page_title: USS Growler (SSG-577)
section_title: Construction and training
hierarchical_section_title: USS Growler (SSG-577) / Construction and training
caption_attribution_description: English: USS Growler (SSG-577) with Regulus 2 missle.
context_page_description: USS Growler (SSG-577) was an early attempt by the U.S. Navy to field a cruise missile submarine that would provide a nuclear deterrent using its second series of cruise missiles. Built to deliver the Regulus I cruise missile, Growler was the second and final submarine of the Grayback class, fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named after the growler. Since Regulus I and Regulus II programs had problems, Growler and Grayback were the only two submarines built in this class as instead, the U.S. Navy veered its nuclear deterrence efforts into submarine launched ballistic missiles —the Polaris missile program.
  What makes Growler and her sister unusual was her nuclear armament, deployed on a conventional diesel-electric submarine. Her mission was to provide nuclear deterrent capability off the Pacific Coast of the Soviet Union during peak years of the Cold War, from 1958 to 1964.
context_section_description: Growler was laid down on 15 February 1955 by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard of Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 5 April 1958 sponsored by Mrs. Robert K. Byerts, widow of Commander Thomas B. Oakley, Jr. Growler commissioned at Portsmouth on 30 August 1958 with Lieutenant Commander Charles Priest, Jr., in command.
  After training exercises off the East Coast Growler sailed south for her shakedown cruise, arriving at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, on 19 February 1959. After a brief run back to Portsmouth, she returned to the Caribbean Sea in March to train in launching Regulus I and Regulus II nuclear cruise missiles, assisted by USS Runner, which was one of several submarines with Regulus guidance equipment. Growler returned to Portsmouth 19 April via Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and New London, Connecticut.
caption: Grayback (SSG-574) with Regulus 2 missile.