History of the USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657)

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USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657): History, Patrols, Crews

Commissioning

The USS Francis Scott Key was a member of the Benjamin Franklin class of ballistic missile submarines (also known as “Boomers”). She is the only ship in U.S. Navy history named in honor of Francis Scott Key, a lawyer who wrote the poem “The Defense of Fort McHenry,” during the British assault on Baltimore during the War of 1812. The poem was later set to music and became known as “The Star Spangled Banner”.

The contract to build the Francis Scott Key was awarded Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp.’s Groton (Conn.) Shipyard on July 29, 1963. Her keel was laid down on Dec. 5, 1964; she was launched on April 23, 1965. She was commissioned on Dec. 3, 1966, with Capt. Frank W. Graham commanding the Blue Crew and Lt. Commander Joseph B. Logan in command of the Gold Crew.

Underway

Upon completing her shakedown cruise, the Francis Scott Key successfully test fired a Polaris A-3 missile before arriving at her homeport of Charleston, S.C. She began her first deterrence patrol on June 6, 1967. During her first 18 patrols as part of Submarine Squadron 16, the Francis Scott Key also operated out of forward operating bases at Rota, Spain and Holy Loch, Scotland. She would win the Navy Unit Citation for the first time in May 1970.

During her first few years of operational service, the Francis Scott Key would successfully fire four and six Polaris missiles during tests. In February 1972, however, she entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Wash., for an upgrade. During this time, she had her contingent of 16 Polaris missiles removed and replaced with the new Poseidon missile system. The Francis Scott Key returned to the waters of the Atlantic in May 1973 and completed 19 more deterrence patrols operating out of Rota and Charleston.

The Francis Scott Key would win the Battle “E” for outstanding combat preparedness for three consecutive years, from 1975-78. In September 1978, after completing her 37th patrol, she returned to drydock once more for an overhaul. Once more, her missile system was upgraded, with her Poseidon missiles replaced with the new Trident missile system. In October 1979, the Francis Scott Key became the first ballistic missile submarine to deploy on a deterrence patrol with Trident missiles.
The Francis Scott Key would win two more Battle “E”s in 1979 and 1981. She also received a second Navy Unit Citation in 1979. She underwent a third overhaul in 1983, after completing her 49th deterrence patrol. By the fall of 1985, the overhaul was completed and the Francis Scott Key had returned to her normal duties in the Atlantic.

Decommissioning

The Francis Scott Key was decommissioned on Sept. 2, 1993 and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. She entered the Navy’s Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, Wash., and was declared scrapped on Sept. 1, 1995.

Characteristics of the USS Francis Scott Key (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 Francis Scott Key
Ordered: 29 July 1963
Laid down: 5 December 1964
Launched: 23 April 1965
Commissioned: 3 December 1966
Decommissioned: 2 September 1993
Struck: 2 September 1993
Fate: Submarine recycling

Timeline:
July 1963: USS Francis Scott Key ordered
December 1964: USS Francis Scott Key’s keel laid down
April 1965: USS Francis Scott Key launched
December 1966: USS Francis Scott key commissioned
1972—73: USS Francis Scott Key upgrades to Poseidon missile system
1978—79: USS Francis Scott Key upgrades to Trident missile system; becomes first ballistic missile submarine to deploy with Trident missiles
September 1993: USS Francis Scott Key decommissioned

Crewmembers of the USS Francis Scott Key:

An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Francis Scott Key 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/crew.php?action=ship&ship=ssn_588

Sean Segura (served October 1987—December 1991):”Lots of good times were had onboard FSKey. By far the most fun of the 3 boats I was on before I retired.”
Hanse Hill (served October 1988—October 1992): “Best Ballistic Submarine I have ever been attached. Awesome Crew.”

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Francis_Scott_Key_(SSBN-657)
http://www.ssbn657.com/uss_francis_scott_key%20HISTORY.htm

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