USS Skate

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 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.