USS Tullibee ( SSN - 597 ) USS " Tullibee " ( SSN - 597 ) , a unique submarine , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the tullibee , any of several whitefishes of central and northern North America . At 273 feet long and 2 , 300 tons displacement , USS " Tullibee " was the smallest nuclear - powered attack submarine in the US submarine fleet . The initial manning complement was 7 officers and 60 enlisted men . However before inactivation , the crew included 13 officers and over 100 enlisted men . During her career , " Tullibee " achieved much and conducted many submarine firsts . During her commissioned service she submerged and surfaced 730 times and traveled approximately equal to the distance from the earth to the moon and halfway back . Construction . " Tullibee " was the result of " Project Nobska " , a study ordered in 1956 by Admiral Arleigh Burke , then Chief of Naval Operations , from the Committee on Undersea Warfare of the National Academy of Sciences . That report emphasized the need for deeper - diving , ultraquiet submarine designs using long - range sonar . " Tullibee " incorporated three design changes based on Project Nobska . First , it incorporated the first bow - mounted spherical sonar array . This required the second innovation : amidships , angled torpedo tubes . Thirdly , " Tullibee " was propelled by very quiet turbo - electric transmission powered by a S2C reactor . The contract to build " Tullibee " was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation on 15 November 1957 . Her keel was laid down in Groton , Connecticut , on 26 May 1958 . She was launched on 27 April 1960 , sponsored by Mrs . John F . Davidson , the widow of Commander Charles F . Brindupke , and commissioned on 9 November 1960 , with Commander Richard E . Jortberg in command . Operational history . 1961 – 1968 . Following her shakedown in January 1961 , " Tullibee " engaged in sonar evaluations and nuclear submarine tactical exercises with Submarine Developmental Group 2 , operating out of Naval Submarine Base New London , Connecticut , 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 anti - submarine 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 , New Hampshire , when the ship entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery , Maine , for an extensive overhaul . She remained in drydock for 754 days , emerging on 2 January 1968 . 1969 – 1979 . 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 Sixth Fleet . During this period , she took part in NATO and Sixth Fleet exercises and made port visits to Athens , Greece ; Naples , Italy ; and Rota , Spain , before returning to New London on 14 December , having traveled some 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 , Florida . 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 Sea 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 Sea . Following one Caribbean cruise in the fall of 1974 , " Tullibee " departed New London on 28 April 1975 for her second deployment to the Sixth 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 British destroyer in the Caribbean Sea in two separate deployments between April and June 1976 , before undergoing another extended upkeep period . The submarine 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 Sixth 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 Sixth 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 . 1979 – 1987 . On 24 July 1979 , Commander Daniel J . Koczur relieved as the eighth Commanding Officer . During August 1979 , " Tullibee " entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for its third and final major overhaul . This overhaul was the longest of the three , lasting until October 1982 ( a total of 39 months ) . After leaving the shipyard , the remaining months of 1982 were spent conducting various operations , which provided refresher training for the crew . On 26 April 1983 , Commander David W . Candler relieved as the ninth Commanding Officer . On two occasions between April 1983 and February 1984 difficulties with the propulsion system required the ship to return to New London for repairs . In November 1985 , the ship departed New London for her fifth and final extended deployment to the Mediterranean Sea . While deployed she conducted several ASW operations for Commander Sixth Fleet and participated in a major NATO ASW exercise . " Tullibee ’ s " assignment to the Sixth Fleet during freedom of navigation exercises , involving combat with Libyan forces , resulted in her crew receiving a Navy Expeditionary Medal as well as her first award of a Navy Unit Commendation . The ship returned to New London , Connecticut , in April 1986 after having spent five months deployed . On November 1986 , Commander Charles R . Skolds relieved as the tenth Commanding Officer . The ship remained pier side in New London for the rest of 1986 and most of 1987 while preparing for inactivation . In September 1987 the ship was towed to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to begin a ten - month inactivation and decommissioning . Final disposition . Decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 June 1988 , ex - " Tullibee " entered the Navy ' s Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program on 5 January 1995 . Recycling was completed on 1 April 1996 . One of the fairwater planes from the Tullibee can be seen as part of a permanent art installation on the shore of Lake Washington in Seattle .