the "howard w. gilmore" sailed into charleston harbor 30 july 1959 to take up her tending duties from this new base. in addition to servicing submarines during the next 18 months, the ship rode out hurricane donna in september 1960 off charleston. during 1961 she operated off the florida coast before entering charleston naval shipyard in november for a major overhaul. during this repair period, the "howard w. gilmore" was fitted with facilities for servicing nuclear submarines, increasing her versatility and usefulness for today's nuclear navy. with this fleet rehabilitation and modernization overhaul (fram) completed the ship returned to the caribbean for refresher training before resuming tender duties at charleston.