USS Tunny ( SSN - 682 ) USS " Tunny " ( SSN - 682 ) , a " Sturgeon " - class attack submarine , was the second submarine of the United States Navy to be named for the tunny , any of several oceanic fishes resembling the mackerel . Construction and commissioning . The contract for " Tunny " s construction was awarded on 25 June 1968 and her keel was laid down on 22 May 1970 at Pascagoula , Mississippi , by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries . She was launched on 10 June 1972 , sponsored by Mrs . Lola Aiken , and commissioned on 26 January 1974 at her home port , Charleston , South Carolina , with Commander Dennis Y . Sloan in command . Service history . 1974 . " Tunny " remained at Charleston until March 1974 , when she moved to Groton , Connecticut , for two weeks of in - port training at the submarine base . Between March and June 1974 , she conducted shakedown training in the West Indies and along the United States East Coast . From June to August 1974 , she conducted operations out of Charleston before heading north to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery , Maine , where she began post - shakedown overhaul on 12 August 1974 . She completed repairs on 5 October 1974 and headed back to Charleston , where she resumed normal training operations . 1975 . In February 1975 , " Tunny " began preparations for her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea . She stood out of Charleston on 6 March 1975 and headed across the Atlantic Ocean . She came under operational control of the United States Sixth Fleet on 16 March 1975 . During the first part of her tour in the Mediterranean , she operated with Task Force 60 , conducting antisubmarine warfare exercises with the other ships of the task force . Following refit and upkeep alongside a submarine tender in June and early July 1975 at Santo Stefano , Sardinia , Italy , " Tunny " rejoined the Sixth Fleet as a unit of Task Force 69 and resumed antisubmarine warfare training . After participating in a major Sixth Fleet exercise late in July and early in August 1975 , she departed the Mediterranean for home . She changed operational control from the Sixth Fleet to the United States Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force on 17 August 1975 and arrived in Charleston , concluding her deployment , on 29 August 1975 . After a routine post - deployment standdown in September and repairs and alterations Charleston Naval Shipyard at Charleston in October and November , she resumed operations — mostly attack submarine training — out of Charleston on 20 November 1975 . 1976 . Attack submarine training along the South Carolina and Florida coasts occupied her time during January 1976 . February 1976 brought inspections and examinations and , in March 1976 , she participated in two special operations designed to help develop and evaluate submarine tactics . In May 1976 , " Tunny " began preparations for her second tour of duty with the Sixth Fleet but did not embark upon that assignment for over two months . In the meantime , she conducted an exercise in naval mine warfare in June 1976 . Finally , on 26 July 1976 , she departed Charleston on her way to the Mediterranean . Following a visit to Lisbon , Portugal , she joined the Sixth Fleet on 11 August 1976 . After a month of antisubmarine warfare training , highlighted by Exercise " National Week XXI " , she put into Santo Stefano for a month of upkeep alongside submarine tender . In October 1976 , she returned to sea for antisubmarine warfare training operations punctuated periodically with a visit to Naples , Italy , or upkeep at Santo Stefano . That routine continued until 11 December 1976 , when she departed Santo Stefano to return to the United States . Arriving in Charleston on 22 December 1976 , she commenced a combination of Christmas holiday leave and upkeep and a routine post - deployment standdown . 1977 . January 1977 found " Tunny " undergoing an extensive upkeep following her Mediterranean deployment . She then resumed operations off the U . S . East Coast which extended through the spring and summer months . In mid - September 1977 , she commenced a two - month period of repairs and alterations at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth , Virginia , which was concluded in late November , followed by a short sea trial period . Following refresher training at Naval Submarine School New London at New London , Connecticut , " Tunny " returned to Charleston . 1978 . " Tunny " spent January and part of February 1978 preparing for a North Atlantic Ocean deployment which commenced in late February and concluded in late April . Tunny made stops in Dunoon , Scotland and Portland , England . In July 1978 , " Tunny " s home port was changed to Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . She transited the Panama Canal and briefly crossed the equator on her voyage to Pearl Harbor , where she arrived on 19 August 1978 . " Tunny " was assigned to Submarine Squadron 1 , and devoted the remainder of 1978 to operations in the Hawaiian Islands in preparation for a 1979 deployment to the Western Pacific . 1979 – 1997 . " Tunny " departed for Western Pacific at the beginning of 1979 . She visited various ports during the deployment , including Amphoe Sattahip in Thailand , and Orote Point in Guam . She also entered the Indian Ocean , where she visited the U . S . naval base at Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory . She was a guest of the Royal Australian Navy when she visited , the administrative center of the Royal Australian Navy ' s main naval base on the west coast of Australia , located on Garden Island just off the coast of Western Australia near the city of Perth , and " Tunny " s crew participated in the ANZAC Day Parade in April 1979 . " Tunny " completed her six - month deployment to the Western Pacific when she returned to Pearl Harbor in June 1979 . " Tunny " was deactivated while still in commission on 1 October 1997 . Decommissioning and disposal . " Tunny " was both decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 March 1998 . Her scrapping via the U . S . Navys Nuclear - Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program began on 1 October 1997 and was completed on 27 October 1998 .