USS Barbel (SS-580)

Launching of Barbel on 19 July 1958
History
United States
Name	USS Barbel
Ordered	24 August 1955
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1]
Laid down	18 May 1956[1]
Launched	19 July 1958[1]
Commissioned	17 January 1959[1]
Decommissioned	4 December 1989
Stricken	17 January 1990[1]
Fate	Sunk as a target 30 January 2001
General characteristics
Class and type	Barbel-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,744 tons (1,778 t) light[1] 2,146 tons (2,180 t) full 2,637 tons (2,679 t) submerged[1] 402 tons (408 t) dead
Length	219 ft 6 in (66.90 m) overall[1]
Beam	29 ft (8.8 m)[1]
Draft	25 ft (7.6 m) max[1]
Propulsion	3 × Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, total 3,150 bhp (2.3 MW) 2 × General Electric electric motors, total 4,800 bhp (3.6 MW) one screw[1]
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h) surfaced 25 knots (46 km/h) submerged[1]
Endurance	30 minutes at full speed 102 hours at 3 knots
Test depth	712 ft (217 m) operating 1,050 ft (320 m) collapse
Complement	10 officers, 69 men
Armament	6 × 21 inch (533 mm)[1] bow torpedo tubes, 18 torpedoes

USS Barbel (SS-580) was the lead ship of her class of submarines in the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named for the barbel, a cyprinoid fish, commonly called a minnow or carp.

The contract to build Barbel was awarded to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine on 24 August 1955 and her keel was laid down on 18 May 1956. She was launched on 19 July 1958 sponsored by Mrs. Bernard L. Austin, and commissioned on 17 January 1959, with Lieutenant Commander Ord Kimzey, Jr., in command.