Editing USS Barbero (section)

===Post-war cargo and Regulus missile conversions===
In September 1945, she was ordered to [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] – where she underwent pre-inactivation overhaul – and was placed in commission in reserve on 25 April 1946.

Following conversion to a cargo submarine at Mare Island, ''Barbero'' was recommissioned, redesignated '''[[hull classification symbol|SSA]]-317''', and assigned to the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]] on 31 March 1948. From October 1948 – March 1950, she took part in an experimental program to evaluate her capabilities as a cargo carrier. Experimentation ended in early 1950, and she was decommissioned into the reserve on 30 June 1950.

On 1 February 1955, ''Barbero'' entered [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] for her a conversion under project [[Ship Characteristics Board|SCB 118]],<ref name="Friedman since 1945, p. 178">Friedman since 1945, p. 178</ref> equipping her to launch the [[Regulus missile|Regulus I]] nuclear cruise missile. She was thus redesignated '''SSG-317''' and recommissioned on 28 October 1955 under Lt. Cmdr. Samuel T. Bussey as the second submarine equipped with the Regulus missile, {{USS|Tunny|SSG-282|2}} having been converted in 1953. In this role, ''Barbero'' was equipped with a hangar housing two missiles and a launcher on the after deck.  One of the limitations of Regulus was that the firing submarine had to surface, the missile then being rolled out onto the launcher and fired. Regulus I also required guidance from submarines or other platforms after firing. She operated off the coast of California, firing her first test missile near [[San Clemente Island]] on 14 March 1956, until April 1956, when she transited the [[Panama Canal]] and joined the [[United States Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]], based at [[Naval Station Norfolk|Norfolk]], Virginia. From there, she served as an integral part in the nation's defense against nuclear war by carrying out early versions of the [[deterrence theory|deterrent]] patrols that later became a regular feature of the submarine force after the introduction of the [[SSBN|fleet ballistic missile submarine]]. She conducted patrols in the Atlantic for the next three years, under a policy of having one Regulus boat in each ocean.<ref name="Friedman since 1945, p. 183">Friedman since 1945, p. 183</ref>

On 1 July 1959, ''Barbero'' was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet's Submarine Squadron 1, based at Pearl Harbor to conduct deterrent patrols in the Pacific due to a shift in policy placing all deployed Regulus assets there. She usually patrolled with ''Tunny'' to provide four missiles on station.<ref name="Friedman since 1945, p. 183"/> In January 1962, ''Barbero'' entered the [[Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard]] for an extensive five-month overhaul. During that time, members of her crew pursued various fields of training and education at service schools in Hawaii and on the [[United States West Coast]]. After concluding the overhaul in June 1962, ''Barbero'' carried out local operations and conducted refresher training. She then completed a single deterrent patrol in the latter half of 1962. ''Barbero'' conducted another two deterrent patrols in 1963, making liberty calls in [[East Asia]]n ports at the conclusion of each.

====Missile Mail====
{{Main|Rocket mail}}
<div style="float: right; margin-left: 1em">[[File:missilemail.jpg|500px]]</div>
In 1959 ''Barbero'' assisted the [[United States Post Office Department]], predecessor of what in 1971 became today's [[United States Postal Service]] (USPS), in its search for faster, more efficient forms of mail transportation. The Post Office tried its first and only delivery of "Missile Mail", though the idea of delivering mail by rocket was not new. Shortly before noon on 8 June 1959, off the northern Florida coast under command of her new skipper Robert H. Blount, ''Barbero'' fired a Regulus cruise missile towards the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, [[Naval Station Mayport|Mayport, Florida]]. Twenty-two minutes later the training type missile landed at its target; its training-type warhead having been configured to contain two official USPS mail containers.<ref name="English2003"/>

The Post Office had officially established a branch post office on ''Barbero'' and delivered some 3,000 pieces of mail to it before ''Barbero'' left [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. The mail consisted entirely of [[Cover (philately)|commemorative postal covers]] addressed to [[President of the United States]] [[Dwight Eisenhower]], other government officials, the Postmasters General of all members of the [[Universal Postal Union]], and so on. They contained letters from [[United States Postmaster General]] [[Arthur E. Summerfield]]. Their postage (four cents domestic, eight cents international) had been cancelled "USS Barbero 8 June 9.30&nbsp;am 1959" before the boat put to sea. In Mayport, the Regulus was opened and the mail forwarded to the [[Jacksonville, Florida]] Post Office for further sorting and routing.<ref name="English2003"/>

Upon witnessing the missile's landing, Summerfield stated, "This peacetime employment of a guided missile for the important and practical purpose of carrying mail, is the first known official use of missiles by any Post Office Department of any nation." Summerfield proclaimed the event to be "of historic significance to the peoples of the entire world," and predicted that "before man reaches the moon, mail will be delivered within hours from New York to California, to Britain, to India or Australia by guided missiles. We stand on the threshold of rocket mail."<ref name="English2003">{{cite book|last=English|first=Dave|title=The air up there: more great quotations on flight|url=https://archive.org/details/airupthere00dave|url-access=registration|access-date=7 June 2011|date=2003-01-24|publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional|isbn=978-0-07-141036-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/airupthere00dave/page/41 41]}}</ref>