USS Parche (SSN-683)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Parche.

USS Parche (SSN-683) off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, sometime prior to October 1985. The structure on the after part of her casing is a permanently attached swimmer lock-out chamber, although described under its naval cover as Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle.^[citation needed] Her ship's insignia is at lower right.
History
United States
Name	USS Parche (SSN-683)
Namesake	The parche, a type of butterfly fish
Ordered	25 June 1968
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Laid down	10 December 1970
Launched	13 January 1973
Sponsored by	Natalie Beshany
Commissioned	17 August 1974
Decommissioned	19 October 2004
Stricken	18 July 2005
Motto	Par Excellence (Preeminent)
Honors and awards	9 Presidential Unit Citations 10 Navy Unit Commendations 13 Navy Expeditionary Medals
Fate	Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program completed 30 November 2006
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Sturgeon-class attack submarine
Displacement	As built: 3,978 long tons (4,042 t) light 4,270 long tons (4,339 t) full 292 long tons (297 t) dead
Length	As built: 302 ft 3 in (92.13 m) After 1987–1991 lengthening: 401 ft (122 m)
Beam	31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft	28 ft 8 in (8.74 m)
Installed power	15,000 shaft horsepower (11.2 megawatts)
Propulsion	One S5W nuclear reactor, two steam turbines, one screw
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) submerged
Test depth	1,300 feet (396 meters)
Complement	As built: 112 (14 officers, 98 enlisted men) After 1987–1991 modifications: 179 (22 officers, 157 enlisted men)
Armament	4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Parche (SSN-683), a Sturgeon-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the parche /ˌpɑːrˈtʃeɪ/, a small, coral reef butterfly fish. Parche was launched on 13 January 1973, sponsored by Natalie Beshany, the wife of Vice Admiral Philip A. Beshany, and commissioned on 17 August 1974.

Attributed as being a key resource of the National Underwater Reconnaissance Office, Parche is said to be "the most highly decorated vessel in U.S. history."^[1][2][3]

Operational history

1974–1979

Parche served as a unit of the United States Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force from 1974 until 1976, before transferring to the United States Pacific Fleet in October 1976. Once arriving at her new home port at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, Parche received ocean engineering modifications. Parche deployed on a shakedown training cruise in August and September 1978.^{[citation needed]}

Operation Ivy Bells, 1979

In the book Blind Man's Bluff, it is claimed that Parche successfully tapped into Soviet underwater military communication cables in the Sea of Okhotsk as part of Operation Ivy Bells.^[4]

1979–2004

During her career, Parche was ostensibly involved in recovering Soviet missile fragments from the seabed following test launches. While missile fragments were indeed collected in large numbers, Parche's primary missions typically revolved around the setting and retrieving of wire taps placed on Soviet underwater communication cables.^[5][6][7] Much of her operational history was spent undertaking clandestine missions, and as of late 2009, a vast majority of the missions undertaken remain classified.^{[citation needed]}

From 1987 to 1991, Parche underwent an extended refueling overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard during which she was modified for research and development work. An extension measuring 100 feet (30 m) was added to her hull just forward of her sail. The added section was flat-topped (looking somewhat like the missile deck of a ballistic missile submarine) and provided the space required to support a larger crew and additional equipment. These additions included an extensive array of signals-intelligence-collecting antennas, electronic gear, and other navigational and ocean engineering equipment. The overhaul also added many auxiliary navigational and maneuvering features, including both upward and forward-facing short-range sonars, and a suite of armored spotlights and closed-circuit television cameras for under-ice operations.^[4]

Upon completion of her modifications in 1991, Parche began a new mission as part of Submarine Development Squadron 5. She resumed operations in the Pacific Fleet in 1992.^{[citation needed]}

Parche was transferred to a new home port, Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor, Washington, in November 1994.^{[citation needed]}

Parche may have recovered Chinese missile fragments. During the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1995 and 1996, the People's Republic of China launched DF-21 and DF-15 ballistic missiles into the sea surrounding Taiwan to deter Taiwan from moving toward independence; Robert Karniol writes: "I suspect that "the Parche might have gone after these Chinese missile fragments", and "I suspect that Beijing gave away some useful missile secrets."^[8]

Decommissioning and disposal

Parche returns to port for the last time at Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor, Washington, on 20 September 2004.

On 19 October 2004, a decommissioning ceremony took place at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington; she was officially decommissioned on 18 July 2005 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. The wardroom of the oldest submarine in the fleet carries Richard O'Kane's personal cribbage board, and upon Parche's decommissioning the board was transferred to the next oldest boat: USS Los Angeles (SSN-688).^[9] Her scrapping at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard via the Ship and Submarine Recycling Program was completed on 30 November 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Parche's research and development duties were assumed by Jimmy Carter, a Seawolf-class submarine whose construction period was extended to include modifications that will allow her to carry out the same types of research and development.^[4] According to Robert Karniol, Jimmy Carter in succeeding Parche, has become "Washington's premier spy submarine."^{[citation needed]}

Military awards

As of 2007, Parche was said to be "the most highly decorated vessel in U.S. history", receiving a total of nine Presidential Unit Citations and ten Navy Unit Commendations. The submarine also received thirteen Navy Expeditionary Medals and thirteen awards of the Battle Efficiency Award during her thirty years of service.^[2]

Commemoration

Parche's sail in the downtown waterfront park at Bremerton, Washington.^(discuss)

Parche's sail was preserved. It was moved from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to the maritime park near Puget Sound Navy Museum in downtown Bremerton.^[10] The sail is decorated with stripes for the unit awards and ribbons:^[11]

E	N	DC	T	M	E	C	E	[Crossed Anchors]	683
Battle Efficiency (14)	Navigation Excellence (10)	Damage Control Excellence (9)	Tactical Proficiency Excellence, submarines (8)	Medical Department (8)	Engineering and Damage Control Excellence (7)	Communications Excellence (7)	Supply Excellence (7)	Deck Seamanship Excellence (6)	Presidential Unit Citation (9)
									Navy Unit Commendation (10)	Navy Battle "E" (15)	Navy Expeditionary Medal (13)

Notes

1. "United States Navy > Resources > Blogs".
2. Tinoko, PO2 Maebel (29 August 2007). "USS Parche Dedicates Sail to Puget Sound Navy Museum NNS070828-19". Navy News Service. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
3. Larson, Caleb (21 March 2021). "Meet the USS Parche—the Most Decorate U.S. Vessel Ever". The National Interest.
4. Sontag, S.; Drew, C.; Drew, A. L. (1998). Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage. Harper. ISBN 0-06-103004-X.
5. Sherry Sontag; Christopher Drew (3 October 2000). Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-097771-9. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
6. Norman Friedman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-55750-260-5. Retrieved 20 April 2013 – via Google Books.
7. Campbell, Duncan (April 1999). "Interception Capabilities 2000". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
8. Robert Karniol, 5 May 2008 printed edition of The Straits Times, p.22; subscription required website: StraitsTimes.com; Karnior bases his assertion on the 1998 book Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage
9. "USS Los Angeles Embarks With a Piece of Submarine History". United States Navy. 16 May 2007.
10. Friedrich, Ed (22 July 2016). "Former Parche sailors' best stories can't be told". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
11. "Sail of the USS Parche". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 22 September 2022.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Parche (SSN-683)

External links

• Federation of American Scientists
• Red November, Inside the Secret U.S. Soviet Submarine War