategic background was the steady growth of the Soviet submarine force in the Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea, the Mediterranean, and other regions where NATO and Soviet naval forces might come into contact. STURGEON-class submarines such as USS SEA DEVIL were intended to detect, classify, trail, and, if necessary, engage opposing submarines while remaining covert. They also supported the training of Atlantic Fleet surface ships, aircraft, and other submarines.

On October 2, 1970, Commander Robert Roy Fountain relieved Commander Currier as commanding officer. In the 1970-1971 period, USS SEA DEVIL was photographed at Pier 22 in Norfolk with USS HAMMERHEAD (SSN 663) and USS RAY (SSN 653), all three being STURGEON-class attack submarines, while the submarine tender USS L. Y. SPEAR (AS 36) was alongside on the starboard side of USS SEA DEVIL. The photograph is an important visual record of her operating environment: Norfolk-based nuclear submarines moored together, supported by a tender, and preparing for or returning from the recurring cycle of upkeep, training, and deployment.

In 1971 and 1972, USS SEA DEVIL continued operations from Norfolk. She remained assigned to Submarine Division 62 and was engaged in exercises and operations intended to maintain and improve her anti-submarine warfare capability. On March 20, 1974, Commander Peter Gordon Chabot relieved Commander Fountain as commanding officer. USS SEA DEVIL remained based at Norfolk and continued to conduct the training, operations, and maintenance expected of an Atlantic Fleet nuclear attack submarine. By 1975, she had conducted exercises and operations that improved her anti-submarine warfare capabilities. A photograph from 1975 shows USS SEA DEVIL at D&S Piers, Norfolk, confirming her continuing presence among the STURGEON-class boats operating from the Atlantic Fleet submarine base in the mid-1970s.

In 1976, USS SEA DEVIL achieved a notable port-visit milestone when she became the first nuclear-powered submarine to visit Morocco. In 1977, USS SEA DEVIL made another notable first when she became the first nuclear-powered ship to visit Kalamata, Greece. The visit is significant because Greece was a NATO member located near the Aegean, the eastern Mediterranean, and sea routes affected by Cold War competition, Middle Eastern instability, and Soviet naval activity. Nuclear-powered submarine port visits in such locations were carefully managed and often had diplomatic as well as operational importance. On July 21, 1977, Commander Douglas Dean Blaha relieved Commander Chabot as commanding officer.

During the late 1970s, USS SEA DEVIL participated in NATO and allied exercises, including Common Effort, Northern Wedding, and a joint exercise with Great Britain. These exercise names place USS SEA DEVIL within the NATO readiness structure of the period. Northern Wedding was associated with reinforcement and defense of northern Europe and the North Atlantic sea lanes, while exercises such as Common Effort and bilateral work with Britain reflected the continuing emphasis on allied anti-submarine warfare, coordination between submarines and surface or air units, and protection of reinforcement routes from North America to Europe in a possible NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict.

In May 1980, USS SEA DEVIL was photographed entering the harbor of Portsmouth, England. This is one of the few precisely placed public images of her during an overseas approach or port visit. Portsmouth was an important Royal Navy port and a natural location for contact between United States and British naval forces. On August 30, 1980, Commander Robert William Boyce assumed command of USS SEA DEVIL. During this general period, USS SEA DEVIL continued to operate within the Atlantic and Mediterranean framework of the Cold War. By then, USS SEA DEVIL had already received three Navy Unit Commendations, the Battle Efficiency "E", and two Commander Sixth Fleet "Hook Em" awards for anti-submarine warfare excellence.

In August 1981, USS SEA DEVIL left her Norfolk homeport setting and Submarine Squadron Six and became a unit of Submarine Squadron Four at Charleston, South Carolina. This marked a major administrative and geographic shift in her career. Charleston was an important Atlantic submarine base and was closely tied to Charleston Naval Shipyard. In October 1981, USS SEA DEVIL entered Charleston Naval Shipyard for a refueling overhaul and weapons-system refit. Tthe yard period was a 20-month refueling overhaul that included a complete weapons-system refit to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles and it was completed three months early. The overhaul removed her from the normal deployment cycle and modernized her for the broadened attack-submarine roles of the 1980s.

The Charleston refueling overhaul placed USS SEA DEVIL within a broader modernization pattern. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, older nuclear attack submarines were being upgraded while newer LOS ANGELES-class submarines entered the fleet in growing numbers. Attack submarines still had to track Soviet submarines and support fleet anti-submarine warfare, but Tomahawk capability increasingly connected them to theater strike planning as well. By 1983, USS SEA DEVIL was photographed in the Cooper River heading to sea trials after overhaul at Charleston. That image confirms her return toward operational service after the shipyard period.

On January 7, 1984, Commander Richard Willard Mies relieved Commander Boyce as commanding officer. USS SEA DEVIL's return to service came during a period of renewed United States maritime emphasis under the 1980s Maritime Strategy, with attention to forward operations, pressure on the Soviet Navy, anti-submarine warfare, and the northern maritime approaches.

In 1985, USS SEA DEVIL conducted Arctic operations under Commander Mies. Arctic submarine operations were technically demanding and strategically important. They tested under-ice navigation, sonar performance, communications, ice-avoidance and surfacing procedures, and the ability of nuclear-powered submarines to operate near Soviet northern approaches. In the Cold War, the Arctic mattered because Soviet ballistic-missile submarines, attack submarines, and naval bases in the north formed a major part of the strategic landscape.

On November 14, 1986, Commander Dennis Arthur Napior relieved Commander Mies as commanding officer. In 1987, USS SEA DEVIL returned to the Arctic for the most widely photographed event of her career. On May 18, 1987, USS SEA DEVIL, commanded by Commander Napior, participated in the first multinational three-submarine rendezvous at the North Pole. The other submarines were USS BILLFISH (SSN 676), commanded by Commander F. Terry Jones, and HMS SUPERB, commanded by Commander James Collins. The three submarines surfaced at the Pole in a coordinated United States-British event. The operation demonstrated allied experience in an environment where navigation, communications, ice conditions, and acoustic performance imposed severe constraints. It also occurred at a time when NATO planners were paying close attention to Soviet northern waters and to under-ice operations as part of the wider undersea competition.

After the 1987 North Pole operation, USS SEA DEVIL continued service from Charleston with Submarine Squadron Four. Commander Napior remained in command until January 12, 1989, when Commander Robert Bartlett Cook assumed command. On February 1, 1991, USS SEA DEVIL was photographed under way off the Virginia Capes. This places her at sea off the United States East Coast during the opening weeks of the year in which she left active service. USS SEA DEVIL was deactivated on February 25, 1991. She was formally decommissioned and simultaneously stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on October 16, 1991. Her retirement came after more than twenty-two years in commission.

After decommissioning, ex-USS SEA DEVIL entered the Navy's Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, on March 1, 1998. The program dismantled defueled nuclear-powered ships and submarines under controlled procedures, with reactor compartments removed and disposed of through established Navy and Department of Energy arrangements. Recycling of ex-USS SEA DEVIL was completed on September 7, 1999.

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