Lafayette-class
Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines
41 FOR FREEDOM
SSBN-616 TO SSBN-626
The first of 31 larger, quieter boomers that would carry America's sea-based nuclear deterrent through the 1990s. Bigger missile tubes allowed conversion from Polaris to Poseidon MIRVed missiles, and later Trident I - multiplying the destructive potential of every patrol. Together with the Madison and Franklin classes, these 31 boats held the line through the most dangerous decades of the Cold War.
SSBN-616 USS Lafayette
Lead Ship of Class
ATLANTIC
General Dynamics EB
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Poseidon C-3
Missile
Groton
Homeport
Decomm. 1991
Status
Lead ship of the class that formed the backbone of America's sea-based deterrent for three decades. Larger missile tubes allowed conversion from Polaris to Poseidon - each carrying 10 independently targetable MIRVed warheads, multiplying the destructive potential of every patrol.
SSBN-617 USS Alexander Hamilton
ATLANTIC
General Dynamics EB
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Poseidon C-3
Missile
Groton
Homeport
Decomm. 1993
Status
Named for the first Secretary of the Treasury and architect of the American financial system. Conducted deterrent patrols from Holy Loch, Scotland, and Kings Bay, Georgia, through the height of the Cold War.
SSBN-619 USS Andrew Jackson
ATLANTIC
Mare Island Navy Yard
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Poseidon C-3
Missile
Charleston
Homeport
Decomm. 1989
Status
Built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard - one of the few boomers constructed on the West Coast. Conducted Atlantic deterrent patrols from Charleston. Named for the seventh president, the frontier general who became 'the people's president.'
SSBN-620 USS John Adams
ATLANTIC
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Poseidon C-3
Missile
Charleston
Homeport
Decomm. 1989
Status
Named for the second president and champion of American independence. Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Patrolled the Atlantic from Charleston for over two decades.
SSBN-622 USS James Monroe
ATLANTIC
Newport News Shipbuilding
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Poseidon C-3
Missile
Charleston
Homeport
Decomm. 1990
Status
Named for the fifth president whose Monroe Doctrine declared the Western Hemisphere off-limits to European colonization. Carried the nuclear umbrella that enforced a far more global version of that principle.
SSBN-623 USS Nathan Hale
ATLANTIC
General Dynamics EB
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Poseidon C-3
Missile
Charleston
Homeport
Decomm. 1986
Status
Named for the Revolutionary War spy whose last words - 'I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country' - became a national creed. First Lafayette-class boat decommissioned, in 1986.
SSBN-624 USS Woodrow Wilson
Trident I Upgrade
ATLANTIC
General Dynamics EB
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Trident I C-4
Missile
Charleston
Homeport
Decomm. 1994
Status
One of the Lafayette boats upgraded from Poseidon to Trident I C-4 missiles - extending her range to over 4,000 nautical miles and dramatically increasing her patrol area. Named for the 28th president who led America through World War I.
SSBN-625 USS Henry Clay
ATLANTIC
Newport News Shipbuilding
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Poseidon C-3
Missile
Charleston
Homeport
Decomm. 1990
Status
Named for the 'Great Compromiser' - the Kentucky senator who held the Union together through three decades of sectional crisis. Carried Poseidon missiles on Atlantic deterrent patrols from Charleston.
SSBN-626 USS Daniel Webster
Moored Training Ship
ATLANTIC
General Dynamics EB
LAFAYETTE CLASS
Trident I C-4
Missile
Charleston
Homeport
MTS - Charleston
Status
After decommissioning in 1990, converted to a moored training ship at Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Charleston. Her reactor continues to train the next generation of nuclear operators. Named for the legendary orator and senator from Massachusetts.
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