“This Can’t Be Good”
10 JULY 1975
“THIS CAN’T BE GOOD”
“This can’t be good,” Chief Paul DeLange thought to himself as he stood on the deck of the attack submarine USS FINBACK (SSN-670) early this morning overseeing the aft line handlers. Disco music blared from speakers rigged on the sail as FINBACK got underway from the Port Canaveral facility in Florida. But what held the Chief’s attention was on the port fairweather dive plane. As a tugboat towed the nuclear sub through the restricted waters of Canaveral inlet, a go-go dancer clad only in a thong and sneakers gyrated on the dive plane to the obvious delight of the crew!
Unorthodox actions were not foreign to CDR Connelly D. Stevenson, skipper of FINBACK. Previously, he had converted the wardroom dining table for ping-pong. He was notorious for wearing non-regulation head gear on the bridge, often exchanging his ballcap with pilots in foreign ports. His thoughts were for his crew who had just finished a laborious, long-hours overhaul. Morale was low in the Navy in this post-Vietnam era. Retention was poor, funding inadequate, substance abuse was common, facial hair abounded, and discipline was problematic. Surely a bit of levity as the boat began this long deployment would brighten the crew’s outlook.
Cathy “Cat” Futch was a dancer known to many of the 121-man crew from the Cork Club, a local Port Canaveral hotspot. The crew had convinced Stevenson to let her perform as they got underway. After about ten minutes of dancing FINBACK glided past the “boomer” ALEXANDER HAMILTON (SSBN-617) and at this cue Ms. Futch stopped, re-donned her long white robe, pocketed cash collected from the crew, and transferred to the waiting pilot boat.
Word of the event rose as high as the Secretary of Defense, James Schlesinger. On August 1st, shortly after FINBACK reached her station near the Bahamas, a message from SUBGRU Six commander, CAPT Austin Scott, instructed Stevenson to abort his mission and return to Norfolk. A month later the Washington Post broke the story, and the Navy had a major public image debacle on her hands. Ms. Futch was instantly the most popular go-go dancer in the country, and later stated, “I never saw such a smiling bunch of men go to sea.” Within the Navy opinions ranged from solid support to categorical rejection.
CNO, ADM James L. Holloway III ultimately decided Stevenson’s fate, detaching him for cause and awarding a Letter of Reprimand and a fine. The punishment was later reduced to a Letter of Admonition and the fine was waived. This allowed Stevenson to retain eligibility for promotion, though all agreed his chances were remote. He was reassigned to the Naval Research Laboratory in London and subsequently left the Navy.
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 14 JUL 25
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Taylor, Robert A. “Cat on a Cold Steel Dive Plane.” Naval History, Vol 24 (1), February 2010, pp. 40-43.
Trescott, Jacqueline. “After Dancing Topless on a Submarine, the Bar Scene Isn’t the Same.” Washington Post, 25 June 1977.
Wilson, George C. “Topless Dance on Sub Gets Skipper Beached.” Washington Post, 9 September 1975, p. A1.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: Secretary of the Air Force, John L. McLucas, seized the occasion to jab at the Navy, “even the Navy thinks $100 million is far too much to spend for a go-go dancer platform.”
Cat Futch enjoyed her fame briefly, claiming familiarity with the Navy from having been previously married to a sailor. After a series of dead-end jobs that followed, she enlisted in the US Marine Corps. But she was dropped from boot camp at Parris Island for medical reasons, problems she blamed on her treatment at the hands of resentful instructors and officers.
FINBACK was decommissioned 28 March 1997 and broken up for scrap.
