11/12/2025
9 December 1965 - USS Guitarro (SSN-665), a Sturgeon-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the guitarro, a ray of the guitarfish family.
The contract to build Guitarro was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California, on 18 December 1964 and her keel was laid down there on 9 December 1965. She was launched on 27 July 1968, sponsored by Mrs. John M. Taylor.
Guitarro had been scheduled to be commissioned in January 1970, but repairs necessitated by her sinking dictated a 32-month delay. She finally was commissioned on 9 September 1972 with Commander Gordon Lange in command.
In the mid-to-late 1970s, Guitarro was stationed at Point Loma in San Diego, California, commanded by Alvin H. Pauole, followed by Scott Van Hoften.
The Guitarro played a major role in developing tactics for prototype combat systems deployed to the Pacific submarine fleet, in particular the new Submarine Towed Array Sensor System (STASS) along with its BQR-20 series digital sonar displays. In the mid-1970s, Guitarro also installed the first digital submarine combat system (BQQ-5 sonar and Mk-117 fire control system) and participated in the development of submarine-launched Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
She was active at the time in the pre-operational testing of the new Tomahawk cruise missile, launching several of the missiles on a test range off the coast of Southern California.
Guitarro was used as the primary test bed for Tomahawk Cruise Missile testing from 1977 through 1984. Primary GD test conductor was Wiley Huffman. All torpedo tube launches were successful, but flight tests were failures. Following test bed used was USS-705 City of Corpus Christi with Roy Keely as test conductor. All Tomahawk tests completed successfully.
USS Guitarro (SSN-665) hosting the first tour of a US nuclear submarine by high-ranking Russian officials: General Colin Powell is in the rear of the group
Guitarro (SSN-665) at NAS North Island on 4 October 1990 for a VIP visit. General Mikhail Moiseyev, First Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff for the Soviet Union and General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, toured the forward areas of the ship that day, but did not tour the engineering spaces. Just aft of the Guitarro (SSN-665) is the Missouri BB-63.
Decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 29 May 1992; Final Disposition, disposed of through the NPSSRP (Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA., 18 October 1994.