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The following article was printed in the February 1961 edition [Vol. 10, No. 2 / NavShips 250-200] of the Bureau of Ships Journal: USS SARGO Repaired

"To speed up repairs on the nuclear-powered submarine USS Sargo (SSN 583). Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard provided a direct and easy access to the stern room by cutting out a section of her hull. A platform erected outside this opening for plans, telephone, tools, and material, saved many steps and valuable time. "The Sargo's stern room was damaged by fire on 14 June 1960, while the submarine was taking on oxygen at her berth in Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor. The stern of the submarine was submerged to cut off the blaze and to cool the area where the fire was concentrated. "Within a few days after the accident, the Sargo's stern room was almost completely stripped of equipment and sandblasted. New insulation and a fresh coat of paint improved its appearance. A thorough inspection made after cleaning, revealed that the damage was not as extensive as was originally feared. "Repairs progressed according to schedule with shipyard workers busily reinstalling cables and piping. All major equipments were put back in place and the large hull patch was reinstalled. The Sargo's repairs were completed by the end of September 1960."

In January the USS SARGO deployed to the Western Pacific and operated as a member of the U.S. Seventh Fleet. During this deployment the USS SARGO participated in various exercises to further the anti-submarine warfare readiness of Hunter/Killer Groups. From May 8th to the 13th USS SARGO visited Sydney, Australia in conjunction with the 19th Annual Coral Sea Celebration.

Courtesy John Nicholson

The USS SARGO (SSN 583) arriving in Sydney, Australia.

Courtesy Newport Archives - Vintage Press Photos

The USS SARGO (SSN 583) arriving in Sydney, Australia.

The following article was printed in the May 09 1961 edition of the Sydney Herald: The U.S.S. Sargo berths at Garden Island SYDNEY VISIT BY U.S. ATOMIC SUB.

"The U.S. atomic submarine Sargo arrived in Sydney yesterday for a five-day goodwill visit. "It berthed soon after the American destroyers Gurke and Rowan left after attending Coral Sea Week celebrations. "Before entering Sydney Harbour, the Sargo met the two destroyers off the heads."

Tom J. Hansen YN2(SS) (1959 to 1962):

Courtesy Tom Hansen		Courtesy Tom Hansen
Tom Hansen's Domain of the Golden Dragon Card (presented when the ship crosses the International Date Line).		Tom Hansen's Shellback Card (presented when the ship crosses the Equator).

Jim “Sammy” Baugh ET2(SS) (1959 to 1962) passed along this sea story from the trip to Sydney, Australia:

“I was standing radio watches by the time we went to Australia in 1961. We were scheduled to have some sort of exercise with the Aussie surface craft on the way to Sydney. I had the radio at the time and had no problem hooking up with the Aussies. I wasn’t prepared for their use of Q signals. There is an extensive set of Q codes that are abbreviations for various standard communications, eg QTH means location. They drove me nuts with that because the U.S. seldom used them. I was constantly looking up the codes in the book before I could reply, in the mean time, they are asking if I got the message! Anyway, we managed and proceded to conduct the exercise. We had a seabag full of baseball bats and other equipment that was stored in an outboard passage in the engine room, leaning against an electrical cabinet. While at periscope depth we took some rolls and the seabag fell over and tripped a circuit breaker that led to a reactor scram. I don’t know if the Aussies had any suspicions about us about us or not, but we finally made our way into Sydney harbor. That was before they built the opera house but the bridge was there. We were there about a week for the Coral Sea Celebration and it was great! I remember that someone, maybe a QM, had hooked up with a young lady who told him she would call for him the next day. Surprise, surprise, that meant she came down to the boat looking for him. He though she meant calling him on the telephone. That led to some interesting minutes. On the down from Subic, we ran between New Guinea and New Britain on the surface. I got to go up on the bridge for a few minutes and it was very interesting view, even though we weren’t close enough to see much detail.”

In a note received in July, 2010 Keith L. Bumsted, YN2(SS) (1960 – 1962) shared this sea story:

"It's been somewhat amusing over the years to look over the various web pages about SARGO and see the euphemistic descriptions posted as to what we were doing. Training cruises and routine deployments to Westpac are listed, but there was (as I'm sure you know) always far more adventure than that, and I suppose it's in everyone's interest not to disclose what we were really doing. "As the junior Yeoman in the ship's office, I typed all the patrol reports, kept the personnel records for all crew members including the officers and "visitors" (spooks), and served as the ship's paymaster. It was always an adventure to strap on my .45 caliber pistol and go to the paymaster's office on the sub base in Pearl and draw two months cash pay for all crewmembers prior to Westpac deployments. Much of the payroll in those days was in $2 bills, for whatever reason I never knew, and walk back to the boat and have payday on the day before deployment. "For single crewmembers, the cash was mostly kept on the ship, and it would take about 2-3 weeks after leaving Pearl for the money to be redistributed to the good poker players, mostly the Philippinos working the Officers mess. The older, more experienced crew members who did not play poker would then serve as loan sharks to advance funds (often at high interest rates) to the losers so they'd have a little money for liberty in Subic Bay. I don't know if that sort of thing went on after I left in 1962, but it certainly did in the 1960-62 time period when we deployed three times to Westpac."

CHANGE OF COMMAND

In April, 1961 LCDR Paul J. Early reported aboard USS SARGO as prospective Commanding Officer, joining the boat while she was deployed in the Western Pacific. The picture on the left below shows the young LCDR Early at the planes while USS SARGO was enroute in May from Australia to Pearl Harbor, HI. On May 27, 1961 LCDR John H. Nicholson was relieved as Commanding Officer by LCDR Paul J. Early.

Courtesy Paul Early		Courtesy Paul Early
LCDR Paul Early at the Planes.		LCDR Paul J. Early

In June and July the USS SARGO conducted local operations and a short overhaul period. In August and September the SARGO conducted an extensive training cruise in Pacific waters. The USS SARGO conducted an upkeep in Pearl Harbor during the month of October.

Courtesy Paul Early

On 04 Oct 1961 USS SARGO (SSN 583) was awarded her first Battle Effeciency "E": for the period July 1960 to June 1961. The "E" was won in competition with submarines in Submarine Division SEVENTY-ONE.

Courtesy Paul Early		Courtesy Paul Early
Presentation of the Battle Effeciency "E" by Division Commander CAPT Michael Moore.		Presentation of the Battle Effeciency "E" by Division Commander CAPT Michael Moore.

In November, the USS SARGO transited to and from San Diego, CA participating in a naval demonstration for the Chief of Naval Operations and foreign attaches. On 09 Dec 1961 LCDR Paul J. Early, Commanding Officer was awarded the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Letter of Commendation for his performance of duty as Commanding Officer.

Courtesy Paul Early		Courtesy Paul Early
RADM Roy Benson presenting LCDR Paul Early the COMPACFLT Commendation.		From Left to Right: RADM Benson COMSUBPAC; LCDR E. Hanson, PICKEREL; LCDR P. Early, SARGO; LCDR McKenzie, GUDGEON; CAPT L. Benard, COMSUBRON SEVEN.

USS SARGO finished the year on holiday leave and conducting an upkeep period in Pearl Harbor.

Courtesy Paul Early

A copy of the Christmas Menu.