USS Growler (SSG-577)

Moored alongside the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum at Pier 86, USS Growler (SSG-577) presents a rare surviving example of the Navy’s first generation of nuclear-armed cruise-missile submarines. As the second and final Grayback-class boat, Growler was built for the Regulus I program, an interim deterrent before the shift to Polaris ballistic missiles. Her diesel-electric propulsion, combined with nuclear-tipped sea-to-surface missiles, illustrates a transitional moment in Cold War naval strategy when deterrence still depended on relatively short-range systems and forward patrols. From 1958 to 1964 she conducted multiple deterrent missions in the Pacific, operating under stringent secrecy and demanding patrol conditions that predated the endurance of later SSBNs. Preserved as a museum ship since 1988, Growler allows close study of how missile hangars, guidance spaces, and conventional submarine compartments were adapted for a nuclear role. In the dense urban setting of Manhattan’s West Side, the boat stands out as a compact case study in early submarine-based nuclear deterrence, engineering compromise, and the rapid obsolescence imposed by missile and reactor advances.