USS Aspro ( SSN - 648 ) USS " Aspro " ( SSN - 648 ) , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the aspro , a fish of the " Zingel " genus found abundantly in the upper Rhone River . Construction and commissioning . The contract to build " Aspro " was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula , Mississippi , on 26 March 1963 and her keel was laid down there on 23 November 1964 . She was launched on 29 November 1967 , sponsored by Mrs . Robert H . B . Baldwin , and commissioned on 20 February 1969 with Commander Roy Wight in command . Service history . 1969 . " Aspro " departed Pascagoula on 26 February 1969 for Key West , Florida , where she loaded torpedo es . She then headed to her home port , Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , transiting the Panama Canal on 8 March 1969 , and arriving at Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands on 24 March 1969 . She joined the United States Pacific Fleet as a member of Submarine Squadron 1 in Submarine Division 12 . Following three weeks of upkeep at Pearl Harbor , she proceeded to Bangor , Washington , where she unloaded her torpedoes before entering the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton , Washington , on 23 April 1969 for alignment of her fire - control system . Leaving drydock on 4 May 1969 , she held tests along the United States West Coast for one month before returning to Pearl Harbor on 8 June 1969 . Local operations occupied " Aspro " s time during the month of July 1969 . In August 1969 , she served as a school ship for prospective commanding officer s and took part in two exercises , " Kilo 5 – 69 " and " Holdex 4 – 69 " , carried out in the Hawaiian operating area . Weapons tests and a nuclear reactor safety examination preceded her entry into the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard that autumn for post - shakedown repairs . 1970 . " Aspro " got underway again on 6 March 1970 to conduct sea trials around Hawaii , followed by weapons trials during April . From 18 May through 12 June 1970 , upkeep at the Submarine Base Pearl Harbor occupied her time . She then began to prepare for a deployment . On 19 July 1970 , " Aspro " departed Pearl Harbor for a six - month Western Pacific deployment . She arrived in Yokosuka , Japan , on 10 September 1970 and commenced upkeep . On 29 September 1970 , she visited Okinawa and , the next day , began more than a month of United States Seventh Fleet operations . She returned to Okinawa on 8 November 1970 and shifted to Subic Bay in the Philippines on 15 November for two weeks of upkeep . She sailed to Hong Kong late in November , providing services to aircraft along the way , and arrived at Hong Kong on 1 December 1970 for a week of leave and liberty . After an antisubmarine warfare exercise between 8 and 17 December 1970 , she operated on " Yankee Station " in the Gulf of Tonkin in support of Vietnam War operations before returning to Subic Bay on 31 December 1970 . 1971 . " Aspro " left the Philippines on 2 January 1971 bound for Guam , where she spent several weeks engaged in tests before returning to Pearl Harbor on 5 February 1971 . She spent the remainder of 1971 in Hawaii , alternating periods in port with exercises in the Hawaiian operating area . 1972 . On 5 January 1972 , " Aspro " commenced a restricted shipyard availability for alterations and repairs at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard , which was followed by another month in upkeep . On 11 March 1972 , she resumed operations in Hawaiian waters and , on 15 April , began preparations to deploy . " Aspro " got underway for her second Western Pacific deployment on 13 May 1972 and arrived at Yokosuka on 24 June . After a week in port , she departed on 4 July 1972 to begin Seventh Fleet operations . She arrived at Pusan , South Korea , on 13 August 1972 for a two - day visit , then shifted to Sasebo , Japan , for three days . Following an exercise with one of her sister ships , the attack submarine , from 18 to 26 August , " Aspro " arrived at Hong Kong on 27 August 1972 . On 2 September , she was underway for Guam , where she arrived on 7 September and began two weeks of upkeep . On 21 September , she put to sea to return to Pearl Harbor , arriving there on 18 November 1972 . She remained in port there through the end of 1972 . 1973 – 1974 . " Aspro " operated in the Hawaiian area conducting tests until she left Pearl Harbor on 17 March 1973 bound for Pascagoula . She transited the Panama Canal on 28 March 1973 and commenced an overhaul at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation ' s yards in Pascagoula on 1 April 1973 . The shipyard work ended on 12 May 1974 , and " Aspro " departed Pascagoula the next day . After re - transiting the Panama Canal , she made liberty stops at San Diego , California , and Bremerton , then held acoustic trials in Puget Sound from 4 to 7 June 1974 . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 19 June after an absence of more than 15 months and spent the rest of 1974 conducting operations in the Hawaiian Islands . 1975 . The beginning of 1975 found " Aspro " preparing for her third deployment to the Western Pacific . After loading weapons , she left Pearl Harbor on 29 May 1975 , conducted an exercise with the destroyer escort the next day , and reached Yokosuka on 10 June 1975 for a weeks visit . On 19 June , she began operations at sea that lasted until 10 August 1975 when she arrived at Guam . She participated in exercises with units of the Seventh Fleet from 24 August to 3 September 1975 , made voyage repairs at Subic Bay from 4 to 16 September , and carried out exercises near Subic Bay with the attack aircraft carrier between 17 and 29 September 1975 . " Aspro " left the Philippines on 1 October 1975 , bound for the Mariana Islands . She arrived at Guam in the Marianas on 5 October and remained there until 27 October , when she departed for Hong Kong . From 6 to 18 November 1975 , she took part in antisubmarine warfare exercises with Seventh Fleet air and surface units . After pausing briefly at Guam , she returned to Pearl Harbor on 4 December 1975 and commenced a post - deployment stand down to allow her crew to rest and recuperate . 1976 – 1978 . " Aspro " spent the first two and one - half months of 1976 in upkeep and on exercises . On 15 March 1976 , she entered drydock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard . Upon completion of this work on 23 April 1976 , she began sea trials , exercises , and final preparations for a tour of duty along the west coast of North America . " Aspro " left Pearl Harbor on 6 September 1976 and stopped at Esquimalt , British Columbia , Canada , on 16 September for a two - day liberty call . She arrived at Bangor on 23 September 1976 to unload her weapons . " Aspro " commenced an overhaul on 11 October 1977 . 1979 . " Aspro " s overhaul was completed on 11 March 1979 , when she got underway for sea and acoustic trials . On 28 April , she went to Bangor for weapons trials . She departed Bangor on 17 May 1979 and made a voyage to San Diego , conducting deep - water acoustic trials en route . Upon her arrival in San Diego on 22 May , she spent one week undergoing repairs by auxiliary repair dock . " Aspro " returned to Pearl Harbor on 8 June 1979 after an absence of 21 months and spent the remainder of 1979 conducting training exercises and antisubmarine warfare operations and preparing for a deployment in 1980 . 1980 . " Aspro " s pre - deployment preparations continued well into February 1980 . She departed Pearl Harbor to begin her fourth Western Pacific deployment on 24 February 1980 and arrived in Buckner Bay , Okinawa , on 9 March . On 11 March , she put to sea to take part in Exercise " SHAREM 35 . " She returned briefly to Buckner Bay on 16 March then set out for the Philippines . She entered Subic Bay on 20 March 1980 and remained there until 6 April ; when she got underway for Guamn in the Mariana Islands . " Aspro " stayed at Guam from 12 to 24 April 1980 , then departed for Japan . She made a brief stop at Yokosuka on 4 May 1980 before embarking upon a month of operations at sea . She returned to Yokosuka on 10 June 1980 but put to sea again on 12 June on her way to Hong Kong for a liberty call there that lasted from 17 to 21 June . " Aspro " then headed back to Guam , where arrived on 27 June . She put back to sea on 16 July 1980 for her last operational assignment of the deployment . She concluded both that operation and the overall deployment by returning to Pearl Harbor on 30 August 1980 . Following the usual post - deployment stand - down period , " Aspro " resumed local operations in the Hawaiian Islands for the remainder of 1980 . 1981 . At the beginning of 1981 , " Aspro " began a restricted shipyard availability for repairs and alterations at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard that lasted until late in March 1981 . On 26 March , she left the shipyard and resumed normal operations out of Pearl Harbor until midsummer 1981 , when she began getting ready for another tour of duty in the Western Pacific . " Aspro " stood out of Pearl Harbor to commence her fifth Western Pacific deployment on 2 September 1981 . During the deployment , she visited a variety of ports in the Western Pacific and in the Indian Ocean and successfully prosecuted all her operational missions . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 16 March 1982 and commenced the normal month of post - deployment leave and upkeep . 1982 . " Aspro " resumed operations out of Pearl Harbor in April 1982 . She participated in the multinational exercise Operation " RIMPAC 82 " and served as a training platform for both prospective commanding officers and midshipmen . Early in July 1982 , she embarked upon a five - week cruise that took her to the California coast and back , during which she participated in antisubmarine exercises and in the fleet exercise FLEETEX 1 – 82 . " Aspro " returned to Pearl Harbor on 12 August 1982 and began preparations for a cold - weather deployment . On 15 October 1982 , " Aspro " and one of her sister ships , the attack submarine , got underway for the Arctic . In addition to cold - weather drills , the two submarines gathered scientific data . They also made a winter rendezvous at the North Pole on 20 November 1982 , celebrated by the mailing of cachet envelopes prepared especially for the occasion . " Aspro " returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 December 1982 and began a period of stand - down and upkeep . 1983 – 1984 . In February 1983 , " Aspro " resumed duty in the Hawaiian operating area , which continued through May . In June 1983 , " Aspro " began preparations for her sixth tour of duty with the Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific . " Aspro " departed Pearl Harbor in July 1983 for the deployment , which was highlighted by visits to many of the exotic ports of East Asia and successful completion of all assigned missions . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 23 October 1983 and , after the post - deployment stand - down , took up local operations . That duty continued into the beginning of 1984 . On 16 January 1984 , " Aspro " entered the medium auxiliary floating drydock for a restricted availability for repairs and alterations . Later , she resumed operations at sea . On 24 July 1984 , " Aspro " began her seventh deployment to the Western Pacific . Operating both in the Pacific and Indian Oceans , " Aspro " carried her assignments to successful conclusions and made a number of port calls . 1985 – 1986 . " Aspro " returned to Pearl Harbor from her deployment in January 1985 and , following the usual leave and upkeep period , embarked upon local operations in the Hawaiian Islands once more . In April 1985 , she visited the United States West Coast again . That summer , she voyaged to the Arctic for more cold - weather drills . She returned to Hawaii at the end of September and resumed local operations in October , which she continued through April 1986 . In May 1986 , " Aspro " headed north for another round of cold - weather exercises in the Arctic . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 11 July 1986 and remained in the Hawaiian Islands until early September 1986 , when she cruised to the Northern Pacific Ocean . " Aspro " concluded that voyage on 27 October 1986 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo , California , where she began a regular overhaul on 15 November 1986 . 1987 – 1994 . " Aspro " spent a significantly longer time at Mare Island Naval Shipyard than originally scheduled . During her overhaul , new sonar and fire - control system technologies became available and were installed during the delay . The delay also allowed " Aspro " to have anechoic ( acoustic ) tiling installed on her hull , making her one of the quietest attack submarines in the United States Pacific Fleet . At the conclusion of her overhaul , " Aspro " and her crew scored an EXCELLENT on the Post - Overhaul Reactor Safeguards Examination ( PORSE ) , a rare feat for any nuclear - powered ship . She followed up this extraordinary achievement with outstanding performances on Tactical Readiness Examination s against much newer ships . " Aspro " returned to Pearl Harbor in October 1989 . As she rounded the bend into the submarine base , the other moored submarines , led by her sister ship , sounded their whistles for over four minutes , welcoming " Aspro " back to her home port . After her return , " Aspro " deployed twice to the Western Pacific and twice to the Northern Pacific . She won the Battle Efficiency Award ( Battle " E " ) for Submarine Squadron 1 three times in the next four years , and was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for performance during a period in 1994 while deployed to the Western Pacific . Decommissioning and disposal . " Aspro " was decommissioned on 31 March 1995 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day . Her scrapping via the Nuclear - Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton began on 1 October 1999 and was completed on 3 November 2000 .