USS Skate (SSN-578) was the third submarine of the United States Navy named for the skate, a type of ray, was the lead ship of the of nuclear submarines. She was the third nuclear submarine commissioned, the first to make a completely submerged trans-Atlantic crossing, the second submarine to reach the North Pole, and the first to surface there.
Construction and commissioning
The contract to build Skate was awarded to the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics on 18 July 1955, and her keel was laid in Groton, Connecticut, on 21 July 1955. She was launched on 16 May 1957, sponsored by Alice Hanauer Strauss, wife of Lewis L. Strauss, and commissioned on 23 December 1957 with Commander James F. Calvert in command.
Operational history
thumb|left|USS Skate in August 1958, possibly at Drifting Ice Station Alfa
thumb|left|USS Skate in the Dutch port of [[Rotterdam, March 1958]]
Skate conducted shakedown training out of New London, Connecticut until 29 January 1958, when she cruised to the Bermuda operating area, then returned to her home port on 8 February. Sixteen days later, the nuclear powered submarine set a course for the Isle of Portland, England. Before returning home, she had also visited ports in France and the Netherlands.
First visit to North Pole
On 30 July, Skate sought the Arctic where she operated under the ice for 10 days. During this time, she surfaced nine times through the ice, navigated over under it, and on 11 August, 9:47 pm EDT
(the week after ) became the second sea ship to reach the North Pole. Skate was unable to surface precisely at the Pole on the August voyage due to dangerous ice conditions as noted in the captain's 1960 book, Surface at the Pole: The Extraordinary Voyages of the USS Skate, where Calvert said, "Seldom had the ice seemed so heavy and so thick as it did in the immediate vicinity of the pole. For days we had searched in vain for a suitable opening to surface in." The closest was to make radio contact at the surface from a polynya around 30 nm away, but not to surface fully owing to the risk of damage from ice. The submarine made port calls in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France before returning to New London on 25 September 1958. In recognition of the dangerous and historic feat, the Skate and its crew were given the Navy Unit Commendation award for "... braving the hazards of the polar ice pack...."
Second visit to North Pole
While the Skate was unable to surface on its first voyage to the pole, on 17 March 1959, she became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole. Calvert described the historic moment in his book, saying, "Slowly we blew the tanks and the Skate moved reluctantly upward. It was apparent we were under heavier ice here than any we had experienced before." While at the pole, Calvert and the crew planted an American flag in a cairn they built out of ice blocks, and put a waterproof container in the cairn with a note commemorating the event. The crew also held a ceremony for the late Arctic explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins and committed his ashes at the pole. In 1931, Sir Hubert had conducted an Arctic expedition in the disarmed research submarine Nautilus (ex-). After reaching the Pole, the Skate continued its mission to pioneer arctic operations during periods of extreme cold and maximum ice thickness. When the submarine returned to port, she was awarded a bronze star in lieu of a second Navy Unit Commendation for demonstrating "for the first time the ability of submarines to operate in and under the Arctic ice in the dead of winter". In the fall of 1959 and in 1960, Skate participated in exercises designed to strengthen American antisubmarine defenses.
thumb|USS Skate surfaced in Arctic – 1959
Skate returned to General Dynamics in January 1961 for a regular overhaul and to have her reactor refueled for the first time.