March 18, 1960, was just another day in the long service history of USS Spikefish (SS-404), or so it seemed. The sea, indifferent to records and human milestones, stretched endlessly around her. But for the men aboard, and for the United States Navy, that dive was anything but ordinary. On that day, Spikefish became the first American submarine to achieve 10,000 successful dives—a milestone that underscored not only her longevity but the very evolution of submarine warfare and technology in the postwar era. She had already earned her place in history with three battle stars during World War II, but this feat set her apart in the annals of undersea service.
Commissioned on June 30, 1944, the Spikefish was a Balao-class submarine built at Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was born into a war that demanded the very best of the Silent Service, and she delivered. While her early war patrols were marked by aggressive patrolling in the Kuril Islands and the Sea of Okhotsk, she saw action in the Ryukyu Islands and later provided lifeguard services for downed aviators. Like many of her sister submarines, Spikefish played a dual role—not only hunting enemy vessels but serving as a last hope for American pilots who found themselves in the vast, unforgiving waters of the Pacific.
Her most notable action in World War II came late in the conflict. On August 13, 1945, just two days before Japan’s surrender, Spikefish encountered and sank the Japanese submarine I-373—the last enemy submarine destroyed in the war. It was a fitting final kill for a boat that had endured depth charge attacks, hunted enemy convoys, and even shelled Japanese positions with her deck gun.
With peace came a new mission. Rather than fade into obscurity, Spikefish was repurposed as a training vessel and a workhorse of Cold War-era undersea tactics. Operating from New London, Connecticut, she participated in countless exercises along the Atlantic coast, training new generations of submariners who would go on to serve in America’s nuclear-powered fleet. For nearly two decades, she adapted to changing technologies and doctrines, proving that even an aging diesel-electric submarine had value in an era increasingly dominated by nuclear propulsion.
Then came the dive—the big one. On March 18, 1960, Spikefish slipped beneath the waves for the 10,000th time. It wasn’t the deepest dive ever made, nor was it an action-packed event. But it was historic. No other American submarine had yet reached that number, and it was a testament to the boat’s design, her maintenance, and the skill of the sailors who had manned her since 1944. That number represented thousands of training exercises, covert maneuvers, and simulated combat drills. It also symbolized the endurance of the Silent Service itself—a community that thrived on precision, discipline, and a little bit of superstition.
For the men on board, there was a moment of reflection. The boat they stood in had once patrolled the Pacific, had fired torpedoes in anger, had watched through its periscope as enemy vessels disappeared beneath the waves. Now, she was still proving her worth in a Navy that was rapidly changing. Nuclear-powered submarines like USS Nautilus were redefining the game, but there was something reassuring about the sturdy old diesel boat that had just completed her 10,000th dive without a hitch.
It was a record-setting achievement, but not one that would keep Spikefish in service indefinitely. In April 1963, just three years after her historic dive, she was decommissioned at Key West, Florida, and stricken from the Navy list on May 1, 1963. Her final mission came a year later when she was sunk as a target off Long Island, New York, on August 4, 1964. It was an unceremonious end for a boat that had achieved so much, but such was the fate of many of her World War II-era sisters. The Silent Service had moved on, and so had history.
But numbers don’t lie. 10,000 dives. Three battle stars. One last kill in World War II. And a legacy that lasted long beyond her final submersion. For the men who served on her, Spikefish was more than a piece of steel—it was a home, a proving ground, and a reminder that even in peacetime, the Silent Service was always watching, always diving, always ready.
History of the USS Spikefish:
USS Spikefish also has a great Facebook page available HERE
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