USS Sea Devil
USS Sea Devil has been the name of more than one United States Navy ship, and may refer to:
USS Sea Devil (SS-400)
USS Sea Devil (SS/AGSS-400), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea devil (Manta birostria), the largest of all rays, noted for power and endurance.
Construction and commissioning
Sea Devil's keel was laid down 18 November 1943 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 28 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Sherman K. Kennedy, and commissioned on 24 May 1944 with Commander Ralph E. Styles in command.
World War II
First war patrol, September – October 1944
Completing shakedown training at New London, Connecticut, Sea Devil departed that port on 11 July 1944 and arrived at her home port, Pearl Harbor, on 9 August to join Submarine Division (SubDiv) 281 and prepare for her first war patrol. On 3 September, she sailed west. By 15 September, she was 500 miles (800 km) off Honshū, and, during the early morning darkness, made contact with her first enemy ships — two sampan-type patrol vessels. Rough seas, however, precluded an attack, and she continued on to patrol in the shipping lanes to Japan's major ports: Yokohama, Kobe, and Osaka.
USS Sea Devil (SSN-664)
USS Sea Devil (SSN-664), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea devil (Manta birostria), also known as the manta ray or devil ray, the largest of all living rays, noted for power and endurance.
Construction and commissioning
The contract to build Sea Devil was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia. on 28 May 1964, and her keel was laid down there on 12 April 1966. She was launched on 5 October 1967, sponsored by Mrs. Ignatius J. Galantin, the wife of Admiral Ignatius J. "Pete" Galantin (1910–2004), and commissioned on 30 January 1969 with Commander Richard A. Currier in command.
Service history
Sea Devil was assigned to Submarine Division 62 at Norfolk, Virginia. She operated out of Norfolk into at least 1977. She was assigned to Submarine Squadron 4 in Charleston SC from the mid 1980s until her decommissioning in 1991. She was a 637 class fast attack hunter killer. She also surfaced multiple times through the ice in the arctic.
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