USS Seawolf (SSN 21)
USS Seawolf (SSN 21) is the successor to two previous Seawolf-named subs. The first Seawolf (SS 197) was commissioned in 1939 and patrolled in the Pacific Ocean. It earned 13 battle stars during World War II, sank 17 enemy ships, and was lost in action in December 1944. The USS Seawolf (SSN 575) was the second ship, after USS Nautilus, to ever log it out with the historic phrase "underway on nuclear power". She was launched 21 July 1955 and was the first nuclear ship to transport the U.S. Commander in Chief when President Eisenhower rode the USS Seawolf on 26 September 1957. The era of extended submerged operations by nuclear submarines was launched by USS Seawolf on a cruise from 7 August to 6 October 1958, when she remained submerged, totally independent of the surface and atmosphere for 60 days. USS Seawolf received the Navy Unit Commendation Award for this feat. USS Seawolf remained active in the fleet until decommissioned on 30 March 1987. The latest Seawolf, SSN 21, is the fastest, quietest, most heavily armed nuclear-powered attack submarine in the world, commissioned 19 July 1997 at Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, CT.
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