Given its mission to undertake research and development work, USS Dolphin was outfitted with an extensive instrumentation suite for such activities as deep-ocean and littoral acoustic studies, near-bottom and ocean surveys, weapons launch tests, sensor trials, and engineering evaluations. The flexibility of Dolphin's interior design permitted the installation of up to 12 tons of special research and test equipment. Over the course of her record 38 year career, USS Dolphin took part in a large number of ground-breaking trials, including the deepest firing of a torpedo; the first successful submarine-to-aircraft optical communication; the development of a Extreme Low Frequency antenna for the Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine; and the first successful submarine-to-aircraft two-way communication.
USS Dolphin was nearly lost at sea in May 2002 when a faulty torpedo shield door gasket failed, causing the boat to take on 70-85 tons of seawater. With Dolphin close to sinking and electrical failures and fire caused by the seawater leaking into the boat, Chief Machinist's Mate John D. Wise Jr. swam into the flooded pump room and, with less than a foot of breathable space in the compartment, ensured the alignment of seawater valves to permit pumping operations to begin; he then remained in the compartment for more than 90 minutes to keep a submersible pump from clogging, actions which prevented the loss of the boat and earned him the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. In the meantime, given the state of the flooding and fire, the Dolphin's commanding officer ordered the 41-man crew and two embarked US Navy civilians to abandon ship. The crew was rescued by the Oceanographic Research ship McGaw and the frigate USS Thach. With Dolphin unmanned but stable, the Submarine Support Vessel Kellie Chouest was dispatched from San Diego and towed the submarine back to port.
Despite completing a major refit and upgrade costing US$50 million and lasting 3.5 years, USS Dolphin served only one more year before being decommissioned on 15 January 2007. This decision was based on the $18 million annual cost of maintaining Dolphin in service. The submarine was transferred to the Maritime Museum of San Diego in September 2008, opening to the public on 4 July 2009.
Photos taken 13 January 2014
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| USS Dolphin, now part of the San Diego Maritime Museum and open to the public. |
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| The control room aboard USS Dolphin. |
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| The conning position in Dolphin's control room, where a crewman executed steering orders given by the captain or officer of the watch. |
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| The officers' wardroom aboard USS Dolphin. As a research and development submarine, Dolphin carried a typical crew of 3 officers, 20 ratings, and 4 scientists. |
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| Looking forward, up USS Dolphin's central passageway. |
USS Dolphin - Specifications:
Displacement: 875 tons (full load)
Length: 46.3 metres (151 feet 11 inches)
Beam: 6 metres (19 feet 8 inches)
Draught: 4.8 metres (15 feet 9 inches)
Propulsion: 2 x General Motors V71 12-cylinder diesel engines (425 horsepower); 2 x electric main motors with 330-cell silver-oxide battery
Speed: 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced, 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h) submerged
Endurance: 15 days
Test Depth: 910 metres (3,000 feet)
Armament: small arms; no internal torpedo tubes, though external tube could be mounted for experiments
Complement: 3 officers, 20 men, 4 scientists