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Welcome to the homepage of the USS Cusk (SS-348,
SSG-348, SS-348 and AGSS-348).
This webpage contains the history of this famous submarine in pictures, sounds,
videos, documents, stories and memorabilia from her 24 years of service.
Those of us who sailed this great ship are very proud to share it all with you. We hope you
enjoy your visit, and that you learn something interesting about the world's
first missile submarine.
LATEST
CUSK NEWSLETTERS NOW AVAILABLE FOR
VIEWING AND DOWNLOAD!
CLICK HERE for the "Newsletter" PAGE
Cusk
Crewmembers recently departed on Eternal Patrol:

Greg Czech,
6 April 2013
Go to the
Cusk Eternal Patrol page to see Greg's obituary
Clay Gatlin, 6 September 2012
Dewayne
Mobley, 15 August 2012
I was that
which others did not wish to be.
I went where
others feared to go, and did what others failed to do.
I asked nothing
from those who gave nothing and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal
loneliness should I fail.
I have seen the
face of terror, felt the stinging cold fear, and enjoyed the sweet taste of a
moments love.
But most of all
I have lived times others would say were best forgotten.
At least some
day I will be able to say, I was proud of what I was and always will be, one of
the few, that happy band of brothers............
A SUBMARINER.
Details, pictures and
obituaries may be found on
the "Eternal Patrol" page.
USS Cusk 2014 Reunion
Deadwood, South Dakota
September 7 to 11, 2014
More details coming soon!
FREE!
USS Cusk Dive Ringtone. Click here for details.
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SIGHTS & SOUNDS OF THE CUSK
Listen to actual recordings of the
Cusk diving, going to 150', conversing over the underwater
telephone (UQC-8), returning to 100', setting Condition Baker",
returning to periscope depth, and surfacing.
"Clear the Bridge, clear the Bridge"
Dive!
Dive!
Listen as XO Tommy Sawyer commands the Cusk to submerge. Quartermaster Lee Krabill counts
out the men coming down from the bridge and engineering officer John Troutman closes the
hatch and reports, "Last man down, Sir!"
WHAT'S THE MOST
LOVED SOUND ON A SUBMARINE?

Click on buttons to hear the sounds, or visit the "Sounds
& Video"
page for more
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2014
Cusk
Reunion
September 9 to 13
Deadwood, South Dakota
Information coming soon!
Last Reunion: September 9 to 13, 2012
Sheldon, Washington
Pictures coming soon!

Visit the
"Reunions"
page for more information |
THE MOVIE ABOUT THE CUSK

"The Flying Missile"
This movie was made about the USS
Cusk in 1950 starring Glenn Ford and Viveca
Lindfors. Ford plays the fictitious Commander Talbot, a submarine captain who was
determined to show that missiles could be
launched from submarines.
This movie uses actual film footage
from some of he Cusk's early missile launches, as well as footage of launches from the USS Tunny (SS-282) and the USS
Carbonero (SS-337). These missile launches took place
off-shore of the Point Mugu, California test site where the Cusk also made her famous first launch.
Visit the "1950"
page for more information
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Cusk Makes
National News!

Parade Magazine article about the Cusk
January 11, 1953 - the article was about the Navy's new long range
weapon system. Few imagined that this would be the birth of today's
Trident ballistic, and Tomahawk cruise missile submarine weapon systems.
Visit the
"1953"
page for more recordings and footage |
"Down the
Way"
The USS Cusk is launched, July 28,
1945

The Cusk slides down the way at Electric
Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut
Visit the
"1945"
page
for more pictures & information |
HOT, STRAIGHT, AND NORMAL

This picture was taken May 5, 1953 as the
Cusk fired an exercise torpedo at the USS McDermott, DD-677. A
small arrow can be seen on the left center of the picture showing the
location of the nose of the torpedo - clearly, a solid hit amidships had
this been a warshot torpedo fired at an enemy ship.
Visit the
"1953"
page
for more pictures & information |
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OKINAWA 40 YEARS
LATER
Remember White Beach?

The club on the hill?

The old wooden pier?

Those strange rock formations?
Click here
on
"Okinawa"
to see more pictures |
USS Cusk Service
Medals
The
USS Cusk was one of only four submarines to earn the Republic of Vietnam Unit Citation
for Meritorious Gallantry. This medal was awarded
to the crew of the Cusk during one of
her most daring surveillance and reconnaissance
missions during which she was detected and pursued by enemy
destroyers. The entire mission was actually conducted
completely outside Vietnamese territorial waters.

Republic of Vietnam
Meritorious Unit Citation for
Gallantry
Visit the "Cusk
Patches" page for more information |
Cusk Sinks the USS Constellation
During an exercise off the coast of
Long Beach, California, the Cusk penetrated a screen of three U.S. Frigates, anti-submarine
helicopters, and anti-submarine P3 Orion aircraft to "sink" the
USS Constellation, CVA-64 as she emerged from
Long Beach.


A U.S. Navy helicopter can be seen
through the Cusk's #1 periscope as it dips a
sonar buoy in the water and searches in vain for the
Cusk. In the background, a Navy frigate, the USS William H.
Standley, DLG-32, is blasting away with its SQS-25 sonar while trying to find the Cusk. Minutes later,
an attack approach was made on the USS Constellation (CV-64), a solution was obtained, the Cusk simulated firing a spread of
torpedoes, and then launched a symbolic flare and "Black Smoke" from the Cusk's After
Torpedo Room. A brief message was also broadcast over
the UQC-8 underwater telephone advising the task force that their screen had been
penetrated, and the USS Constellation had been sunk. (Boy, was
the Admiral pissed about that!)
Click here on "Constellation"
to see more pictures |
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LAST KNOWN PICTURE OF THE CUSK

Stripped and Mothballed at
Hunter's Point April 30, 1971 -
Cusk is first
boat on left. To the right of Cusk are the USS Rock (SS-274), USS Bashaw (SS-241),
USS Spinax (SSR-489), USS Pomodon
(SS-486), USS Medregal (SS-480), and USS Diodon
(SS-349) |
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In
Memoriam...
Cusk Sailors
Recently Departed on Eternal Patrol
Sailors, Rest Your
Oars! |
Clayton N Gatlin EM2(SS) |
Departed: 6
September 2012
Served aboard Cusk
from
1951 to 1954 |
|
Gordon Stafford
TM2(SS)

|
Departed: 28
June 2012
Served aboard Cusk
from
1948 to 1949 |
|
Donald Call, CS2(SS)

|
Departed: 22
February 2012
Served aboard Cusk
from 1953 to 1954 |
|
Frank Vogel, IC3(SS)

|
Departed: 6
January 2012
Served aboard Cusk
from 1963 to 1966 |
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Jack Kimball, SOS1(SS)

|
Departed: 20
August 2011
Served aboard Cusk
from 1961 to 1966 |
|
Charles Rutherford,
EN1(SS)
|
Departed: 9
January 2012
Served aboard Cusk in
1950 |
|
Visit the "Eternal
Patrol" section of this webpage for more information, obituaries, etc. |
Click on
any image to see its full size - then click the "Back" button to return to this
page.
|
SubFlot1 News - 1968

Visit the
"1968"
page for more pictures & information |
Remembering
Yoko
Some 1967 memory jarring pictures of
Yokosuka, Japan

Two skimmers walk past the "Brass Rail",
a popular kicker bar in Yokosuka.
(Pictures courtesy of Rick Greer)
Anyone have a picture of the
"Starlight Bar"?
Visit the
"1967"
page
for more pictures & information |
USS Cusk's artifacts, pictures and history...
On permanent display...

Actual Cusk
artifacts, pictures and historical
data may be viewed firsthand in a permanent
display case located in the "Brevard Veteran's
Memorial Center and Military Museum"
on
Merritt Island, Florida.
Click here to visit the
Museum's Website |
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BOOM!!!

During a launch attempt on July 7,
1948, a Loon Missile exploded on deck. When the smoke cleared,
the Cusk had disappeared leaving witnesses on nearby Navy ships
thinking that the Cusk had been sunk by the explosion.
Fortunately, the quick thinking Captain Fred Clarke had submerged
the Cusk immediately to put out the fire and save the boat.
Visit the
"1948"
page
for more pictures & information |
Sea Stories
What's the difference
between a Fairy Tale and a Sea Story?
Easy - A Fairy Tale begins
with, "Once upon a time...". A Sea Story begins with, "This is no sh*%..."
AIR POWER - Norm Carkeek tells how the Cusk
fanned the air with her screws.
What Grandpa did
during the Cold War
- Some great stories, reminiscing, and Cusk history by
Billy Hrbacek
BUNK BAGS - Unique to
submarines, these all purpose nylon bags were priceless.
THE SUB THAT SANK A TRAIN -
The only ground operation against the Japanese motherland during WWII
was carried out by crewmembers from the USS Barb including one who would
later be COB on the Cusk.
THE PUPPY - Sam Lyons tells what to do with a
puppy at sea when it's got to go.
PAINT JOB -
Ken Van Hoy's innovative way to paint the deck in record
time. |
Home at Last
Cusk returns home from her
last patrol

March,
1969, the "Reserve Pier" in San Diego - the Cusk is returning from her
last Cold War and Vietnam War patrols. The flag in the foreground is the
in-port flag flying from the stern of either the USS Perch (SS-313) or the USS
Razorback (SS-394), both of which were docked at the pier. A Navy band played as
friends and families waited on the pier.
Visit the
"1969"
page for more pictures & information
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Merritt Island, Florida
"Where
Dreams are Launched!"

Where is Merritt Island?
Answer: Where is Kennedy Space Center?
Click here to see live KSC WebCams
Includes views of Launch Pads, VAB, High Bay, etc.
(...and yes, as a matter of fact, I AM a rocket
scientist.) |
"Karaoke"
Where it all
began...

Most people do not know that "Karaoke" was actually invented by USS Cusk
crew members during a ship's party at Port Hueneme, California in 1956. They
are shown here singing Perry Como's "Hot Diggity". The Cusk sailor sitting down smoking a cigarette is
Clarence "Ed" Brenke. He's holding up the words to the song on
poster board.
Visit the
"1956"
page for more pictures & information |
USS Cusk Museum Display

A scale replica of the Cusk complete with
missile launcher and hanger is on permanent display along with the Cusk's depth
gauge, and numerous patches, pins, lighters, news articles, letters,
pictures, etc.
(Pictures of new cabinet coming soon)
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|
 |

GROTON, Conn. - The Submarine
Escape Trainer was the base icon for more than 60 years. Looming over
Lower Base, its tower is still a central figure in the base seal.
Thousands of Sailors passed through it during their strenuous training
to become submariners.
Article from "The
Dolphin" 4/2/09
Click on picture
to see entire article |
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DIESEL
SUBMARINE WEBSITES
USS
Archerfish (SS-311)
USS Bang (SS385)
USS Cavalla (SS-244)
USS Cod (SS-224)
USS Grayback
(SS-574)
USS
Hawksbill (SS-366)
USS
Menhaden (SS-377)
USS Raton (SS-270)
USS Rock (SS-274)
USS Sabalo (SS-302)
USS
Sealion (SS-315)
USS Spinax (SS-489)
USS Torsk
-
Great color interior pictures
of a boat that looks very much like the Cusk inside. |

(Photo courtesy of Herman Stickland)
Cusk is shown submerging off the coast of Oahu, 1963.
Visit
"1963"
for more recordings
& footage

Help save this great boat that avenged Pearl
Harbor in the Philippine Sea. |
SUBMARINE WEBCAMS
Ledgelight Lighthouse -
View of New London Harbor at the mouth of the Thames.
Watch submarines come and go from Electric Boat and the submarine
base at New London
Silverdale & Hood Canal - Puget Sound
- View of sound near the submarine base at
Bangor, Washington.
Point Loma Submarine Base
- View from camera at Cabrillo National Monument on top of Point
Loma.
NUCLEAR SUBMARINE WEBSITES
USS
Nautilus (SSN-5761)
Launch of
the USS New Mexico (SSN-779)
"Down the Way" has a whole new meaning with this launch.
USS Sunfish
(SSN-649)
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USS Cusk in 1963 coming out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The USS Remora (SS-487) and another unidentified submarine can be
seen in the background.
(Picture size is 4629 x 3923 or 3.72 MB) |
* Suitable for Framing *
USS Cusk Pictures
Click on either of these pictures and you will get a very
large, high resolution picture that is printable as an 8x10 or other size of
your choosing.
CAUTION!!
<= These are very large pictures =>
|

USS Cusk in 1968 near Point Loma Sub Base
(Picture size is 5714 x 3912 or 4.38 MB) |
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In the beginning...
In the
beginning was the word, and the word was God and all else was
darkness and void and without form. So God created the heavens
and the earth. He created the sun and the moon and the stars,
so that their light might pierce the darkness. And the earth,
God divided between the land and the sea, and these He filled with
many assorted creatures.
And from the
slime, in a land called Lympstone, God made dark, salty creatures
that inhabited the seashore. He called them Marines, He
dressed them accordingly, in bright colors so that their betters may
more easily find them in the holes and burrows that they'd scoured
out of the ground.
And God said,
"Whilst at their appointed labors they will devour worms, maggots, C
and K rations and all creatures that creep or crawl". The
flighty creatures of the air, He called Airdales, and these He
clothed in uniforms which were ruffled, perfumed, and pretty.
He gave them great floating cities with flat roofs in which to live,
where they gathered and formed huge multitudes. They carried
out heathen rites and ceremonies by day and by night upon the roof
amidst thunderous noise. They were given God's blue sky and
their existence was on the backs of others.
And the
surface creatures of the sea, God called Skimmers, who supported the
Airdales and with a twinkle in His eye and a sense of humor only He
could have, He gave them all gedunks, polluted with much stickywater,
to drink. God gave them big grey "targets" to go to sea in.
He gave them many splendid uniforms to wear. And He gave them
all the world's exotic and wonderful places to visit. He gave
them pen and paper so that they could write home every week, and He
gave them ropeyarn Sunday at sea and a laundry so they could clean
and polish their splendid uniforms. (When you are God it is
very easy to get carried away with your own great and wondrous
benevolence) .
And on the
seventh day, as you know, God rested from his labors. And on
the eighth day at 0755, just before Colors, God looked down upon the
earth and He was not a happy man. God knew He had not quite
achieved perfection, so He thought about his labors, and in His
infinite wisdom, He created a divine creature, His masterpiece, and
this He called a Submariner. A child of heaven.
And these
Submariners, whom God created in His own image, and to whom He gave
his most cherished gift, great intelligence, were to be of the deep,
and to them He gave more of his greatest gifts. He gave them
black steel messengers of death called the "Smoke Boat" class in
which to roam the depths of his oceans, and He gave them His arrows
and slingshots, the Mark 14 torpedo of burnished brass and black,
and the Mark 37 of green, to wage war against the forces of Satan
and all evil.
He heaped
great knowledge and understanding upon them, in order that they may
more easily win their greatest challenge, to pass their
Qualification Test and be skilled in the great works God had charged
them with.
The finest of
these men, God called "Diesel Boat Submariners" for they made all
happen beyond the understanding of other men. He gave His
Submariners hotels in which to live when they were exhausted and
weary from doing God’s will. He gave them fortitude to consume
vast quantities of beer and booze, to sustain them in their arduous
tasks, performed in His name.
He gave them
great food, submarine pay and occasionally, subsistence so that they
might entertain the Ladies of the "Starlight", "White Hat", and the
"Horse and Cow" on Saturday nights and impress the heck out of the
creatures He called "Skimmers” and "Jar Heads".
And at the
end of the eighth day, God again looked down upon the earth and saw
all was good in His realm. But God was not happy because, in
the course of His mighty labors He had forgotten one thing. He
had not kept a pair of "Dolphins" for Himself.
But He
thought about it and considered it and finally He consoled himself,
in the certain knowledge that - - -
"Not Just Anybody Can Be a
Submariner!"
- author unknown |
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GREAT SUBMARINE
LINKS, BOOKSTORES, ETC.

Submarine History:
California Center for History - Submarine
History
- Historical information about submarines in California including
the ones built at Mare Island and the west coast submarine base at
San Pedro.
CNO Submarine Warfare Division - Submarine
History
- Submarine historical information and
pictures from the Chief of Naval Operations "Submarine Warfare
Division".
HNSA Submarine War Patrol Reports
- Historical Naval Ships Association with
links to information to most diesel submarines from "S" class to
Fleet boats.
Submarine History Online
- An illustrated survey of key events in
submarine history including timelines and original concept drawings.
Submarine Research Center, Bangor Washington
- A free information site by a small group of
retired submariners who in civilian life performed various kinds of
research and who have applied this knowledge and ability to
collecting and disseminating information about submarines.
UBoat.net - An extremely
comprehensive and detailed website about German U-Boats.
Information includes U-Boat commander listings, battles stories,
books, history, etc.
US Naval Academy Submarine History
- Overview of submarine history with pictures.
Very little on diesel submarines but some links about nukes,
boomers, submarine officers, etc.
Wikipedia - Submarine
- Wikipedia's "Submarine" page with numerous
links to submarine related sites on a worldwide basis.
Submarine Organizations:
Fleetsubmarine.com - a great, highly
comprehensive diesel submarine website.
Naval Submarine League - a
professional organization for submariners and submarine advocates.
PigBoats.com - Ric Hedman's great
site that is a
consolidation of a number of differing
but related subjects concerning submarines and submarining.
USSVI (United States Submarine Veterans, Inc.)
- National organization of submarine veterans that is a
comprehensive resource of U.S. submarine information including links
to bases, historical data, reunions, boat crews, etc.
Submarine Stores, Books, Games, etc.:
Rontoni's Submarine Book Store
- Probably one of the oldest submarine sites out there, Ron
Martini's is a great and information packed visit.
Stars & Stripes Shop - Submarines
- Has just about everything Navy with a great submarine area.
St. Mary's Submarine Museum -
A wide variety of Submarine artifacts,
memorabilia and information are available for viewing.
Submarine Ball Caps
Submarine Books
Submarine Simulations and Games
- Contains news, forums, games, store and many
other submarine related items of interest on a world wide basis.
Submarine Veterans Store
Submarine Ship's Store
Submarine Shop
The Submarine Store
Torpedo Junction - Submarine & U-Boat Books
USSVI Ship's Store
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SUBMARINE VIDEOS:
Science in
Action - Submarines
-
(Part 1)
(Part 2)
(Part 3)
(Part 4)
Learn all about diesel submarines and
the USS Nautilus from Admiral Nimitz and Admiral Lockwood as they
take you through all aspects of submarine life.
S-117 Diving
- Small
craft films the dive while running alongside
(It sure takes nukes a long time to get under!)
The Silent Service
-
Nice historical video about the evolution of submarines
Silent Service -
Submarines Part 1
Submarines
Part 2
Submarines
Part 3
Submarines
Part 4
Submarines
Part 5
Outstanding History Channel videos about U.S. fleet submarines
during World War II. Highly recommended
U. S. Submarine Force Museum
- Numerous interesting pictures from this museum with some annoying
music playing in the background.
Yellow Submarine -
Yes, just Ringo singing the famous
Beatles song and nothing more. For group sing, substitute "old
gray" for "yellow".
Other Online Videos:
The Boomer Life
- Navy Times video about submarine sailors aboard a ballistic
missile submarine |
We welcome your comments, and especially your historical
contributions if you have any to share or donate. If you are a former
crewmember, we especially anxious to hear from you so please contact us at your
earliest convenience. Many or your shipmates have been looking for you and
an email to the Cusk Webmaster (link below) will put you in touch with them.
Ask a former crewmember about the Cusk and the answer you will most often
hear will be, "She was a good boat, probably the best I ever sailed.
You are visitor number
since this page was rebuilt on January 19, 2009.
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