USS Sand Lance (SSN-660)
USS Sand Lance (SSN-660), a Sturgeon-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sand lance, a member of the ammodytidae family. The contract to build her was awarded to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on 24 October 1963 and her keel was laid down on 15 January 1965. She was launched on 11 November 1969 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas J. McIntyre, and commissioned on 25 September 1971, with Commander William A. Kennington in command.
On the day of her commissioning, Sand Lance’s home port was changed from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Charleston, South Carolina, and she spent the remainder of the year on shakedown. Sand Lance operated in the Charleston area for the whole of 1972, and, in February 1973, stood out of that port for special operations. She returned to Charleston on 21 April, remained in port until 11 June and departed again on special operations. She completed these operations in August and put in at Faslane, Scotland, on 13 August. Sand Lance left Faslane on 20 August and arrived in Charleston on 5 September.
- 25 years of history go here
Sand Lance was decommissioned on 7 August 1998 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 7 August 1998. Ex-Sand Lance entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, on 1 April 1998 and on 30 August 1999 ceased to exist.
See USS Sand Lance for other ships of the same name.
References
This article includes information collected from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
