USS Seahorse

Three ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Seahorse or Sea Horse, named in honor of the seahorse, a small fish whose head and the fore part of its body suggest the head and neck of a horse.

USS Seahorse (SS-304)

USS Seahorse (SS-304), a Balao-class submarine, was the first submarine and second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seahorse, a small fish whose head and the fore part of its body suggest the head and neck of a horse.

The first submarine Seahorse (SS-304) was laid down on 1 August 1942 by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif.; launched on 9 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Chester C. Smith; and commissioned on 31 March 1943, Comdr. Donald McGregor in command.

First war patrol, August – September 1943

Following shakedown along the California coast, Seahorse sailed to Pearl Harbor and, on 3 August 1943, got underway for her maiden war patrol, conducted off the Palau Islands. On the morning of 29 August, while the submarine was gaining attack position on a Japanese convoy, she was detected by escorting destroyers and suffered minor damage from a depth charge attack.

Seahorse scored three torpedo hits on a transport on 6 September, and then went deep to evade a depth charge attack that caused severe leaks and put her number four torpedo tube out of commission. A week later, she expended eight torpedoes in an unsuccessful attempt to sink a large tanker. The submarine terminated her first patrol at Midway on 27 September.

USS Seahorse (SSN-669)

USS Seahorse (SSN-669), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second submarine and third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seahorse.

Construction and commissioning

The contract to build Seahorse was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 9 March 1965 and her keel was laid down there on 13 August 1966. She was launched on 15 June 1968, sponsored by Mrs. Paul Ignatius, and commissioned on 19 September 1969 with Commander George T. Harper, Jr., in command.

Service history

Following a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea and visits to Roosevelt Roads and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Frederiksted on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, Seahorse returned to her home port, Charleston, South Carolina. Through November 1970, she operated in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean, engaging in local operations and conducting attack submarine training.

On 30 November 1970, Seahorse got underway from Charleston on her first major deployment, in which she operated in the Atlantic and visited Bremerhaven, West Germany, before returning to Charleston on 14 February 1971. For the next four months, Seahorse conducted attack submarine training, engaged in air group operations, and made final preparations for an extended Mediterranean Sea deployment. Departing Charleston on 21 June 1971, she arrived at Rota, Spain, on 2 July 1971. She continued to operate in the Mediterranean until 4 October 1971, when she headed back to Charleston. She remained in Charleston for the next three and one-half months.