Commissioning
The USS Andrew Jackson, (SSBN-619: submarine, ballistic missile firing, nuclear-powered), was named after General, and later President, Andrew Jackson (1767-1845). It was the third completed member of the Lafayette class of ballistic missile submarines (commonly referred to as “Boomers”). The Jackson was designed to fire the second generation of the Polaris nuclear missile. The submarine was the second vessel in the navy named in honor of “Old Hickory”.
The contract to build the Andrew Jackson was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, on July 23, 1960. Her keel was laid on April 26, 1961. She was launched 17 months later, on September 15, 1962. The submarine was sponsored by Mrs. Estes Kefauver, wife of the senator from Jackson’s home state of Tennessee. The ship’s motto was “One Man With Courage is a Majority.”
Underway
After nearly 11 months of testing, the Andrew Jackson was officially commissioned and joined the ranks of the U.S. Navy on July 3, 1963. It had, as it would through out its service life, two crews: Commander Alfred J. Whittle was in command of the Blue Crew, while Commander James B. Wilson led the Gold Crew.
After passing through the Panama Canal and entering the Atlantic Ocean, the Andrew Jackson spent most of her shakedown cruise in the waters off of Cape Canaveral, Florida. On Oct. 1 and Oct. 11, the Andrew Jackson test fired two Polaris A-2 missiles. On Oct. 26, the Jackson’s crew became the first to fire the new Polaris A-3X missile from a submerged location. The Andrew Jackson would fire a third Polaris A-2 missile on Nov. 16, 1963, with President John F. Kennedy watching from a nearby service ship. After the exercise was completed, Kennedy took time to congratulate Commander Wilson and the Gold Crew for their “impressive teamwork.” Less than a week later, the president was assassinated.
In April 1964, the Andrew Jackson was assigned to Submarine Squadron 16, of the Atlantic Fleet and given the homeport of Charleston, S.C. In May, she embarked her first patrol and continued to conduct deterrent patrols from the advanced base at Rota, Spain, through 1973. In March of 1973, the submarine arrived at General Dynamics’ Groton (Conn.) Ship Yard to take part in an upgrade program, which would include giving the Andrew Jackson the capability to fire the new Poseidon nuclear ballistic missile.
When this program was completed in August 1975, the Andrew Jackson headed for the coast of the Bahamas for acoustic trials. She reported to the waters off Cape Canaveral, this time to test the Poseidon missile.
In February 1976, the Andrew Jackson conducted nuclear weapons acceptance tests at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The submarine would later moved to a new advance base at Holy Loch, Scotland, where it would continue its deterrent patrols through 1985. During its 36-year career, the Andrew Jackson never fired a shot in anger.
The Andrew Jackson was involved in one embarrassing incident during its career: it ran aground while entering the New London, Conn., harbor on May 24, 1979 during poor visibility and sustained minor damage to its rudder.
Decommissioning
On Aug. 31, 1989, the Andrew Jackson was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. It entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Wash., where it ceased to exist nearly exactly a decade after decommissioning-Aug. 30, 1999.
Characteristics of the USS Andrew Jackson (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Type: Ballistic missile submarine
Displacement: 7,250 long tons (7,370 t) surfaced; 8,250 long tons (8,380 t) submerged Length: 425 ft (130 m)
Beam: 33 ft (10 m)
Draft: 31 ft 6 in (9.6 m)
Propulsion: 1 × S5W reactor
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h) surfaced; -25 knots (46 km/h) submerged
Complement: Two crews (Blue/Gold) of 13 officers and 130 enlisted
Armament: • 4 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes for Mark 48 torpedoes
• 16 × vertical tubes for Polaris or Poseidon nuclear missiles
Timeline:
July 1960: Contract for construction of USS Andrew Jackson awarded
April 1961: Keel laying of USS Andrew Jackson
September 1962: USS Andrew Jackson launched
July 1963: USS Andrew Jackson begins shakedown cruise
October 1963: The Andrew Jackson fires two Polaris A-2 and one Polaris A-3X missiles during training off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Fla.
November 1963: USS Andrew Jackson successfully fires a Polaris A-2 missile during an exercise, with President John F. Kennedy in attendance.
May 1964: USS Andrew Jackson begins its first patrol.
March 1973-August 1975: USS Andrew Jackson undergoes upgrade and refurbishment at the Groton (Conn.) Ship Yard; the submarine obtains the capability of firing the Poseidon missile.
August 1975-February 1976: The submarine undergoes equipment and weapons tests off the coast of Florida and the Bahamas.
May 1979: USS Andrew Jackson runs aground entering the harbor at New London, Conn.
August 1987: USS Andrew Jackson completes 69th and final deterrence patrol.
August 1989: USS Andrew Jackson is decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register.
August 1999: The submarine ceases to exist.
Crew Members of the USS Andrew Jackson:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Andrew Jackson can be found on the unofficial navy website at: http://navysite.de. This list is compiled by former crew members that voluntarily register. Some quoted comments from former crew members are listed below; many more are available on the source website at the following web address: http://www.navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=ssbn_619.
Dan “Rusty” Roth (Served Jan. 1983-Aug. 1986): “Hard to believe the ship is gone…Seven patrols, lots of memories, lots of shipmates I’ll never see again.”
Tom Forrestal (Served Jan. 1986-May 1989): “My first and only Boat. Sad to see her MC cut out in Charleston.”
Robert Jones (Served Nov. 1987-May 1989): “Served my first 8 months on her, just in time for decommissioning. Made great friends.”
David (Doc) Strobbe (Served April 1986-Sept. 1987): As a TAD corpsman just out of school, this was my first boat and a trial by fire, so to speak. I learned a lot and learned it fast.
