At its predetermined test depth, the cables from the buoys would hold the boat suspended in place. The submarine’s ballast tanks were then flooded to begin submerging the boat. “It was towed up to the test site,” Schulze said. His design included two clusters of five buoys bound together incorporating a hydraulic winch, with one cluster at the bow and the other at the boat’s stern. He was the lead designer for a new buoy system that would suspend the submarine at its test depth. Rick Schulze was a mechanical engineer at NUWES from 1979 until his retirement in 2002. Once the yellow submarine was by NUWES, the need for a different buoy system in the quieter waters of the NUWES test ranges was recognized. “The major contribution of the ex-Menhaden was the ability to test without fear of damaging an operational sub or taking up too much time off their tight operational schedules.”ĭuring its phase as a Trident test target in the open ocean, the ex-Menhaden was suspended from a spar buoy system. “The ex-Menhaden and the ex-Blueback and the other ships we’ve used, they’re normally requested by the program office,” Mash said. He said it is common for decommissioned ships to be requested by a testing and evaluation center such as NUWES (and the modern-day NUWC Division, Keyport). Rod Mash was associate director for weapons system testing at NUWES during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division, Keyport, known at the time as Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station (NUWES) in Keyport, Washington, recognized great value in the yellow submarine and obtained it for use in NUWES’ operational ranges in Washington State and Canada following its use by the Trident program. Submerged and suspended from spar buoys, the ex-Menhaden provided a realistic platform for the Trident program. The decommissioned boat was pulled out of mothballs in 1976, painted yellow, and used as a tethered Trident training target in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington State. The boat ended its commissioned service having been awarded numerous citations including the China Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal with two stars.įollowing its decommissioning, the ex-Menhaden’s life got very interesting. Mendaden would serve through the Korean and Vietnam wars, finally being decommissioned Aug. Spruance took command of the Pacific Fleet. 24, 1945, change of command ceremony in Pearl Harbor during which Nimitz became Chief of Naval Operations and Adm. However, the submarine achieved historical fame when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz chose it as his flagship for the Nov. The Balao-class submarine USS Menhaden (SS 377) was not always yellow.Ĭommissioned June 22, 1945, USS Menhaden did not see combat during World War II.
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