USS Dixon (AS-37)

USS Dixon (AS-37) was an L. Y. Spear-class submarine tender, in service to the United States Navy from 1971 through 1995. Dixon was named for George E. Dixon, commander of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley.[1]

USS Dixon (AS 37)
History
Name: USS Dixon (AS-37)
Namesake: George E. Dixon
Ordered: 20 April 1966
Builder: General Dynamics Corp., Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down: 7 September 1967
Launched: 20 June 1970
Acquired: 7 May 1971
Commissioned: 7 August 1971
Decommissioned: 15 December 1995
Stricken: 18 March 1996
Motto: Ready for Service
Fate: Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 21 July 2003
General characteristics
Class and type: L.Y. Spear-class submarine tender
Displacement: 22,640 tons
Length: 644 ft (196 m)
Beam: 85 ft (26 m)
Draft: 57 ft (17 m)
Propulsion: steam turbine engine, 1 propeller
Speed: 20 knots
Complement: 1,338
Armament: two 5-inch, four 0.5 in (12.7 mm) guns

Dixon was laid down by General Dynamics Corp, Fore River Shipyard at Quincy, Massachusetts, on 7 September 1967. She was launched on 20 June 1970 and commissioned on 7 August 1971 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, sponsored by Mrs. Paul Masterson, the wife of retired Vice Adm. Paul Masterson, USN,[1] and commanded by Capt. D.S. Boyd, USN.

In November 1978, two female officers, Ensigns Roberta McIntyre and Macushla McCormick, boarded Dixon. They were part of the first group of female officers to serve aboard U.S. Navy ships starting in November 1978.[2] Ensign McIntyre later became the first woman to qualify as a Surface Warfare Officer.[3] Dixon was decommissioned 15 December 1995 and struck 18 March 1996. She was sunk as a target in the Atlantic Ocean during a fleet training exercise 21 July 2003 over 580 km (360 mi) southeast of Charleston, South Carolina (USA) at 31°16′17.9″N 73°57′46.2″W in a depth of 5130 m (2805 fathoms).

References
  1. Associated Press, Virginia News briefs. The Danville Register. Danville, Virginia. Sunday, 8 August 1971. Page 6.
  2. "Victory at Sea for Women". The Hour. Norwalk, Connecticut. Associated Press. 2 November 1978. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  3. Loewer, Rear Admiral D.A. (March 2004). "Pushing Open the Door of Opportunity". Navy.mil. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.


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