The Benjamin Franklin-class submarine was a group of US ballistic missile submarines that were in Navy service from the 1960s–2000s. The class was an evolutionary development from the earlier James Madison class of fleet ballistic missile submarine. Having quieter machinery and other improvements, it is considered a separate class. A subset of this class is the re-engineered 640 class starting with USS George C. Marshall. The primary difference was that they were built under the new SUBSAFE rules after the loss of USS Thresher, earlier boats of the class had to be retrofitted to meet SUBSAFE requirements. The Benjamin Franklin class, together with the George Washington, Ethan Allen, Lafayette, and James Madison classes, comprised the "41 for Freedom" that was the Navy's primary contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s. This class and the James Madison class are combined with the Lafayettes in some references.
The UGM-73 Poseidon missile was the second US Navy nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) system, powered by a two-stage solid-fuel rocket. It succeeded the UGM-27 Polaris beginning in 1972, bringing major advances in warheads and accuracy. It was followed by Trident I in 1979, and Trident II in 1990.
A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles operate in a different way from submarine-launched cruise missiles.
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – the SS denotes submarine, the B denotes ballistic missile, and the N denotes that the submarine is nuclear powered. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capability. They can fire missiles thousands of kilometers from their targets, and acoustic quieting makes them difficult to detect, thus making them a survivable deterrent in the event of a first strike and a key element of the mutual assured destruction policy of nuclear deterrence.
The George Washington class was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines deployed by the United States Navy. George Washington, along with the later Ethan Allen, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes, comprised the "41 for Freedom" group of submarines that represented the Navy's main contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s.
41 for Freedom refers to the US Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarines from the George Washington, Ethan Allen, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes. All of these submarines were commissioned 1959–1967, as the goal was to create a credible, survivable sea-based deterrent as quickly as possible. These submarines were nicknamed "41 for Freedom" once the goal of 41 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) was established in the early 1960s. The 1972 SALT I Treaty limited the number of American submarine-launched ballistic missile tubes to 656, based on the total missile tubes of the forty-one submarines, in line with the treaty's goal of limiting strategic nuclear weapons to the number already existing.
The Ethan Allen class of fleet ballistic missile submarine was an evolutionary development from the George Washington class. The Ethan Allen, together with the George Washington, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes comprised the "41 for Freedom" that were the Navy's main contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s.
USS Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610), an Ethan Allen-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the inventor, Thomas Edison (1847–1931).
The James Madison class of submarine was an evolutionary development from the Lafayette class of fleet ballistic missile submarine. They were identical to the Lafayettes except for being initially designed to carry the Polaris A-3 missile instead of the earlier A-2. This class, together with the George Washington, Ethan Allen, Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin classes, composed the "41 for Freedom" that was the Navy's primary contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s. This class and the Benjamin Franklin class are combined with the Lafayettes in some references.
USS Simon Bolivar (SSBN-641), a Benjamin Franklin class fleet ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Simón Bolívar (1783–1830), a hero of the independence movements of the former Spanish colonies in South America.
USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644), a Benjamin Franklin class ballistic missile submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the explorers Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809) and William Clark (1770–1838), who carried out the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–06.
USS Nathan Hale (SSBN-623) was the sixth Lafayette class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine produced. She was named for Captain Nathan Hale (1755–1776), a Connecticut schoolteacher who served in the Continental Army and known most famously for giving his life as a spy during the American Revolutionary War.
USS James K. Polk (SSBN-645), a Benjamin Franklin class fleet ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for James K. Polk (1795–1849), the eleventh President of the United States (1845–1849). She was later converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-645.
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" submarines. Nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for conventional submarines. The large amount of power generated by a nuclear reactor allows nuclear submarines to operate at high speed for long periods, and the long interval between refuelings grants a range virtually unlimited, making the only limits on voyage times being imposed by such factors as the need to restock food or other consumables.
USS Daniel Webster (SSBN-626), a Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarine (FBM), was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Senator Daniel Webster.
USS John Adams (SSBN-620), a Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Founding Father John Adams (1735–1826), the second President of the United States (1797–1801), and his son John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), the sixth President of the United States (1825–1829). Both names were used with the captains of the Blue and Gold crews alternately using the names John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
USS Von Steuben (SSBN-632), a James Madison-class fleet ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794), a Prussian army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War.
USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635) was a James Madison-class fleet ballistic missile submarine named for Sam Rayburn (1882–1961), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Sam Rayburn was in commission 2 December 1964 to 31 July 1989 carrying the Polaris missile and later the Poseidon missile. Following decommissioning, ex-Sam Rayburn was converted into a moored training ship for use at the Naval Nuclear Prototype Training Unit at Goose Creek, South Carolina.
Submarine Squadron 15 is a squadron of submarines of the United States Navy based at Naval Base Guam.
A moored training ship (MTS) is a United States Navy nuclear powered submarine that has been converted to a training ship for the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command's Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) at Naval Support Activity Charleston in South Carolina. The NPTU is part of the Navy's Nuclear Power School at Goose Creek, S.C. The Navy uses decommissioned nuclear submarines and converts them to MTSs to train personnel in the operation and maintenance of submarines and their nuclear reactors. The first moored training ship was USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635) a James Madison-class fleet ballistic missile submarine, redesignated as (MTS-635) in 1989, followed a year later by USS Daniel Webster (SSBN-626), a Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarine, redesignated as (MTS-626). Conversion of these two boats took place at the Charleston Naval Shipyard and modifications included special mooring arrangements with a mechanism to absorb power generated by the main propulsion shaft.
United States Navy 