Talk:USS Skate (SSN-578)

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According to the Appendix C in the book Blind Man's Bluff (ISBN 006103004), the USS (SSN-578)Skate also earned a Navy Unit Commendation in 1958. Does anyone have any information about the 1958 award? TomStar81 22:44, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC)

It would have been for the joint expedition under the North Pole.

No, the joint expedition took place in 1962. It would have been for her first Polar trip in 1958 when she was awarted her first Navy Unit Commendation for "... braving the hazards of the polar ice pack..."Tvbanfield 17:30, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It was not for the 1962 polar rendezvous with the Seadragon. I was on that the Skate for that cruise. The only thing we received was a small plaque commemorating the historic voyage. The ship received no special commendations. falmer24.229.138.19 (talk) 23:48, 12 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The date and location of the second picture is very well known. It was taken at the North Pole, and the exact date is 17 March 1959. For further details see http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08578.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.2.69.166 (talk) 15:24, 30 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No. The link to Navsource shows the origin of the photo as Tripod.com, which is a web-hosting service, not a source. Navsource themselves cannot confirm the accuracy of that photo. JoFinJo (talk) 14:34, 22 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Given the amount of controversy over that photo, and its use by climate deniers, is there any *definitive* reference to its origin? Efalk (talk) 01:20, 23 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Date of first surfacing at North Pole[edit]

Two dates seem to be commonly cited for the first surfacing at the North Pole: 11 August 1958 and 17 March 1959. It's fairly easy to find authorative-looking references for both dates. The only "source" I have found so far that discusses or even acknowledges this discrepancy is a blog comment here which says "USS Skate did indeed surface at the North Pole but not until 17 March 1959. Ice conditions in August 1958 were too heavy at the Pole for the Skate to surface, as they were for the Nautilus some days earlier." Obviously that wouldn't be accepted as a Wikipedia source, but does anyone know for sure which date really is correct? 86.160.211.148 (talk) 03:37, 24 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There is an article written for LIFE in 4 May 1959 by James Calvert, Commander of USS Skate. In the article he states: "Last summer Nautilus made history's first voyage beneath the North Pole. Soon after Skate followed up by surfacing at the pole. Last month Skate returned to the polar seas.."

Well, that's unequivocal, I would have thought. A contemporaneous first hand account. Calvert goes on to describe the weather of the arctic summer the previous year.

"Our winter expedition would be far different from the one we undertook last August. In August the Arctic was at its bland best, with continual daylight and temperatures above freezing. Cruising under the 10-foot-thick ice pack, we repeatedly had found open water where we could surface." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.167.5.6 (talk) 09:20, 26 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]