USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599)
_underway_with_crew_on_deck.jpg) The Patrick Henry with crew on deck |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Order | December 31, 1957 |
| Keel laying | May 27, 1958 |
| Launch | September 22, 1959 |
| 1. Period of service |
|
| Commissioning | April 11, 1960 |
| Decommissioning | May 25, 1984 |
| Whereabouts | Wrecked in 1997 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
6800 ts submerged |
| length |
116.3 m |
| width |
10 m |
| Draft |
8.8 meters |
| crew |
12 officers, 100 sailors |
| drive |
S5W pressurized water reactor, 15,000 SHP |
| speed |
20 knots |
| Armament |
16 Polaris ballistic missiles , 6 torpedo tubes |
The USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599 / SSN-599) was a for George Washington-class submarine belonging nuclear submarine of the US Navy , which was found in April 1960 in service. The Patrick Henry remained in service until May 1984 and was then in the reserve fleet for several years . In 1997, the environmentally friendly scrapping took place as part of the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program .
history
_in_1960.jpg)
The Patrick Henry was laid down on May 27, 1958 in the Electric Boat shipyard in Groton and launched on September 22, 1959. The commissioning took place on April 11, 1960. As usual with nuclear submarines, the boat had two different crews, the so-called Blue Crew and the Gold Crew (named after the colors of the United States Navy). First in command of the Blue Crew was Commander Harold E. Shear, and Commander of the Gold Crew was Commander Robert LJ Long .
After test drives and several rocket launches, the Patrick Henry set out for Holy Loch in Scotland , where she arrived on March 8, 1961 after 66 days and 22 hours. As a special feature, the boat remained submerged during the entire crossing, which was a record in the George Washington class in terms of diving time. Upon arrival in Holy Loch, the Patrick Henry anchored next to the submarine support ship USS Proteus (AS-19) for supplies and minor repairs .
After seventeen patrols from Holy Loch, the boat returned to its builder Electric Boat in December 1964, where it received a major overhaul and the S5W reactor was refilled. After training missions off Puerto Rico and Cape Canaveral in 1966, the Patrick Henry belonged to Submarine Squadron 14 from December 1966. In March 1968, the boat returned to Holy Loch for another patrol.
During the 1970s, the Patrick Henry was stationed in Pearl Harbor . In 1976 she received a replenishment of her reactor in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard . In 1978 the boat took part in the Demonstration and Shakedown Operation, during which the readiness of the crew and the weapon systems were tested.
Like several of her sister ships , the Patrick Henry was re-registered as an attack submarine in 1982 and was henceforth known as SSN-599 . She then remained in the service for another two years before being retired on May 25, 1984. After several years in the reserve fleet, the environmentally friendly demolition of the boat took place in 1997 as part of the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . The demolition work was completed by August 21, 1997.
Web links
- Entry on Patrick Henry on navsource.org (English)
- Entry on Patrick Henry on navysite.de (English)