USS Parche (SSN-683)

USS Parche (SSN-683) off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, sometime prior to October 1985. The structure on the after part of her casing is a permanently attached swimmer lock-out chamber, although described under its naval cover as Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle.[citation needed] Her ship's insignia is at lower right.
History
United States
Name	USS Parche (SSN-683)
Namesake	The parche, a type of butterfly fish
Ordered	25 June 1968
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Laid down	10 December 1970
Launched	13 January 1973
Sponsored by	Natalie Beshany
Commissioned	17 August 1974
Decommissioned	19 October 2004
Stricken	18 July 2005
Motto	Par Excellence
Honors and awards	9 Presidential Unit Citations 10 Navy Unit Commendations 13 Navy Expeditionary Medals
Fate	Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program completed 30 November 2006
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Sturgeon-class attack submarine
Displacement	As built: 3,978 long tons (4,042 t) light 4,270 long tons (4,339 t) full 292 long tons (297 t) dead
Length	As built: 302 ft 3 in (92.13 m) After 1987–1991 lengthening: 401 ft (122 m)
Beam	31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft	28 ft 8 in (8.74 m)
Installed power	15,000 shaft horsepower (11.2 megawatts)
Propulsion	One S5W nuclear reactor, two steam turbines, one screw
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) submerged
Test depth	1,300 feet (396 meters)
Complement	As built: 112 (14 officers, 98 enlisted men) After 1987–1991 modifications: 179 (22 officers, 157 enlisted men)
Armament	4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Parche (SSN-683), a Sturgeon-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the parche /ˌpɑːrˈtʃeɪ/, a small, coral reef butterfly fish. Parche was launched on 13 January 1973, sponsored by Natalie Beshany, the wife of Vice Admiral Philip A. Beshany, and commissioned on 17 August 1974.

Attributed as being a key resource of the National Underwater Reconnaissance Office, Parche is said to be "the most highly decorated vessel in U.S. history."^[1][2][3]