USS Bonefish ( SS - 582 ) USS " Bonefish " ( SS - 582 ) was a " Barbel " - class submarine of the United States Navy , and was the second U . S . Navy submarine to be named for the bonefish . The contract to build her was awarded on 29 June 1956 to the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden , New Jersey and her keel was laid down on 3 June 1957 . She was launched on 22 November 1958 sponsored by Mrs . Lawrence L . Edge , widow of Commander Lawrence Edge , who was lost with his ship , the first , in 1945 . She was commissioned on 9 July 1959 with Lieutenant Commander Elmer H . Kiehl , USN in command . History . The " Bonefish " conducted trials and training off the New England coast until the spring of 1960 . On 1 April 1960 , she departed New London , Conn . , to join the Pacific Fleet . On 23 May , the submarine reported for duty with Submarine Division 33 ( SubDiv 33 ) at Naval Station San Diego , California . She operated out of that port until 16 September , when she embarked upon her first deployment to the $ 3 . While in the Far East , the warship participated in various 7th Fleet exercises and visited ports in Japan , the Philippines , the Marianas , and at Hong Kong . " Bonefish " concluded her first tour of duty with the 7th Fleet on 13 March 1961 when she arrived back in San Diego . The submarine conducted normal operations out of San Diego until 4 October , when she entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for her first regular overhaul . She completed repairs on 6 March 1962 , and resumed operations along the west coast at that time . In May , the submarine again headed for the western Pacific for a deployment quite similar to her first cruise in Oriental waters . She returned to San Diego in December and began an extended upkeep period . In February 1963 , " Bonefish " moved to a new home port , Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . During the summer of 1963 , she made a two - month cruise to the western Pacific , returning to Pearl Harbor in August . After four months of operations in the Hawaiian Islands , the submarine headed for the Far East again in January 1964 . That tour of duty ended with her return to Oahu in July . Following a post - deployment standdown and local operations , she entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for a regular overhaul . Repairs occupied her time during the remainder of 1964 , and local operations in the Hawaiian operating area took up the entire year of 1965 . In April 1966 , " Bonefish " deployed to the western Pacific for the fourth time . In addition to taking part in 7th Fleet training exercises , she also operated in the Gulf of Tonkin . The seven - month Far Eastern assignment ended in November when she reentered Pearl Harbor . " Bonefish " resumed normal operations after the post - deployment rest and upkeep period . That employment lasted until October 1967 , when she headed back to the Orient . There , she engaged in 7th Fleet training evolutions and made port visits at Hong Kong , in the Philippines , and in Japan . April 1968 saw her back at Oabu resuming local operations . In September , the submarine entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for her regular overhaul . Repairs occupied her until June 1969 , and post - overhaul trials and refresher training followed . In November , the warship voyaged back to the western Pacific , and the normal round of exercises and port visits ensued . She concluded that cruise at Pearl Harbor in June 1970 . Following seven months of operations out of Pearl Harbor , " Bonefish " departed that port on 9 February 1971 on her way back to the Far East . Her activities included the usual port visits and exercises as well as a tour of duty with Task Force 77 ( TF 77 ) in the Gulf of Tonkin . She returned to Hawaii on 10 August and , after post deployment standdown , resumed operations in the Hawaii operating area . For exceptional performance during the 1969 - 1970 WestPac , BONEFISH was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation for readiness . That deployment lasted until 7 February 1972 when she began another regular overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard . That repair period lasted through the year , and a material casualty to the snorkel piping system during sea trials in March 1973 extended it into July 1973 . In July , the submarine went to sea for refresher training . Thereafter , local operations occupied her for the next 10 months . On 24 May 1974 , she stood out of Pearl Harbor for yet another assignment with the 7th Fleet in Far Eastern waters . " Bonefish " returned to Pearl Harbor from that routine deployment on 7 November and began 13 months of local operations . On 6 December 1975 , the submarine departed Oahu bound for the Orient . During that tour of duty , she participated in exercises with units of the Korean and Taiwanese navies as well as with elements of the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force . She concluded 7th Fleet assignments on 25 April 1976 when she stood out of Subic Bay on her way home . The warship arrived back in Pearl Harbor on 15 May . After a four - week standdown and a brief period of operations , " Bonefish " entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard on 26 July . The repairs and modifications took nearly a year to complete . She emerged from the shipyard on 25 June 1977 to begin post - overhaul refresher training . " Bonefish " conducted training out of Pearl Harbor until early November . On the 8th , she put to sea for San Diego , her new home port , and reached her destination on 18 November . She remained in port for three weeks to allow crewmen to settle into the new home port . On 6 December , the submarine began operations along the California coast . She spent the first 20 weeks of 1978 conducting various training exercises out of San Diego . On 17 May , " Bonefish " put to sea for the western Pacific . Once again , she made the usual port visits and conducted exercises with units of friendly navies . The warship ended the deployment with her arrival back at San Diego on 28 October . She then conducted type training and other exercises along the California coast for the remainder of the year and into 1979 . During the first five months of 1979 , " Bonefish " underwent a regular overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard . On 1 June , the submarine embarked upon a deployment to South America . The voyage took her through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean Sea . She visited Trinidad , Tobago , Curaçao , Colombia , Venezuela , and the Netherlands Antilles before retransiting the canal . Thereafter , " Bonefish " stopped in Ecuador , Peru , and Chile . Throughout the cruise , the warship conducted UNITAS exercises with the armed forces of the countries visited . At the end of the South American deployment , she resumed normal operations out of San Diego , and that employment occupied her time for the remainder of 1979 and during 11 of the 12 months of 1980 . On 8 December 1980 , " Bonefish " stood out of San Diego on her way to duty with the 7th Fleet . The usual calls to Far Eastern ports punctuated her periods at sea engaged in training missions . The submarine ended that cruise at San Diego on 14 July 1981 . Following the normal post - deployment leave and upkeep period , she resumed operations along the west coast of North America . That employment continued until 8 June 1982 , when " Bonefish " departed San Diego on her way to the east coast . She transited the Panama Canal on 23 June and arrived in Naval Station Charleston , South Carolina , her new home port , on 6 July . On 11 August the submarine put to sea to participate in NATO exercises in the North Atlantic . At the end of those operations , she visited Hamburg , West Germany , and Portsmouth , England , before returning to Charleston on 9 October . Normal operations out of Charleston occupied " Bonefish " for the remainder of 1982 and during the first three weeks of 1983 . On 25 January , the submarine commenced a 14 - month overhaul at the Charleston Naval Shipyard . She resumed active service in the western Atlantic and West Indian operating areas on 5 April 1984 and remained so engaged through the end of the year . Fire . On 24 April 1988 , " Bonefish " was exercising with the guided missile frigate off the coast of Florida . While the sub was submerged , seawater began leaking onto cables and electrical buses in a battery supply cableway . Electrical arcing between cables caused an explosion which flashed into a fire within minutes , with temperatures in the battery spaces reaching 1 , 200° Fahrenheit . The heat was so intense that it melted crew members ' shoe soles in the spaces above . " Bonefish " was surfaced and its crew ordered to abandon ship . Eighty - nine crew members were rescued by whaleboat and helicopter crews from " Carr " and the aircraft carrier . One Combat Search and Rescue Swimmer ( Navy SPEC OPS ) from HS - 7 , Anti - Submarine Warfare Operator Third Class ( AW3 ) Larry Grossman spent over three hours in the ocean and was credited with personally saving 19 lives , a U . S . Navy record . He later received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Heroism . This medal is the highest non - combat decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy and is higher than a Bronze Star in the Navy Order of Precedence . With the fire extinguished , " Bonefish " was subsequently towed into Charleston , South Carolina by salvage and rescue ship . Three sailors — Lieutenant Ray Everts , Petty Officer 1st Class Bob Bordelon , and Petty Officer 3rd Class Marshal T . Lindgren — were killed . The damage to " Bonefish " was deemed too extensive to warrant repair , and a decision was made to decommission her and dispose of her via scrapping . Decommissioning . " Bonefish " was decommissioned on 28 September 1988 . She was struck from the Naval Vessel Registry on 28 February 1989 and disposed of by scrapping on 17 August 1989 . The hull of the Bonefish was later purchased by Northrop Grumman , for marine concept testing purposes .