View source for USS Hawkbill (SSN-666)

{{Short description|Sturgeon-class attack submarine of the United States Navy}}
{{Other ships|USS Hawkbill}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Refimprove|date=July 2022}}
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|Ship image=USS Hawkbill (SSN-666).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Hawkbill'' (SSN-666) off [[Southern California]] on 1 February 1991
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|2000}}
|Ship name= USS ''Hawkbill'' (SSN-666)
|Ship namesake=Misspelling carried over from previous ship of the name ({{USS|Hawkbill|SS-366}}) of "[[hawksbill]]", a large [[sea turtle]]
|Ship ordered= 18 December 1964
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder= [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]], [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], [[California]]
|Ship original cost=
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|Ship laid down= 12 September 1966
|Ship launched= 12 April 1969
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Bernard F. Roeder
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|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 4 February 1971
|Ship decommissioned= 15 March 2000
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|Ship struck= 15 March 2000
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|Ship nickname=* "The Devil Boat"
* "Devilfish"
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|Ship fate= Scrapping via [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] begun 15 March 2000, completed 1 December 2000
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class= {{sclass|Sturgeon|submarine|0}} [[attack submarine]]
|Ship displacement=* {{convert|4002|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
* {{convert|4294|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
* {{convert|292|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} dead
|Ship length={{convert|292|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|32|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draft= {{convert|29|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship power={{convert|15000|shp|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion= One [[S5W reactor|S5W]] [[nuclear reactor]], two [[steam turbine]]s, one [[Propeller|screw]]
|Ship speed=*{{convert|15|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|25|kn}} submerged
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|Ship test depth={{convert|1300|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=109 (14 [[Commissioned officer|officers]], 95 [[Enlisted man|enlisted men]])
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|Ship armament=4 × {{convert|21|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
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'''USS ''Hawkbill'' (SSN-666)''', a {{sclass|Sturgeon|submarine|0}} [[attack submarine]], was the second ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[hawksbill]], a large [[sea turtle]]. The name perpetuated the inadvertent misspelling of "hawksbill" in the naming of the first ship of that name, {{USS|Hawkbill|SS-366}}, a {{sclass|Balao|submarine|0}} submarine launched in 1944. USS ''Hawkbill'' (SSN-666) was the [[List of Sturgeon-class submarines#Boats|eighteenth of 39]] ''Sturgeon''-class [[Nuclear marine propulsion|nuclear-powered]] submarines that were built.

''Hawkbill'' was sometimes called "The Devil Boat" or the "Devilfish" because of her [[Hull classification symbol|hull number]] (666), from chapter 13 of the [[Book of Revelation]], in the [[Bible]]{{'}}s [[New Testament]], which begins "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea...." and ends "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the [[number of the beast]]: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six;" and the resulting association in [[Christianity]] of the number 666 with the [[Devil]] and the [[Antichrist]].{{cn|date=July 2022}}

==Construction and commissioning==
The contract to build ''Hawkbill'' was awarded to the [[Mare Island]] Division of [[San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard]] in [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], [[California]], on 18 December 1964 and her [[keel]] was laid down there on 12 September 1966.  She was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 12 April 1969, sponsored by Mrs. Bernard F. Roeder, the wife of [[Vice Admiral]] [[Bernard F. Roeder]], Commander [[United States First Fleet]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 4 February 1971.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

==Service history==
In 1982, ''Hawkbill'' completed a scheduled overhaul of her [[reactor core]] at [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]] at [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], with her crew berthed at [[Naval Submarine Base Bangor]] at [[Bangor, Washington|Bangor]], Washington. After [[sea trial]]s and sound trials and port visits to [[Nanaimo]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]; [[Alameda, California|Alameda]], California; and [[San Diego, California|San Diego]], California, ''Hawkbill'' returned to [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], commanded by Fred Crawford, where she joined Submarine Squadron ONE.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

In 1983, ''Hawkbill'' made a [[Western Pacific Ocean|Western Pacific]] cruise, under the command of George Roletter, with stops at [[Yokosuka, Kanagawa|Yokosuka]], [[Japan]]; [[Subic Bay]], the [[Philippines]]; and [[Hong Kong]].{{cn|date=July 2022}}

''Hawkbill'' made a dependent cruise from [[Lahaina, Hawaii|Lahaina]], [[Maui]], Hawaii to home port in Pearl Harbor.  In early 1984, ''Hawkbill'' deployed to the [[Arctic]], undertaking an 87-day excursion under the [[polar ice cap]] which included visits to [[Chinhae]], [[South Korea]]; and [[Guam]]. ''Hawkbill'' earned two Battle Efficiency "E" awards from Submarine Squadron ONE during this period.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

''Hawkbill'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 15 March 2000, the last of the [[Sturgeon-class submarine#Design|"short-hull"]] ''Sturgeon''-class attack submarines to be decommissioned, and that same day both was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] and entered the [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for scrapping. Her scrapping was completed on 1 December 2000.{{cn|date=July 2022}}

==Commemoration==
{{stack|[[File:Arco Hawkbill Pano.jpg|thumb|Sail of SSN-666 on display in Arco, Idaho]]}}
''Hawkbill''{{'}}s [[Sail (submarine)|sail]] was preserved and is exhibited in the [[Idaho Science Center]] in [[Arco, Idaho|Arco]], [[Idaho]].

== References ==
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/h/hawkbill-ii.html}}
* {{Naval Vessel Register|{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=SSN666}}}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090425111936/http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08666a.htm NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Hawkbill (SSN-666) Keel Laying / Commissioning]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08666b.htm NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Hawkbill (SSN-666) Active Service - Decommissioning]

==External links==
* [http://www.usshawkbill.com USS ''Hawkbill'' (SSN-666)]

{{Sturgeon class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkbill (Ssn-666)}}
[[Category:Sturgeon-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Vallejo, California]]
[[Category:1969 ships]]