Athol Students To Name New Sub Uss Cutthroat Possible Moniker For Pend Oreille Research Craft

There’s never been a submarine called the USS Cutthroat.

Although fond of fish names, Navy brass rejected the name as a bit too bloodthirsty.

That could change today. The native trout is one of six choices facing Athol Elementary School students as they vote to name the Navy’s new model sub.

The 190-ton, 100-foot-long craft will ply the waters of nearby Lake Pend Oreille.

It’s a research device, not a war machine. But it will be used to test systems for the Navy’s new class of nuclear-powered attack submarine.

Giving it a name is a big deal, Commander Rick Schulz said Wednesday.

“We’re excited,” he told a gymnasium full of cheering students. “We think this is a historical event, something you’ll remember for the rest of your lives.”

Schulz heads the Navy’s Acoustic Research Detachment at Bayview. Its employees’ children attend Athol Elementary, which is why the school was chosen when Navy officials back East decided that students should do the honors.

The $50 million model sub will arrive at Bayview in about three years. It is now known simply as the LSV-2, short for Large Scale Vehicle.

The LSV-1 is called the Kokanee, so that name couldn’t be on the ballot. Other model names already include Kamloops, Dolly Varden, Mackinaw, Steelhead, Whitefish and Pike.

Navy officials wanted the LSV-2 to be named after a fish that is native to Idaho. So they put these names on the ballot: Bass, Cutthroat, Dace, Grayling, Sculpin and Sturgeon.

All but Cutthroat have been used for one or more submarines. All of those boats have been decommissioned. Four were nuclear-powered. Four were damaged or lost at sea.

Of the six species, only the cutthroat is native to Lake Pend Oreille. All but the grayling and sturgeon have been found there, although detachment director George Guedel told the kids that the ancient sturgeon may be the source of local legend.

“I think the Pend Oreille Paddler is a great big sturgeon, and not a monster at all,” he said.

A sturgeon can grow to 13 feet long. In contrast, the dace is a minnow.

The sculpin is a “squished-looking, flat fish,” Guedel said. Its picture produced a lot of giggles from the audience. But Capri Morton planned to vote for it. She likes the sound of “sculpin.”

Three of her fifth-grade classmates expressed quick support for the fiesty fish with the red slash.

“Cutthroat!” said Maddie Weller, Staci Hansen and Angela Armijo.

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