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25-589: The ship was laid down on 7 January 1963 by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , Bremerton, Washington ; launched on 8 February 1964; sponsored by Mrs. Cecil Ford and Mrs. Herbert Diamond; and commissioned on 7 November 1964. Simon Lake sailed from Bremerton on 16 January 1965 for Pearl Harbor on her shakedown cruise and returned to Bremerton on 17 February for a six-week yard availability period. The Polaris submarine tender stood out of Bremerton on 16 April and proceeded to Charleston, South Carolina , via

50-697: A replacement of the helo deck; repair of the two 3-inch/50 rear-facing guns; and the addition of a 25 mm Mk38 chain gun weapons system. She was relaunched in September 1986 at which time she did a short shakedown cruise to Guantanamo Bay until December 1986 when she returned to Charleston, South Carolina for a brief stop over to take on supplies before heading off to Holy Loch, Scotland in May 1987. In May 1987 Simon Lake returned to Scotland to again relieve USS Hunley at Holy Loch where in 1988 and 1991, she won Battle Efficiency 'E' awards . She remained on station there until

75-500: Is now known as PSNS & IMF. PSNS is the only U.S. facility certified to recycle nuclear ships. During all this period Puget Sound Naval Shipyard has scrapped more than 125 submarines and some cruisers. The shipyard contains a portion of the United States Navy reserve fleet , a large collection of inactive U.S. Navy vessels. The aircraft carrier USS  Kitty Hawk  (CV-63) was mothballed there until May 2022 when it

100-708: The Bremerton Naval Complex . It is bordered on the south by Sinclair Inlet , on the west by the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap , and on the north and east by the city of Bremerton, Washington. It is the Pacific Northwest 's largest naval shore facility and one of Washington state's largest industrial installations. PSNS & IMF provides the Navy with maintenance , modernization, and technical and logistics support, and employs 15,000 people which makes it

125-466: The Panama Canal . Simon Lake arrived at Charleston on 1 May and tended submarines there until 11 July 1966. On that date, she sailed for Holy Loch , Scotland, where she relieved USS  Hunley as tender for Submarine Squadron 14 . She operated from there until 24 May 1970 when she got underway for Charleston. In June, she sailed for Bremerton for her first overhaul since commissioning. The tender

150-586: The Ship-Submarine Recycling Program (SRP) to recycle nuclear-powered ships at PSNS. Approximately 25% of the shipyard's workload involves inactivation, reactor compartment disposal, and recycling of ships. It has pioneered an environmentally safe method of deactivating and recycling nuclear-powered ships. This process places the U.S. Navy in the role of being the world's only organization to design, build, operate, and recycle nuclear-powered ships. On 15 May 2003 PSNS and IMF were consolidated into what

175-572: The public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . The entry can be found here . Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility ( PSNS & IMF ), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km ) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted use since its establishment in 1891; it has also been known as Navy Yard Puget Sound , Bremerton Navy Yard , and

200-689: The Atlantic for Norfolk, Virginia to be decommissioned . Simon Lake was decommissioned on 31 July 1999 and, into 2008 was in the mothball fleet in Philadelphia . Simon Lake was placed out of service at Norfolk Naval Shipyards in Portsmouth, Virginia as part of the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility's inventory. Simon Lake departed Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 5 February 2015. Beginning in September 2011, Simon Lake underwent

225-588: The NUC that has distinguished itself by outstanding heroism in action against the enemy, but not sufficient to justify the award of the Presidential Unit Citation . A unit must have performed service of a character comparable to that which would merit the award of a Silver Star Medal for heroism, or a Legion of Merit for non-combat meritorious service to an individual. Normal performance of duty or participation in many combat missions does not, in itself, justify

250-724: The Naval Weapons Station, Goose Creek, South Carolina. In June 1979, USS  Canopus relieved Simon Lake at the Naval Weapons Station Charleston, South Carolina. From 1979-1985 Simon Lake serviced submarines in Kings Bay Georgia, where she also won two Battle Efficiency 'E' awards . In September 1985 she was driven to Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula Mississippi where she received a stem to stern, inside and out, grind to bare metal and repaint;

275-632: The Order of the Bluenose for the crew, and stopped for a port call in Halifax, Nova Scotia prior to returning to Norfolk to conduct an extensive overhaul, converting from a ballistic missile submarine tender to an attack submarine tender. After completion of the overhaul and a visit to Palma, Spain in March 1993, she arrived at her new homeport of La Maddalena , Italy where she relieved USS  Orion . For superior service to

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300-405: The award. An award will not be made to a unit for actions of one or more of its component parts, unless the unit performed uniformly as a team, in a manner justifying collective recognition. U.S. Army , U.S. Air Force , U.S. Space Force , and U.S Coast Guard units are also eligible to be awarded the NUC as long as they are directly attached or assigned to U.S. Navy or Marine Corps units during

325-620: The base was closed and all assets withdrawn in 1992. Sailing for Norfolk, Virginia, that March, Simon Lake drew to a close thirty years of US Navy presence in Holy Loch, Scotland. In March 1992, Simon Lake participated in Teamwork '92, a joint North Atlantic operation and conducted repairs to USS La Moure County (LST-1194) in Trondheim, Norway. Upon departure she crossed the Arctic Circle to perform

350-631: The deactivation process in preparation for dismantling. The ship was placed in the James River Reserve Fleet on 3 December 2015 in the care of the U. S. Maritime Administration to await recycling. She arrived at Steelcoast (ex-ESCO Marine) in Brownsville, Texas, for ship recycling on 27 February 2019. Simon Lake earned numerous awards including seven Navy E Ribbons , one Navy Unit Commendation and seven Meritorious Unit Commendations . [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from

375-861: The fleet, she received the Battle Efficiency 'E' award, Weapons Black "W" and Meritorious Unit Commendation awards for the period 7 July 1993 - 31 August 1994. In March 1998, the ship transited the Suez Canal to the United Arab Emirates where she supported Operation Southern Watch in the Persian Gulf . The vessel's performance in this period led to her receiving the Navy Unit Commendation and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal . In June 1998, she returned to La Maddalena, Italy. Simon Lake ' s performance during her last two years of service

400-452: The largest public shipyard in terms of personnel assigned. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was established in 1891 as a Naval Station and was designated Navy Yard Puget Sound in 1901. During World War I , the Navy Yard constructed ships, including 25 subchasers, seven submarines , two minesweepers, seven seagoing tugs, and two ammunition ships, as well as 1,700 small boats. During World War II ,

425-458: The late 1950s, it entered an era of new construction with the building of a new class of guided missile frigates . In 1965, USS Sculpin (SSN 590) became the first nuclear-powered submarine to be maintained at PSNS. The shipyard was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992. The historic district includes 22 contributing buildings and 42 contributing structures, as well as 49 non-contributing buildings, structures, and objects. Perhaps

450-409: The most visible feature of the shipyard is its green hammerhead crane , built in 1933. The PSNS hammerhead crane is 250 feet (76 m) tall and 80 feet (24 m) wide with a lifting capacity of 250 tons. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard contains five historic districts: These five units are a comprehensive representation of the historic features of the naval shipyard. In 1990 the Navy authorized

475-719: The potential to affect groundwater wells, sport fisheries and the Suquamish Tribe 's fish hatchery. In October 2014, the US EPA ordered the Navy to fix the problems. Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation ( NUC ) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Corps unit for

500-460: The shipyard's primary effort was the repair of battle damage to ships of the U.S. fleet and those of its allies. Following World War II, Navy Yard Puget Sound was designated Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. It engaged in an extensive program of modernizing carriers, including converting conventional flight decks to angle decks. During the Korean War , the shipyard was engaged in the activation of ships. In

525-526: The three drydocks. Over a year later, the drydock was flooded, the heavy ICBM missile cranes were weight tested, and the ship sent out on a shakedown" cruise. Simon Lake was the first submarine tender to be stationed at Kings Bay Georgia in 1979 when the base first opened and was the first tender on the east coast that women served on in the U.S. Navy. After Refresher Training (REFTRA) in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Simon Lake assumed duties tending submarines at

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550-470: The time period or event for which the award is given. U.S. Army members of units awarded the NUC wear the Navy Unit Commendation ribbon on the right side of the uniform jacket rather than left side along with any other unit award emblems which are authorized for wear. The NUC may be conferred upon the armed forces of friendly foreign nations serving with the U.S. Armed Forces, provided such units meet

575-558: Was in the yard from 6 July 1970 to March 1971 and, while there, was also converted to Poseidon missile capability. Simon Lake returned to Charleston on 3 April and tended submarines there until 19 November 1972 when she sailed for Rota, Spain , as the relief for USS  Holland . Simon Lake arrived at the Charleston Naval Shipyard in North Charleston, South Carolina, January 1977 for extensive overhaul in one of

600-738: Was particularly noteworthy. Not only did she receive the awards associated with the Persian Gulf but she was nominated for the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Award, received the 1997 and 1998 Battle Efficiency 'E' awards, the 1998 Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award, and the 1998 Golden Anchor award, and became the first surface ship to receive both the Enlisted Surface Warfare and the Surface Warfare Officer pennants. After being relieved by USS  Emory S. Land , Simon Lake departed La Maddalena on 11 May 1999 and crossed

625-418: Was removed for scrapping. Gorst Creek Ravine near Port Orchard, Washington was a hazardous waste dump for the Navy's shipyard waste between 1969 and 1970, when the site was not permitted by local authorities to take waste. After several collapses since 1997 the landfill could blow out Highway 3 . The landfill is an "ongoing source of pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls and metals flowing downstream with

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