Hampton Roads Base US Submarine Veterans Inc.
Hall of Fame Boat Program
The Hall of Fame Boat program is a Submarine Recognition Program that serves the submarine community by recognizing one Submarine of exceptional merit each year. The HoF Program and those submarines nominated are wholly conceived, voted upon, and approved, by members of the Hampton Roads Base of the USSVI.org. Formal recognition of the successful candidate boat is provided by the Submarine Learning Facility in Norfolk VA. See Rules and the 2019 HoF submissions below and all Past Winners beyond...
** Rules **
Section 1: The Submarine Hall of Fame is a coordinated event to honor post World War II submarines that have contributed to the advancement of Undersea Warfare.
Section 2: For a submarine to be considered for the Submarine Hall of Fame it (the submarine to include the crew at the time of the event) must have contributed to advancements in Undersea Engineering or Undersea Tactics/Warfare.
Section 3: A member in good standing will be appointed to coordinate the collection of nominations from membership at large (to include acceptance of nominations submitted through the internet or by mail).
Section 4: All nominations are presented during the October meeting of the Base for consideration by the base membership. That select members pick from these nominations and research presentations to be made during the November meeting.
Section 5: During the November Base meeting presentations shall be made in support of the submarines being considered as the Hall of Fame Boat.
Section 6: During the December Base meeting voting is held to select the inductee to the Submarine Hall of Fame for the following year. That at the completion of the voting the chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee will coordinate with the Submarine Learning Facility to construct a shadow box for the presentation in May of the following year.
1999: USS NORFOLK (SSN 714)
- First Navy Ship to have all Tomahawks land on target.
2000: USS NARWAHL (SSN 671)
- 25 years of Special Operations.
2001: USS NAUTILUS (SSN-571)
- First Nuclear-Powered Submarine; Arctic Operations.
2002: USS IREX (SS 482)
- First Fleet Snorkel Submarine.
2003: USS TRITON (SSN 586)
- First Submerged Global Circumnavigation
2004: USS GRENADIER (SS 525)
- Forced a Soviet ZULU to surface and proved the USSR was conducting deterrent patrols.
2005: USS ALBACORE (AGSS 569)
- First submarine designed with a modern hydrodynamic hull shape.
2006: USS SKATE (SSN 578)
- First to surface at the geographic north pole.
2007: USS GROWLER (SSG 577)
- First in the Regulus Missile program.
2008: USS PARCHE (SSN 683)
- Special Operations; Most decorated ship in the Navy
2009: USS LAPON (SSN 661)
- Awarded PUC for Special Operations with “Whitey” Mack
2010: USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598)
- First Ballistic Missile Submarine
2011: USS HALIBUT (SSGN 587)
- Unique hull shape enabling unique special operations
2012: USS BATFISH (SSN 681)
- 77 Day Operation “EVENING STAR”
2013: USS SCORPION (SSN 589)
- Special Operations; Lost 22 May 1968 with All Hands (99 Men)
2014: USS PICKEREL (SS 524)
- Longest snorkel transit from Hong Kong to Pearl Harbor.
2015: USS SKIPJACK (SSN 585)
- First nuclear submarine with the ALBACORE hull.
2016: USS BERGALL (SSN-667)
- BQQ-5 Initial OPEVAL/TECH Eval
2017: USS Requin (SS-481)
- Radar Pickett Operations in the North Atlantic
2018: USS Memphis (SSN 691)
- Designated Research and Development (R&D) SSN
2019: USS Baton Rouge (SSN-689)
- Round the World Deployment including Indian Ocean Operations
2020: USS Spadefish (SSN 668)
- Multiple ICEX Operations; Unique Cold War Operations
2021: (Pandemic)
2022 USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709)
- Unique Cold War Operations
2023: USS Atlanta (SSN 712)
- First 688 class SSN certified to carry Mk-48 ADCAP, Harpoon, and all variants of Tomahawk Cruise Missiles
2024: USS L. Mendel Rivers (686)
- Dry Deck Shelter Operations, Last operational Sturgeon Class Attack Submarine
2025: USS Henry Clay (SSBN 625)
- Consecutive (Back-to-Back) Cold War Strategic Deterrent Patrol
2026: USS