| USS Gato (SSN-615) | |
|---|---|
 USS Gato (SSN-615) | |
| Career (US) |  |
| Name: | USS Gato |
| Namesake: | The gato, a species of small catshark |
| Ordered: | 9 July 1960 |
| Builder: | General Dynamics Electric Boat |
| Laid down: | 15 December 1961 |
| Launched: | 14 May 1964 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Lawson P. Ramage |
| Commissioned: | 25 January 1968 |
| Decommissioned: | 25 April 1996 |
| Nickname: |
'The Goal Keeper" "The Black Cat" |
| Fate: | Disposed of via Ship-Submarine Recycling Program |
| Badge: |
 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Thresher/Permit-class nuclear submarine |
| Displacement: |
3964 tons light, 4242 tons full, 278 tons dead |
| Length: | 292 ft (89 m) |
| Beam: | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft: | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Propulsion: | S5W reactor with S3G-3 Core, two steam turbines with reduction-geared single shaft |
| Complement: | 12 officers, 115 men |
| Armament: |
4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes amidships, MK-37 and MK-48 torpedoes, MK-67 SLMM, UGM-84 Harpoon cruise missiles, SUBROC short-range ballistic missile |
USS Gato (SSN-615) was a Thresher/Permit-class nuclear submarine known as the "Goal Keeper" or the "Black Cat." She was the second United States Navy ship named after the gato, a species of small catshark found in waters along the west coast of Mexico.
The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation on 9 July 1960 and her keel was laid down on 15 December 1961 at Groton, Connecticut. She was launched 14 May 1964 sponsored by Mrs. Lawson P. Ramage, and was commissioned 25 January 1968.
On 15 November 1969, Gato collided with the Soviet submarine K-19 in the Barents Sea at a depth of some 200 feet (61 m).
She was the first nuclear-powered submarine to completely circumnavigate South America, and the first nuclear-powered submarine to navigate the Strait of Magellan during its 1976 Unitas run under the command of Captain Partlow. It was on this voyage that it became the first nuclear submarine to travel through the Panama Canal.
Gato was decommissioned and stricken on 25 April 1996 and disposed of by submarine recycling.
USS Gato (SSN-615)
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