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Submarine Polar "Firsts"
In early March 1959, seven months after NAUTILUS' (SSN 571) historic 1st submerged crossing of the North Pole in August of 1958, USS SKATE (SSN 578) headed for the Arctic to pioneer operations during the period of extreme cold and maximum ice thickness. In twelve days under the arctic ice pack SKATE forced her way up through ice to the surface ten times and steamed over 3,000 miles under the ice. In a dramatic highpoint of this cruise, on 17 March 1959, SKATE became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole where the ashes of the famed explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins (who in 1931 had been the first to attempt to reach the North Pole by submarine) were committed to the arctic waste. When SKATE 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 . . ."
This was not the first, nor the last, time SKATE would voyage to the North Pole. The previous year, on 30 July 1958, SKATEhad steamed to the Arctic where she operated under the ice for 10 days. During this time, she surfaced nine times through the ice, conducted the first surfacing in open-water polynyas, successfully navigated over 2,400 miles under the ice pack, and became the second ship to reach the North Pole, one week after NAUTILUS. On 7 July 1962, three years after her historic surfacing, SKATE again pointed her bow towards the North Pole. Five days later, SEADRAGON (SSN-584), based in Pearl Harbor, did likewise. The mission of the two submarines was to conduct the first rendezvous of two ships in the Arctic ice region. After an historic meeting on 31 July 1962, the two ships operated together for over a week. One operation included a double surfacing at the North Pole on 2 August, where official greetings and insignia of the Submarine Forces, Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet, were exchanged. The polar veteran SKATE returned to the Arctic ice again in March and April 1969 to conduct submerged operations under the polar ice pack in company with PARGO (SSN 650) and WHALE (SSN 638), and twice more, in October 1970, and in February 1971.
March also commemorates another submarine polar first, when on 3 March 1960, USS SARGO (SSN 583) returned to Pearl Harbor after conducting the first winter submarine transit of the Bering Strait. SARGO was unique in that prior to the completion of her construction she wasdesignated for an arctic cruise. She received alterations to strengthen her sail before she left the building yard. Further modifications followed her 19,000-mile Pacific shakedown cruise. And, after her arrival at her home port, Pearl Harbor, on 1 October 1959, scientific
 instruments were installed to assist her in navigating under the shifting polar ice with its potentially hazardous submerged pressure ridges, in locating open leads and thin ice through which to surface, and in gathering oceanographic and hydrographic data. November and December 1959 brought intensive training programs and the embarkation of scientific specialists; and, on 18 January 1960, SARGO, under the command of Lt. Comdr. J. H. Nicholson, cleared Pearl Harbor and headed north to make a submerged exploration of the arctic basin.
On 29 January, SARGO crossed the Arctic Circle; and, on 9 February, she arrived under the North Pole. Making her first pass under the pole at 0934, the submarine began a clover leaf search for thin ice and at 1049 she surfaced, according to her log, 25 feet from the pole. Later the same day, the Hawaiian flag was raised at the pole, and, on the morning of the 10th, SARGO submerged and set a course for the Canadian Archipelago. Collecting hydrographic data as she progressed, she reached ice island T-3 on the 17th. Thence, after conducting tests in cooperation with scientists on the ice island, she got underway for the Beri
ng Straits, the Aleutians, and Hawaii. On 3 March 1960, SARGO, having covered over 11,000 miles, 6,003 under ice, returned to Pearl Harbor with new data on arctic ice, arctic waters, and the physiography of the Arctic Basin, including information on Alpha Ridge and on the presence of deep water areas at the western end of the northwest passage.
USS SKATE (SSN 578)
MARCH 17, 1959, USS SKATE (SSN 578) makes history as the first submarine to surface at the North Pole.
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SKATE's 1959 Transit to the North Pole
Departed SUBASE New London - March 3, 1959
New London to ice pack 4,214 miles
Surfaced at North Pole March 17, 1959
Under Ice pack 3090 miles
Ice Pack to new London 4173 miles
Return to SUBASE New London - April 7, 1959
Below: a page from the July, 1959 National Geographic Magazine documents in vivid color (Top) the torch lit ceremony during which SKATE crewmembers scatter the ashes of Arctic pioneer Sir Hubert Wilkins, who in 1931 anticipated the feats of SKATE and NAUTILUS when he made an unsuccessful attempt to take a conventional submarine under the ice pack; and (Bottom) SKATE officers affixing an American flag on a cairn containing a record of SKATE's historic visit to the North Pole.
To the right is one of the letters written by SKATE Commanding Officer, James F. Calvert, while surfaced at the North Pole each describe different aspects of the historic event.
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