USS Whale (SSN-638)

USS Whale (SSN-638) and her ship's insignia
History
United States
Name	Whale
Namesake	The whale
Builder	General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down	27 May 1964
Launched	14 October 1966
Sponsored by	Mrs. Russell B. Long
Commissioned	12 October 1968
Decommissioned	25 June 1996
Stricken	25 June 1996
Identification	Hull symbol: SSN-638 Call sign: NSIG
Honors and awards	Battle Efficiency Award (Battle "E") (1991)
Fate	Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program, 29 September 1997
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Sturgeon-class attack submarine
Displacement	3,860 long tons (3,922 t) surfaced 4,640 long tons (4,714 t) submerged
Length	292 ft 3 in (89.08 m)
Beam	31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft	28 ft 8 in (8.74 m)
Installed power	15,000 shp (11,185.5 kW)
Propulsion	1 × S5W nuclear reactor 2 × steam turbines 1 × shaft
Speed	15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) submerged
Test depth	1,300 ft (396 m)
Complement	107
Armament	4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes Mark 48 torpedoes UUM-44A SUBROC missiles UGM-84A/C Harpoon missiles Tomahawk cruise missiles

USS Whale (SSN-638) was a Sturgeon-class submarine nuclear-powered attack submarine of the United States Navy. She was the second ship of that name, after the whale family of aquatic mammals.