USS Skate ( SSN - 578 ) USS " Skate " ( SSN - 578 ) , the third submarine of the United States Navy named for the skate , a type of ray , was the lead ship of the " Skate " class of nuclear submarine s . She was the third nuclear submarine commissioned , the first to make a completely submerged trans - Atlantic crossing , and the second submarine to reach the North Pole and the first to surface there . The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics on 18 July 1955 , and her keel was laid in Groton , Connecticut on 21 July 1955 . She was launched on 16 May 1957 sponsored by Mrs . Lewis L . Strauss , and commissioned on 23 December 1957 with Commander James F . Calvert in command . Operational history . " Skate " conducted shakedown training out of New London , Connecticut until 29 January 1958 , when she cruised to the Bermuda operating area , then returned to her home port on 8 February . Sixteen days later , the nuclear powered submarine set a course for the Isle of Portland , England . Before returning home , she had also visited ports in France and the Netherlands . On 30 July , " Skate " steamed to the Arctic where she operated under the ice for 10 days . During this time , she surfaced nine times through the ice , navigated over under it , and on 11 August , 9 : 47 pm EDT In the following months , " Skate " , as the first ship of her class , conducted various tests in the vicinity of her home port . In early March 1959 , she again headed for the Arctic to pioneer operations during the period of extreme cold and maximum ice thickness . The submarine steamed under pack ice while surfacing through it ten times . On 17 March , she surfaced at the North Pole to commit the ashes of the famed explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins to the Arctic waste . When the submarine returned to port , she was awarded a bronze star in lieu of a second Navy Unit Commendation for demonstrating " . . . for the first time the ability of submarines to operate in and under the Arctic ice in the dead of winter . . . " In the fall of 1959 and in 1960 , " Skate " participated in exercises designed to strengthen American antisubmarine defenses . " Skate " returned to General Dynamics in January 1961 for a regular overhaul and to have her reactor refueled for the first time . She put to sea in August and , for the next 11 months , conducted exercises to increase the operational readiness of her crew . On 7 July 1962 , " Skate " again set course towards the North Pole . Five days later , , did likewise from Pearl Harbor . The two submarines made their rendezvous on 31 July . After meeting , they operated together for over a week . Both submarines surfaced at the North Pole on 2 August and official greetings and insignia of Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet and Submarine Force Pacific Fleet were exchanged . " Skate " returned to New London and performed fleet and local operations for the next several years . She entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 28 April 1965 , the first nuclear submarine overhauled there , for nuclear refueling and installation of the SUBSAFE package . " Skate " was the first submarine to finish this major conversion program , which was instituted after the loss of in 1963 . The process was not completed until September 1967 . After sea trials and a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean , the submarine returned to New London and participated in exercises involved in the development of new undersea tactics and equipment . In October 1968 , " Skate " was deployed to the Mediterranean where she operated with the Sixth Fleet for two months . The polar veteran operated under the Arctic ice again in March and April 1969 , in October 1970 , and in February 1971 . The remainder of her at sea time was spent in various Atlantic Fleet and NATO exercises . In July 1971 , she began her third regular overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and did not return to New London until 17 November 1973 . In August 1974 , " Skate " operated as a unit of the Atlantic Fleet . In late 1977 , " Skate " transferred to Pearl Harbor , where she joined the other three Skate class submarines as a member of Submarine Squadron 7 . Decommissioning . " Skate " was decommissioned on 12 September 1986 , stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 October 1986 , and disposed of by submarine recycling at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 6 March 1995 . Awards . Skate received two Navy Unit Commendations and three Meritorious Unit Commendations during her career . The first Navy Unit Commendation was for the period 9 – 12 August 1958 and the second for the period 4 March through 6 April 1959 . The Meritorious Unit Commendations were for the periods 24 March through 15 April 1969 , 12 October through 18 November 1970 and 26 February through 9 March 1971 . ( Source – US Navy Unit Awards Webpage . )