annual "Springboard" exercises. The one notable exception to that pattern occurred in January and February 1955 when she assisted , the Navy's first nuclear-powered submarine, in completing her builders' trials. 1962–1973 At the beginning of 1962, Skylark began a new phase of her career when regular deployments to the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean became a normal aspect of her activities and continued to be for the remainder of her naval service. She embarked upon the first such cruise on 8 January 1962. During that assignment, she served as flagship of Task Force (TF) 69 and participated in the search for an Air Force jet fighter which crashed at sea near Málaga, Spain. On 7 May 1962, she returned to New London and resumed her duties with the Atlantic Fleet. In April 1963, she was working closely with the when the submarine sank during diving tests, and Skylark issued the first distress call following the incident. Skylark also participated in the search for the submarine which was conducted for several days after the loss. In July 1963, she was deployed to the Mediterranean once more and again served as flagship of TF 69. That cruise lasted until late October, and Skylark re-entered New London on 2 November. Nineteen months of duty out of her home port, along the Atlantic coast of the United States, followed her return home. On 7 July 1965, the submarine rescue vessel stood out of New London once more, bound for the Mediterranean and duty in support of 6th Fleet submarines. During the latter portion of that cruise, Skylark served for several weeks at the ballistic missile submarine base located in Holy Loch, Scotland, before returning home to New London on 29 October. During the remaining eight years of her Navy career, the ship alternated duty along the Atlantic coast of the United States with deployments to the Mediterranean and to the submarine base at Holy Loch. In the spring of 1968, she participated in the unsuccessful rescue attempt and search for , the second American nuclear-powered submarine to be lost at sea. During the period 1970-1972, Skylark, under command of LCDR A.J. Smith, participated in many experimental test operations, including towing and escorting deep-diving research nuclear submarine NR-1, and in 1971 the feasibility of towing submerged fast attack nuclear submarines with a 3-inch nylon hawser and the further feasibility of using a quick-release mechanism on