USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642)

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The Kamehameha 1992 with two DDS
The Kamehameha 1992 with two DDS
Overview
Order August 31, 1962
Keel laying May 2, 1963
Launch January 16, 1965
1. Period of service flag
Commissioning December 10, 1965
Decommissioning April 2, 2002
Whereabouts Canceled
Technical specifications
displacement

8250 ts submerged

length

129.5 m

width

10.1 m

Draft

9.6 m

crew

13 officers and 107 men

drive

A S5W reactor

speed

25+ knots

Armament

4 533 mm torpedo tubes , 16 ICBMs

The USS Kamehameha (SSN-642 / SSBN-642) was a nuclear-powered submarine of the Lafayette-class and belonged to the subclass Benjamin Franklin on. The boat was a so-called Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear , a submarine specially designed for launching ICBMs . It was named after King Kamehameha I of Hawaii.

The order to build the Kamehameha was awarded to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 1962 . There the boat was laid down in May 1963 and launched in January 1965. After the final equipment, it was put into service in December of that year.

The Kamehameha conducted most of their nuclear deterrent patrols from Rota base in Spain.

In July 1992 the Kamehameha was converted to carry out special orders. The missile shafts were deactivated, instead the boat was able to transport United States Navy Seals in Dry Deck Shelters (DDS) and secretly launch and pick up. For this, the classification of the boat was changed to SSN .

In 2002 the boat was withdrawn from active service as the last in its class. With a service time of 37 years, the Kamehameha holds the record for the longest service time of any nuclear submarine in the Navy. By 2003, the Kamehameha was demolished in the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . Some parts like the elevator and the periscope have been preserved and are on display today.

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