>From the “Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,” 

(1981) Vol. 7, pp.330-332.





TULLIBEE



		Tullibee:  Any of several whitefishes of central 

and northern North America.





SSN-597



Displacement:  

	Surfaced:  2,317 t.

	Submerged:  2,640 t.

Length:  273’

Beam:  23’7”

Draft:  21’

Speed:

	Surfaced:  12.9 k.

	Submerged:  16 k.

Complement:  58

Armament:  4 torpedo tubes

Class:  TULLIBEE



	The second TULLIBEE (SSN-597) was laid down on 26 May 

1958 at Groton, Conn., by the Electric Boat Div. of the 

General Dynamics Corp.; launched on 27 April 1960; sponsored 

by Mrs. John F. Davidson, the widow of Comdr. Charles F. 

Brindupke; and commissioned on 9 November 1960, Comdr. 

Richard S. Jortberg in command.



	Following her shakedown in January 1961, TULLIBEE 

engaged in sonar evaluations and nuclear submarine tactical 

exercises with Submarine Developmental Group 2, operating 

out of New London, Conn., into 1963.  During this period, 

the ship visited Bermuda on several occasions, as well as 

San Juan, Puerto Rico.



	In July 1964, TULLIBEE participated in fleet exercises 

in antisubmarine warfare (ASW) tactics with NATO units.  The 

submarine resumed developmental work in 1965 and operated in 

this capacity into the fall of that year.  On 28 October, 

her home port was temporarily changed to Portsmouth, N.H., 

when the ship entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, 

Kittery, Maine, for an extensive overhaul.  She remained in 

drydock for 754 days, emerging on 2 January 1968.



	Shifted back to New London, TULLIBEE deployed to the 

Caribbean Sea in January 1969 following refresher training 

and continued developmental work during 1969 and 1970.  On 1 

August 1970, TULLIBEE departed New London, bound for the 

Mediterranean and the ship's first service with the 6th 

Fleet.  During this period, she took part in NATO and 6th 

Fleet exercises and made port visits to Athens, Greece; 

Naples, Italy and Rota, Spain, before returning to New 

London on 14 December, having travelled some 20,000 miles in 

135 days.



	In early 1971, the submarine returned to developmental 

exercises once more to work on SSN tactics and also made a 

port visit to Cape Canaveral, Fla.  Participating in a major 

NATO exercise in the western Atlantic, TULLIBEE visited 

Halifax, Nova Scotia, before she received the Meritorious 

Unit Commendation for her contingency operations in the 

Mediterranean during the previous year (from 9 September to 

31 October 1970).  For the remainder of the year 1971, 

TULLIBEE operated in the western Atlantic on NATO and ASW 

exercises.  During this period, too, TULLIBEE received the 

Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy for significant improvement in 

the ship's battle efficiency and readiness for that fiscal 

year.



	The submarine conducted regular operations with the 

Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force into 1974, operating off the 

east coast and in the Caribbean.  Following one Caribbean 

cruise in the fall of 1974, TULLIBEE departed New London on 

28 April 1975 for her second deployment to the 6th Fleet.  

After operating in the Mediterranean into the fall of that 

year, the submarine returned to New London in October for an 

extended period of upkeep.



	TULLIBEE subsequently participated in sonar evaluation 

tests with destroyer HMS MATAPAN (D 43) in the Caribbean in 

two separate deployments between April and June 1976, before 

undergoing another extended upkeep period.  The SSN 

conducted ASW operations and local operations into the fall 

of 1976, before she departed New London on 12 November for 

her third Mediterranean deployment.  After serving in the 

6th Fleet into the spring of 1977, she returned to her home 

port on 24 April.  During the remainder of the year, 

TULLIBEE underwent three upkeep periods interspersed with 

ASW exercises off the east coast of the United States.  The 

early months of 1978 were spent in preparation for her 

fourth Mediterranean deployment.  Departing New London in 

March, the submarine conducted operations with various units 

of the 6th Fleet.  The deployment was marred somewhat by a 

propulsion casualty which necessitated a two-month repair 

period spent at Rota, Spain.  TULLIBEE returned to New 

London on 30 August.  Operations out of that port took 

TULLIBEE into 1979.



	TULLIBEE received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for 

her service with the 6th Fleet.



	[Decommissioned and stricken from the Navy Register on 

18 June 1988, TULLIBEE went through the Navy’s Nuclear 

Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program starting on 5 

January 1995.  When she finished the program on 1 April 

1996, she ceased to exist as a complete ship.



Internet web site:

	United States Naval & Shipbuilding Museum

		www.uss-salem.org/worldnav/usa/decom.htm





Transcribed by Michael Hansen

mhansen2@home.com