The USS Growler (SSG-577) holds an incredible place in military history as a pioneering pioneer of America's nuclear deterrent capability during the peak of the Cold War. Commissioned in 1958, this Grayback-class diesel-electric submarine was specially designed to carry and launch the Regulus I—a massive, surface-launched nuclear cruise missile that resembled a pilotless jet plane. Between 1960 and 1964, the Growler conducted nine secretive, high-stakes deterrent patrols in the frigid waters of the Western Pacific, standing ready to launch a nuclear strike if ordered. Because launching the missile required the submarine to surface and remain exposed for roughly 15 minutes, the Growler represented a critical, transitional era of naval engineering before the advent of submarine-launched ballistic missiles that could be fired from deep underwater.
Following her decommissioning in 1964, the Growler was placed in reserve and eventually scheduled to be destroyed as a torpedo target. However, she was saved from destruction in 1988 and towed to New York, where she was meticulously restored to her Cold War glory. Today, the Growler is permanently moored at Pier 86 in New York City, New York, as a primary attraction of the Intrepid Museum. It remains the only diesel-electric strategic missile submarine preserved in the United States, giving the public a rare, claustrophobic look into the analog control rooms, crew berths, and massive forward missile hangars where sailors lived under extreme tension.
