Today marks a significant event in the history of this great nation. One that, unfortunately, far too few know about or even care about (I know Richard does).
From the commander of US Subvets Groton Base:
Before I get into this broadcast I want to take you back 50 years to 29 Dec 1959. We were already at war in a place that we would be hearing a lot about, a place called Viet Nam. The Cold War between the US, and the USSR was really hot. The next day would be a momentous day for the U.S., for the U.S. Navy, and for the U.S. Submarine Force. The would be an event that would change history and Submarine Warfare forever.
The event on 30 Dec 1959 was the commissioning of the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598). The GW was the first Fleet Balistic Missile Submarine to be commissioned by the U.S. Navy. The weapons that she would carry to sea were intended for deterrence, with the hopes that they would never have to be launched in anger. That arsenal of missles made the bombs that ended WWII in Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like fire crackers. The commissioning of the GW would mean that some where silently patrolling unknown to our enemies were the bombs that would take out the major cities in Russia. The commissioning of the GEORGE WASHINGTON laid the groundwork for 41 Submarines that would carry Polaris and Posieden missiles, and would become fondly known as the 41 for Freedom. Later as these Submarines came to the end of their useful lives, they were replaced by even more incredible Submarines, the TRIDENT Submarines. The groundwork laid by the GEORGE WASHINGTON’s Commissioning on 30 Dec 1959 was the foundation for thousands of man years of the crews of all of those Submarines on Deterrent Patrols out of places like Rota Spain, Holyloch Scotland, Groton, Charleston, Kings Bay, Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Bangor Washington. All of those efforts were for peace, and deterrence in the hopes that Russians would not shoot first knowing what was being aimed at them.
The men who brought USS GEORGE WASHINGTON to life that day, and the men who first sailed her were pioneers. With everything that followed them, we owe these pioneers a great debt of gratitude for what they accomplished. Many of our members served aboard the GW, and many others followed their initial lead. So to all those who brought GEORGE WASHINGTON to life, I would like to say thank you to each one of you for all that you did for the Submarine Force.
The sail of USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN598) on permanent display at the Submarine Museum in Groton, CT (photo: bullnav following the December drill weekend).
And 50 years ago…
GROTON, Conn. (June 9, 1959) – The ballistic-missile submarine USS George Washington (SSBN 589) slides down the ways during her launching ceremony at Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation, Groton, Conn. George Washington was originally scheduled to become USS Scorpion (SSN 589) but during her construction she was lengthened by the insertion of a 130-foot missile section and was finished as a fleet ballistic-missile submarine. George Washington was commissioned as the Navy’s first nuclear-powered fleet ballistic-missile submarine on Dec. 30, 1959.
Our 14 Trident ballistic missile submarines still patrol the seas today, the submariners aboard them making a different type of sacrifice from those in daily combat, yet just as necessary.
Take a few minutes today to remember the SSBN sailors who spent years of their lives as our most survivable arm of the nuclear triad.
