USS ''Dixon'' (AS-37) was an

submarine tender A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of foo ...

, in service to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1971 through 1995. ''Dixon'' was named for George E. Dixon, commander of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley.Associated Press, Virginia News briefs. The Danville Register. Danville, Virginia. Sunday, 8 August 1971. Page 6. ''Dixon'' was laid down by

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

Corp,

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree, Massachusetts, Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, on 7 September 1967. She was launched on 20 June 1970 and commissioned on 7 August 1971 at

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility ...

, sponsored by Mrs. Paul Masterson, the wife of retired Vice Adm. Paul Masterson, USN, 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. Ensign McIntyre later became the first woman to qualify as a Surface Warfare Officer. ''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 Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

(USA) at in a depth of 5130 m (2805 fathoms).

References

External links

Decommissioning ceremony photos - USS DIXON (AS 37)
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Press release about the boarding of the first female officers- United Press International
L. Y. Spear-class submarine tenders

Submarine tenders A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of food ...

Submarine tenders of the United States Navy

Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1970 ships Ships sunk as targets Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast Confederate States of America monuments and memorials {{US-mil-ship-stub