On October 13, 1965 the USS BARB (SSN 595) and USS SARGO (SSN 583) collided while maneuvering at about 300 feet and about 50 miles off of Oahu. Both ships sustained minor damage. Jerry Rupp EM2(SS) (1964 – 1965) recalls the collision: “We were on the way back to Pearl when we received a message to penetrate an ongoing ASW exercise and remain undetected. It was raining like cats and dogs at the time, which made it difficult for the sonar men, as well as being limited in what could be seen through the scope. I was off watch at the time and was hanging around the control room. We were running at periscope depth. I remember the OD looking through the scope, and saying something like "Oh my God, there's a sub on the surface dead ahead of us". The Captain jumped up, took one look through the scope, said "I have the con.........all ahead full.......full dive both planes".....then he lowered the scope. We started down at quite an angle, everyone being very quiet and just listening. The first thing I recall is what sounded like the hull scraping against a buoy cable. Then, all at once, there was this terrible sound of metal being ripped apart and we rolled over on our side at dang near 90 degrees. I was hanging on the railing around the conning tower to keep from falling down, with my eyes riveted on the digital depth gauge, which was spinning like crazy. The old man sounded the collision alarm and made an announcement. Then he got on the UQC and told everyone to get out of our way, that we were coming up. We were still going down when they emergency blew the ballast tanks. Our decent slowed.......the old girl started shuddering, and finally, from around test depth, she started up.....and I mean up we went a hellin'. "Luckily, we didn't hit anything on the way or when we reached the surface. When we finally did surface, they tried to open the trunk hatch to the bridge, but it wouldn't budge. They opened the drain valve, and water was gushing out, so they closed it. The Captain decided to try and go through the torpedo room hatch, and asked for volunteers to accompany the previous OD topside to assess damages. I couldn't volunteer fast enough, wanting to get my butt up in some fresh air. The OD, myself and a couple other guys who I don't remember their names went topside through the torpedo room hatch. The collision occurred just behind the hatch, where it took out the entire superstructure, then bounced up and caught the front of the sail. It sheared off the trunk bridge hatch, filling the trunk with water, and then took out the whole front half of the sail, back about as far as the induction mast. "They came out from Pearl, covered us up with tarps, closed off the lower base and escorted us in under wraps. It was all hush-hush, and we weren't to talk with anyone about the incident. As it turns out, the sub on the surface was NOT the Barb. As I recall, it was a diesel boat, but don't remember her name. What we didn't know was that the Barb was running along below her. As we were making our decent at about 45 degrees, the Barb runs straight into us, catching us just behind the torpedo room hatch, then bouncing up into the sail. "A pretty exciting time, and I was real happy when I planted my feet on the pier. I recall nursing a few too many cocktails that night.......for medicinal purposes....LOL. Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it."

Roger A. Felthous MM2(SS) (1964 – 1967) recalls the collision: “My bunk was the upper most in the bridal suite in the Forward Torpedo Room (the two across ship bunks). I was off watch and reading a book on the mezzanine for the bunks lying under the non-shielded double screws on a torpedo rack. BARB hit us forward of the sail over the Forward Torpedo Room. I heard and felt the initial crushing of the superstructure above me, which was followed by the scraping sound of the BARB hitting the sail with her screw. When BARB hit the sail, we rocked over. Before the collision I believe we were on an up angle (no sure but I thought we were nearing scope depth. We went into a fast backslide downward. She was sliding and sliding and sliding and slidiiiiing. It was definitely DOWN. At this time I was saying "Oh shit" to myself with thoughts of not returning to port. The emergence blow was initiated and she shuttered for a while. The girl them caught hold and we went up fast. When we finally made it to the surface we bobbed like a fishing cork when you have a bite (but slower). This was probably the greatest sense of relief I have ever felt in my life. “The experience left me with two vivid impressions: Thank God the Torpedomen knew how to lash down the fish or I would have looked like I had been in a knife fight with my guts hanging out. The ultimate relief feeling of bobbing on the surface. “Some other points of interest from my own personal knowledge and from other shipmates: On the down slide the depth gauge read in excess of 600 ft. But that was not a big deal in those days as we routinely transited at 600 ft. The Reactor Operator had the rods out making 125% power. But I was Lead ELT and had made chemistry adjustments for sustained home-bound runs at greater than 100%. The forward superstructure was crushed to the hull and the upper Forward Torpedo Room hatch sheared off. The sail was well bent to the side. (I think the upper Control Room hatch was missing) We returned to port under our own power. We were secure but a little banged up. When we hit the pier and the brow was across, one of the IC-man picked a piece of the BARB's screw out of the sail and crossed the brow declaring "I am disqualifying myself" and I don't think we ever saw him again. So somewhere, there is a piece of the BARB's screw on someone’s mantel. “The following may or may not be fact but true to the best of my knowledge: I think the BARB was surfacing (from a neighbor). We were preparing for a run. In those days the waters around HI was divided into sectors and everybody knew who and what was in the sector. BUT if you were preparing for a run you did not have the same restrictions and you could spy on your buddies. So the BARB may or may not have known the SARGO was in the sector. The scuttlebutt was that the BARB was in our baffles and we could not hear her. But that does not explain why she did not hear us. The Inquiry did not lay blame and was the result of "an act of GOD" to the best of my knowledge.”