The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation on 9 July 1960 and her keel was laid down on 15 December 1961 at Groton, Connecticut. She was launched 14 May 1964 sponsored by Mrs. Lawson P. Ramage, and was commissioned 25 January 1968. On 15 November 1969, Gato collided with the Soviet submarine K-19 in the Barents Sea at a depth of some . Gato was decommissioned and stricken on 25 April 1996 and disposed of by submarine recycling.