, March 1958
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.
First visit to North Pole On 30 July,
Skate sought the Arctic where she operated under the ice for 10 days. During this time, she surfaced nine times through the ice, navigated over under it, and on 11 August, 9:47 pm EDT (the week after ) became the second sea ship to reach the North Pole.
Skate was unable to surface precisely at the Pole on the August voyage due to dangerous ice conditions as noted in the captain's 1960 book,
Surface at the Pole: The Extraordinary Voyages of the USS Skate, where Calvert said, "Seldom had the ice seemed so heavy and so thick as it did in the immediate vicinity of the pole. For days we had searched in vain for a suitable opening to surface in." The closest was to make radio contact at the surface from a
polynya around 30
nm away, but not to surface fully owing to the risk of damage from ice. The submarine made port calls in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France before returning to New London on 25 September 1958. In recognition of the dangerous and historic feat, the
Skate and its crew were given the
Navy Unit Commendation award for "... braving the hazards of the polar ice pack...."
Second visit to North Pole While the
Skate was unable to surface on its first voyage to the pole, on 17 March 1959, she became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole. Calvert described the historic moment in his book, saying, "Slowly we blew the tanks and the
Skate moved reluctantly upward. It was apparent we were under heavier ice here than any we had experienced before." While at the pole, Calvert and the crew planted an American flag in a cairn they built out of ice blocks, and put a waterproof container in the cairn with a note commemorating the event. The crew also held a ceremony for the late Arctic explorer
Sir Hubert Wilkins and committed his ashes at the pole. In 1931, Sir Hubert had conducted an Arctic expedition in the disarmed research submarine
Nautilus (ex-). After reaching the Pole, the
Skate continued its mission to pioneer arctic operations during periods of extreme cold and maximum ice thickness. When the submarine returned to port, she was awarded a bronze star in lieu of a second
Navy Unit Commendation for demonstrating "for the first time the ability of submarines to operate in and under the Arctic ice in the dead of winter". In the fall of 1959 and in 1960,
Skate participated in exercises designed to strengthen American antisubmarine defenses.
Skate returned to General Dynamics in January 1961 for a regular
overhaul and to have her reactor refueled for the first time. She put to sea in August and, for the next 11 months, conducted exercises to increase the operational readiness of her crew.
Third visit to North Pole On 7 July 1962,
Skate again set course towards the
North Pole. Five days later, , did likewise from
Pearl Harbor. The two submarines made their rendezvous on 31 July. After meeting, they operated together for over a week. Both submarines surfaced at the North Pole on 2 August and official greetings and insignia of Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet and Submarine Force Pacific Fleet were exchanged.
Later years Skate returned to New London and performed fleet and local operations for the next several years. She entered the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 28 April 1965, the first nuclear submarine overhauled there, for nuclear refueling and installation of the
SUBSAFE package.
Skate was the first submarine to finish this major conversion program, which was instituted after the loss of in 1963. The process was not completed until September 1967. After sea trials and a shakedown cruise in the
Caribbean, the submarine returned to New London and participated in exercises involved in the development of new undersea tactics and equipment. In October 1968,
Skate was deployed to the
Mediterranean where she operated with the Sixth Fleet for two months. The polar veteran operated under the Arctic ice again in March and April 1969, in October 1970, and in February 1971 . The remainder of her at sea time was spent in various Atlantic Fleet and
NATO exercises. In July 1971, she began her third regular overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and did not return to New London until 17 November 1973. In August 1974,
Skate operated as a unit of the Atlantic Fleet. In late 1977,
Skate transferred to Pearl Harbor, where she joined the other three
Skate-class submarines as a member of Submarine Squadron 7.
Decommissioning Skate was decommissioned on 12 September 1986, stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register on 30 October 1986, and disposed of by
submarine recycling at
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 6 March 1995. ==Awards==