View source for USS Sand Lance (SSN-660)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Sand Lance}}

{{more footnotes needed|date=September 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Sand Lance (SSN-660) at Charleston.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Sand Lance'' (SSN-660) in [[Charleston Harbor]] off [[Charleston, South Carolina]], with [[Fort Sumter]] in the background.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1998}}
|Ship name= USS ''Sand Lance'' (SSN-660)
|Ship namesake=The [[sand lance]]
|Ship ordered= 24 October 1963
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder= [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]], [[Kittery, Maine]]
|Ship original cost=
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|Ship laid down= 15 January 1965
|Ship launched= 11 November 1969
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Thomas J. McIntyre
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned= 25 September 1971
|Ship decommissioned= 7 August 1998
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 7 August 1998
|Ship reinstated=
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|Ship honours= Awarded Navy Unit Commendation and Navy Expeditionary Medal in 1979 for Special Operations conducted that same year.
|Ship fate= Scrapping via [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] begun 1 April 1998, completed 30 August 1999
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=[[File:Insignia of SSN-660 Sand Lance.PNG|200px]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class= [[Sturgeon class submarine|''Sturgeon''-class]] [[attack submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|4031|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|4323|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|31|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draft= {{convert|29|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship power=15,000 [[shaft horsepower]] (11.2 [[megawatt]]s)
|Ship propulsion= One [[S5W reactor|S5W]] [[nuclear reactor]], two [[steam turbine]]s, one [[Propeller (marine)|screw]]
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|Ship test depth={{convert|1300|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=107 (12 [[Commissioned officer|officers]], 95 [[Enlisted man|enlisted men]])
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|Ship armament=4 × {{convert|21|in|mm|0|adj=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
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'''USS ''Sand Lance'' (SSN-660)''', a [[Sturgeon class submarine|''Sturgeon''-class]] [[attack submarine]], was the second ship and the second submarine of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[sand lance]], a member of the family [[Ammodytidae]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.usssandlancessn660.com/historicalrecords.html|title=Historical Records (SSN660)|last=swanm|website=usssandlancessn660.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-25}}</ref>

==Construction and commissioning==
{{stack|[[File:USS Sand Lance (SSN-660)2.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|''Sand Lance'' under construction at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine, with temporary safety railings rigged around her [[Deck (ship)|deck]]. The external fairing on the lower [[Hull (ship)|hull]] was temporary, designed to provide added [[buoyancy]] for her [[Bow (ship)|bow]] and avoid excessive strain on her [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]] during her [[Ship naming and launching|launching]].]]}}
The contract to build ''Sand Lance'' was awarded to [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]] at [[Kittery, Maine]], on 24 October 1963 and her [[keel]] was laid down there on 15 January 1965.  She was [[Ship naming and launching#United States|launched]] on 11 November 1969, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas J. McIntyre, and [[Ship commissioning#United States Navy|commissioned]] on 25 September 1971. ''Sand Lance'' was the last ship to be constructed for the Navy at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

==Service history==
On the day of her commissioning, ''Sand&nbsp;Lance''{{'}}s [[home port]] was changed from Portsmouth to [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. She spent the remainder of 1971 on [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]]. She operated in the Charleston area for the whole of 1972, then, in February 1973, stood out of Charleston for special operations.  She returned to Charleston on 21 April 1973, remained in port until 11 June 1973, and then departed again on special operations.  She completed these operations in August 1973 and put in at [[HMNB Clyde|Faslane Naval Base]], Scotland, on 13 August 1973.  ''Sand&nbsp;Lance'' left Faslane on 20 August 1973 and arrived in Charleston on 5 September 1973. Sand Lance was sent to the Mediterranean to monitor shipping going through the Straits of Gibraltar during the [[Yom Kippur War]]. She then operated out of Charleston in the western Atlantic Ocean and [[Caribbean Sea]] through at least June 1974. She went through overhaul at the [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] in 1975 and 1976 (15 months).

{{Expand section| history from 1976 to 1987|date=August 2017}}

In 1987, ''Sand&nbsp;Lance'' completed Law Enforcement Operations in the Caribbean Sea and was transferred to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery Maine for a refueling overhaul, replacement of propeller (screw), and upgrades to hull coatings. She underwent sea trials in 1990 and returned to active service out of Charleston, SC.

{{Expand section|history from 1990 to 1994|date=August 2017}}

In 1991, ''Sand Lance'' was deployed for six months as part of the UNITAS task force around South America. She traveled through the Panama Canal and around the southernmost tip of South America.

From October 1993 to March 1994 ''Sand Lance'' was on a Mediterranean Sea Deployment and called on ports at Naples, Italy; Monte Carlo, Monaco; U.S. Naval Support Activity Base Santo Stefano Island, Italy; Toulon, France, and Gibraltar.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/search.php?search_uid=133451&page_limit=192&viewtype=1|title=Photo search - ShipSpotting.com - Ship Photos and Ship Tracker|website=shipspotting.com|access-date=2018-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08660.htm|title=Submarine Photo Index|website=navsource.org|access-date=2018-08-25}}</ref>

In 1994 ''Sand&nbsp;Lance'', while moored at Charleston – almost sank next to the [[pier]] ahead of one of her [[sister ship]]s, the attack submarine {{USS|Grayling|SSN-646}}, due to flooding in the [[engine room]]'s lower level when a main seawater hull valve was being removed for maintenance. Plates, called blanks, had been placed over her hull penetrations by [[Underwater diving|divers]] to avoid flooding during removal of the valve but had been placed over the wrong main seawater openings. The flooding was stopped, but not before most of the engine room's lower level was flooded.

{{Expand section|history from 1994 to 1998|date=January 2010}}

In 1995, ''Sand Lance'' left [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] and relocated to a new homeport in [[Groton, Connecticut]], where she became a member of Submarine Squadron 2.

In 1996, ''Sand Lance'' was sent on a patrol to the [[Arctic Circle]]. While there, the submarine surfaced through the polar ice cap at the [[North Pole]] on 12 July.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
''Sand&nbsp;Lance'' was [[ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 7 August 1998 and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] at [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]] in [[Bremerton, Washington]], began on 1 April 1998 and was completed on 30 August 1999.

Sand Lance's Maneuvering Room Consoles, which were used to control the engines, electrical systems and nuclear reactor were displayed at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in Washington, D.C., and are now stored there in the event of future exhibits involving nuclear submarines.<ref>{{cite web |title=Submarine Power and Propulsion |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/subs/operating/propulsion/index.html |website=American History |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sand-lance-ii.html}}
*{{Naval Vessel Register|{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=SSN660}}}}
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08660.htm NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Sand Lance (SSN-660)]

{{Sturgeon class submarine}}
{{1994 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sand Lance (Ssn-660)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Kittery, Maine]]
[[Category:Sturgeon-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:1969 ships]]
[[Category:United States submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1994]]