USS William H . Bates ( SSN - 680 ) USS " William H . Bates " ( SSN - 680 ) , a " Sturgeon " - class attack submarine , was planned to be the second U . S . Navy ship to be named USS " Redfish " — for the redfish , a variety of salmon also called blueback , sawqui , red salmon , and nerka — when the contract to build her was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula , Mississippi , on 25 June 1968 . However , upon the 22 June 1969 death of William H . Bates ( 1917 – 1969 ) , the U . S . Representative from Massachusetts ' s 6th Congressional District ( 1950 – 1969 ) known for his staunch support of nuclear propulsion in the U . S . Navy , she was renamed " William H . Bates " and was laid down on 4 August 1969 as the only ship of the U . S . Navy to have borne the name . The reason for her naming by then - Secretary of the Navy John Chafee , breaking with a long - standing Navy tradition of naming U . S . Navy attack submarines for sea creatures , was best summed up by Admiral Hyman Rickover , the then - director of the Navy ' s nuclear reactors program , with the pithy comment that , " Fish don ' t vote ! " Construction and commissioning . The contract to build " Redfish " was awarded on 25 June 1968 , and she had been renamed " William H . Bates " by the time her keel was laid on 4 August 1969 by Ingalls Shipbuilding . She was launched on 11 December 1971 , sponsored by Mrs . Andrew R . Grainger , and commissioned on 5 May 1973 with Commander Glen N . Arthur , Jr . , in command . Service history . 1973 – 1979 . After shakedown , " William H . Bates " arrived at her home port , New London , Connecticut . She was deployed to the eastern Atlantic Ocean between July and October 1974 and conducted her first patrol mission before visiting Holy Loch , Scotland , and Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada , on her way home . However , her respite was brief , for she was again underway on patrol by the latter part of December 1974 and into January 1975 . After voyage repairs at Holy Loch , she called at Faslane , Scotland , for a port visit . Departing Faslane for home in late January 1974 , " William H . Bates " underwent a refit at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth , Virginia , before conducting local operations off Fort Lauderdale , Florida , into the summer of 1975 . She was deployed to European waters again soon thereafter , taking part in antisubmarine warfare exercises . In November 1975 , she took part in North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) exercises " Moby Dick " and " Ocean Safari ' 75 , " before she returned to New London in December 1975 . " William H . Bates " conducted her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in 1976 , departing New London on 5 May 1976 . During this tour , she honed her skills in exercises with other ships of the U . S . Navy and NATO naval units of foreign countries . During the deployment , she visited Bizerte , Tunisia ; Augusta Bay , Sicily ; and La Spezia and Naples , Italy . After departing the Mediterranean Sea on 6 September 1976 , she took part in exercise " Ocean Safari ' 76 " in mid - month . On 14 October 1976 , she returned to New London . " William H . Bates " underwent voyage repairs and later prepared for another overseas deployment . She departed New London during the summer of 1977 and completed her assigned mission on 3 October 1977 , mooring alongside the submarine tender that day . She subsequently transited the North Sea for a port visit to Bremerhaven , West Germany , where she spent five days . She then took part in exercise " Ocean Safari ' 77 " with NATO units while returning from European waters to New London . " William H . Bates " operated in the Atlantic into early 1978 until moving to a new home port , San Diego , California , in May 1978 for service in the United States Pacific Fleet . 1980 – 1989 . From 1980 through early 1989 , " William H . Bates " operated from San Diego while attached to Submarine Squadron 11 , conducting numerous Western Pacific deployments and operations , such as " Exercise Team Spirit " with the Republic of Korea Navy and the navies of various other countries . During her deployments , she conducted port visits at Subic Bay in the Philippines , at Chinhae in South Korea , at Yokosuka and Sasebo in Japan , at Guam , and at Satahip in Thailand , among other places . In mid - 1989 , " William H . Bates " transited northward from San Diego , stopped at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo , California , for minor repairs and to allow her crew to rest , and then continued up the United States West Coast and entered Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton , Washington , for an extensive refueling overhaul and retrofit . Mike Hanke was a cook on this submarine and fed seaman up until 1989 . 1991 – 2000 . In 1991 , after completion of the refueling overhaul , " William H . Bates " home port was changed to Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , from which she completed several Western Pacific deployments and operations during the 1990s . Decommissioning and disposal . " William H . Bates " was decommissioned and simultaneously stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 February 2000 . She returned to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , where her scrapping via the Nuclear - Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program began on 1 October 2002 and was completed on 30 October 2002 .