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Port Visit of USS Greenfish (SS-351) to Århus, Denmark, 1971
The nuclear-capable submarine USS Greenfish (SS-351)
visited Århus, Denmark, on July 22-26, 1971. The submarine operated as
part of a so-called submarine hunter-killer group together with the
aircraft carrier
USS
Intrepid (CVS-11), which visited Copenhagen at about the same time.
The USS Greenfish's visit to Denmark occurred only three years after the
crash of a U.S. nuclear-armed B-52 aircraft in Greenland, after which
Danish governments have insisted -- even to this day -- that the United
States knew of and abided by Denmark's ban on nuclear weapons on its
territory. Yet U.S. Navy documents clearly show what many have expected
but Danish governments have always rejected without investigating: the
USS Greenfish on-loaded nuclear weapons prior to its port visit to
Denmark.
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USS
Greenfish (SS-351) Underway |
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The nuclear-armed attack submarine USS
Greenfish (SS-351) visited Århus, Denmark, in 1971 in
violation of Danish policy against nuclear weapons on its
territory. |
The 1971 Deployment
USS Greenfish departed the submarine base at Groton on
April 16 enroute Lisbon, Portugal. The submarine operated as part of
Anti-Submarine Warfare Group Four, and while underway the submarine
conducted Hunter-Killer-Group operations. After a brief visit to Lisbon,
USS Greenfish took part in NATO exercise Rusty Razor in the Eastern
Atlantic, after which it sailed to Plymouth in southern England.
After Portsmouth the USS Greenfish sailed south again
and arrived in Rota, Spain, before transferring to the Sixth Fleet in
the Mediterranean Sea. In Rota the submarine moored alongside the
submarine tender USS Holland (AS-32) for briefings, fuel and liberty.
Also alongside the submarine tender were the two strategic submarines
USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619) and USS Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617).
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Mk-45 ASTOR |
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The nuclear-only Mk-45 ASTOR (Anti-Submarine
Torpedo) onboard the USS Greenfish (SS-351) carried a W34
warhead with a yield of 10-15 kilotons. The weapon was
wire-guided and had a range of 10-12 miles. These factors gave
rise to the joke that ASTOR had a "kill probability" of two: its
target and its launcher. |
While moored alongside USS Holland, the USS Greenfish
conducted a temporary service to one of its nuclear torpedoes. An entry in the submarine's deck log (see
figure below) shows
that one Mk-45 ASTOR (Anti-Submarine TORpedo) torpedo was offloaded at
8:30 on the morning of Saturday, May 29, 1971, presumably onto the USS
Holland for repair. The offloaded torpedo had
register number 145569. At 14:30 in the afternoon, shortly before USS
Greenfish was scheduled to leave Rota, the same Mk-45 ASTOR torpedo
(register number 145569) was brought back onboard the submarine. Thirty-three
minutes later, the USS Greenfish departed Rota enroute, first, the
Mediterranean Sea followed by operations in the North Atlantic and a
port visit to Denmark.
The first part of the operations in the Mediterranean
Sea involved maneuvers with Six Fleet Ready Forces, and, after a port
visit to Naples in Italy, Operation Constellation 71. This was a major
exercise that involved a major portion of the entire Sixth Fleet.
After a visit to France and Spain, USS Greenfish left
the Mediterranean Sea and headed north into the North Atlantic and a
port visit to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This was supposed to have
been the last visit before heading back to the United States, but the
submarine that was scheduled to relieve USS Greenfish had been delayed.
To fill the two-week extended cruise, a decision was made to transit on
the surface from Rotterdam to Århus in Denmark, where USS Greenfish
arrived on July 22. Also arriving in Denmark was the relieving
submarine, the
USS Sirago (SS-485), which conducted turnover while inport
Århus.
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USS Greenfish
(SS-351) Loads Nuclear Weapons Prior to Denmark |
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On May 29, 1971, while inport Rota, Spain, the
USS Greenfish (SS-351) offloaded an Mk-45 ASTOR nuclear torpedo
and later brought the same ASTOR back onboard shortly before departing Rota for
operations in the Mediterranean Sea and Northern Europe. Two
months after ASTOR torpedo #145569 was brought onboard, USS
Greenfish arrived in Århus, Denmark. (Click on the image to
download full page from the submarine's deck log.) |
USS Greenfish departed Århus on July 26 and sailed
straight back to Groton, CT, where it arrived on August 5. A few weeks
after the return to the United States, U.S. Navy inspectors arrive to
begin training the crew for its upcoming periodic nuclear weapons
certification inspection.
During September and October, the ship underwent a
Technical Standardization Inspection (TSI) and a Navy Technical
Proficiency Inspection (NTPI). Both inspections "were completed in this
small time frame with outstanding results and praise for the
performance, attitude and moral of the crew." As a result, USS
Greenfish's certification to carry nuclear ASTOR torpedoes was extended.
Return to Denmark in 1972
The USS Greenfish returned to Northern Europe and
Denmark (as well as Norway) again in 1972. Both in 1972 and 1973, the
submarine continued operating with the ASTOR nuclear torpedo and
regularly trained for and passed the demanding nuclear certification
inspections given to ships that were assigned nuclear weapons missions.
Indeed, the USS Greenfish appears to have carried nuclear weapons all
the way through to its last weapons offload prior to stand-down and
decommissioning in December 1973.
Declassified details of USS Greenfish's nuclear
operations during the 1971, 1972 and 1973 are listed in the table below:
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USS
Greenfish (SS-351)
Nuclear Operations During 1971-1973 |
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Date |
Description & Remarks |
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02/27/71 |
Arrive in Groton, CT, following completion of
shipyard period. |
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04/16/71 |
Departs
Groton, CT, for extended deployment in the Mediterranean and
Northern Europe as a unit of COMASWGRU FOUR. |
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04/29-05/02/71 |
Inport
Lisbon, Portugal, followed by NATO exercise Rusty Razor. |
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05/12-14/71 |
Inport
Plymouth, England, followed by joint operations with
Portuguese and Spanish navies. |
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05/21-30/71 |
Inport Rota, Spain. Moored alongside USS
Holland (AS-32). Also present is USS Andrew Jackson
(SSBN-619) and USS Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617) [Deck Log]
Deck Log:
(05/29) 8:30 Offloaded one MK 45 torpedo register number
145569. 14:00 On-loaded one MK 45 torpedo register number
145569. 14:33 Underway.
Departed 30 May IAW COMSUBLANT OPORD 11-71 for Northern
Europe and port visit to Denmark. |
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06/07-11/71 |
Inport Naples, Italy, for “Constellation 71.” |
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06/19-24/71 |
Inport Nice, France, for sonar evaluation
exercises. |
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06/30-07/07/71 |
Inport Palma, Spain. |
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07/12-19/71 |
Inport Rotterdam, Netherlands. |
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07/22-26/71 |
Port visit
to Århus, Denmark, for turnover and relief. Also
inport is USS Sirago (SS-485). |
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08/05/71 |
Returned to
Groton, CT. |
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09/27-10/15/71 |
During this
period the ship underwent a Technical Standardization
Inspection (TSI) and a Navy Technical Proficiency
Inspection (NTPI). The inspections "were completed in
this small time frame with outstanding results and praise
for the performance, attitude and moral of the crew." |
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11/22/71 |
Enters
dry-dock ARD-7 in Groton, CT, presumably proceeded by a
weapons offload. [Note: this dry dock events is not listed in the deck
log.] |
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07/10/72 |
Departs
Groton, CT, for Northern Europe cruise with NATO exercises
IAW COMSUBLANT OPORD19-72. |
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07/25-31/72 |
Port visit
to Århus, Denmark. Also present is USS McCloy
(FF-1038). |
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08/18-21/72 |
Inport
Trondheim, Norway. |
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10/19-30/72 |
Port visit
to Kiel, West Germany. Also present is USS New
(DD-818). [Deck Log] |
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11/10/72 |
Return to
Groton, CT. |
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11/27/72 |
Inport Groton, CT, where a torpedo offload/onload
took place.
Deck Log:
Loaded and offload several conventional torpedoes and loaded
one MK 45 MOD 0 torpedo register number 154866. |
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02/23/73 |
Inport NAD [NWS] Earle, NJ, for nuclear
weapons exchange.
Deck Log:
11:30 Commenced loading and off-loading torpedoes. 13:00
Completed loading and off-loading torpedoes. Loaded 2 MK 45
MOD 2 torpedoes register numbers 158743 and 154832. Off-loaded 2 MK 45 MOD 2 torpedoes register numbers 154884
and 150807. |
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03/21/72 |
At NAD [NWS] Earle, NJ, for torpedo transfer.
Deck Log:
10:00 Commenced off loading torpedoes and loading
torpedoes. 11:30 Completed transferring torpedoes. Torpedoes register No. 154770 and 145584 offloaded. Torpedoes register No. 150807 and 154844 onloaded. |
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02/23/73 |
In NAD [NWS]
Earle, NJ. |
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07/11-13/73 |
Underwent a Technical Standardization
Inspection (TSI).
Deck Log:
(07/12) 8:30 Col. J.R. Smith, USA Field Command, Defense
Nuclear Agency accompanied by members of his staff came
aboard and commenced Technical Standardization Inspection. (07/13) 11:30 Off loaded 1 MK 45 MOD 2 torpedo register
number 158745. 12:30 Col. J.R. Smith, USA, Field Command,
Defense Nuclear Agency and his staff departed. |
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08/02-03/73 |
Navy
Technical Proficiency Inspection (NTPI). |
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08/10/73 |
Inport NAD [NWS]
Earle, NJ, before stand-down and preparation for
decommissioning.
Deck Log:
8:15 Commenced offloading torpedoes. 8:30 Completed
offloading torpedoes. Offloaded two MK 45 MOD 2 torpedoes
register no. 154832 and 158743. |
(Use navigation bar to
read other aspects of US-Danish nuclear relations.)
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