USS George Washington Carver (SSBN-656): History, Patrols, Crews
Commissioning
The USS George Washington Carver was a member of the Benjamin Franklin class of ballistic missile submarines (also known as “Boomers”). She is one of two ships in the history of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of renowned inventor George Washington Carver.
The order to build the George Washington Carver was awarded to the Newport News (Va.) Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. on July 29, 1963. Her keel was laid down on Aug. 24, 1964; she was launched on Aug. 14, 1965. She was commissioned on June 15, 1966, with Capt. R.D. Donavan in command of the Blue Crew and Lt. Commander Carl J. Lidel commanding the Gold Crew.
Underway
Assigned to the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet, the George Washington Carver’s Blue Crew capped their shakedown cruise by successfully launching a Polaris A-3 ballistic missile in late 1966. The missile traveled 1500 miles before successfully landing in a firing range in the Atlantic Ocean.
In October 1967, the Gold Crew test-fired three Polaris missiles in rapid succession during the ship’s first strategic operational test. In 1972, the George Washington Carver underwent a major overhaul, which included the replacement of the submarine’s major weapons system. Her 16 Polaris missiles were removed and replaced with the newer Poseidon C-3 missile system. By May 1973, the George Washington Carver had returned to the waters of the Atlantic and, on May 19, successfully test fired her first Poseidon missile. In August, she returned to normal deterrent patrol duty and began her 20th patrol.
After completing 53 deterrent patrols, the George Washington Carver went back into dry dock for a refueling of her nuclear reactor and an overhaul. The process would take nearly three years, and it would be 1985 before she would return to Atlantic waters. On Aug. 10, the George Washington Carver’s Blue Crew would test fire two Poseidon Missiles in the waters off of Cape Canaveral, Fla. In February 1986, she would be deployed to Holy Loch, Scotland, a commonly-used forward operating base for U.S. submarines.
In October 1989, the George Washington Carver won her first and only Battle “E” for outstanding combat preparedness. A short time later, having completed 73 deterrent patrols, she returned to dry dock for a final overhaul. The George Washington Carver had her 16 ballistic missiles removed and new stage of her life as fast attack submarine assigned to the Pacific Fleet. She was re-designated SSN-656.
Decommissioning
The George Washington Carver was decommissioned on March 18, 1993. She entered the Navy’s Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, Wash., and was declared scrapped on March 12, 1994.
Characteristics of the USS George Washington Carver (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Displacement: 6,494 tons
Length: 129.5 m (425 ft)
Beam: 10 m (33 ft)
Draft: 9.6 m (32 ft)
Propulsion: S5W reactor
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h) surfaced, 21 knots (39 km/h) submerged
Test depth: 400 m (1,300 ft)
Complement: two crews of 14 officers and 126 enlisted men each
Armament: 16 missile tubes, 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Career:
Name: USS George Washington Carver
Awarded: 29 July 1963
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company.
Laid down: 24 August 1964
Launched: 14 August 1965
Commissioned: 15 June 1966
Decommissioned: 18 March 1993
Fate: submarine recycling
Timeline:
July 1963: USS George Washington Carver ordered
August 1964: USS George Washington Carver’s keel laid down
August 1965: USS George Washington Carver launched
June 1966: USS George Washington Carver commissioned
October 1967: USS George Washington Carver test fires three Polaris missiles
May 1973: USS George Washington Carver deploys with new Poseidon missile system
October 1989: USS George Washington Carver wins Battle “E”
March 1993: USS George Washington Carver decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS George Washington Carver:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS George Washington Carver can be found on the unofficial navy website at: http://navysite.de. This list is compiled by former crewmembers that voluntarily register. Some quoted comments from former crewmembers are listed below; many more are available on the source website at the following Web address:
http://navysite.de/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=750
Kenneth Board (served January 1975—April 1977): “Some of the best times of my time in the Navy and my life. Lots of great memories. I truly miss those days and going to sea. It was an honor to serve with on this ship with these fine men.”
James Thomas (served 1976—80): “wow-that was interesting.”
Geoffrey Seward (served January 1976—October 1979): “Best people I ever worked with.”
Dave Butler (served April 1976—August 1979): “Learned a great deal; sometimes the hard way. Some of the greatest people I ever served with. Lucky to serve again with some later in career.”
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_George_Washington_Carver_(SSBN-656)
http://www.gwcarver.org/history.htm
