Christening of the USS Sunfish

By Sarah Brennan

A model of the USS Sunfish given to Erma as a memento of the event

As public figures representing West Virginia on the national stage, Senator Robert C. Byrd and his wife Erma frequently performed symbolic acts. One such act was the christening of United States ships. Mrs. Byrd was familiar with the duties that came along with christening a United States Navy submarine by the time she was asked to sponsor the USS West Virginia in 1989. Twenty-three years prior to that launch, Erma was invited to christen her first nuclear submarine, the USS Sunfish. The ceremony took place in Quincy, Massachusetts on October 14, 1966 as part of a twin christening along with the USS Whale, sponsored by Senator Russell Long’s wife, Katherine.

The bottle used to christen the USS Sunfish

Naval tradition holds that the responsibilities of a ship’s sponsor go far beyond the familiar image of breaking a champagne bottle across the ship’s bow. As sponsor, Mrs. Byrd was made aware of the almost spiritual connection she would have with the Sunfish over the course of its life. “The Navy has always been aware of the importance of dedication… The complex physical power of a ship is dead without the spiritual force that gives life meaning,” E.M. Eller, Director of Naval History, wrote to Erma in June, 1966. The ship is said to take on the spirit and positive qualities of the sponsor, and for the Sunfish and its crew, this was especially meaningful during Cold War tensions. Both the Sunfish and the Whale were constructed with the intent to seek out and destroy enemy vessels, but beyond this, the ships were also symbolic regarding their place of construction. Submarines had not been constructed in Quincy since 1942. These twin ships were the first nuclear submarines built in Massachusetts. The submarines were named for two ships that served with distinction during World War II. 

Senator Byrd and his daughters were in attendance for the christening, in addition to more than 1,000 national, state, and local dignitaries and workers from the General Dynamics shipyard. The Senator stood behind his wife, along with Roger Lewis, President of General Dynamics, waiting to congratulate Erma on christening the ship. The ceremony was a success, and it seems as though Mrs. Byrd did indeed imbue the Sunfish with her spirit. Much like the Byrds themselves, the Sunfish went on to make history, completing its 1,000th dive in 1996. This kind of longevity is a claim that most ships cannot make, and perhaps the Sunfish had Mrs. Byrd to thank for that. In christening the USS Sunfish, and later, the USS West Virginia, Erma Byrd was able to represent her state on a national level, and perform an historic patriotic duty. Senator Byrd later said about the role his wife played as sponsor of the Sunfish, “Obviously, I was very proud of her.”

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