History | |
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United States | |
Name | Daniel Webster |
Namesake | Daniel Webster (1782–1852), an American statesman |
Ordered | 3 February 1961 |
Builder | General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut |
Laid down | 28 December 1961 |
Launched | 27 April 1963 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. W. Osborn Goodrich, Jr. |
Commissioned | 9 April 1964 |
Decommissioned | 30 August 1990 |
Motto | Liberty and Union |
Nickname(s) | "Old Funny Fins" |
Fate | Became moored training ship MTS-626 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarine (hull design SCB-216) [1] |
Displacement |
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Length | 425 ft (130 m) |
Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
Draft | 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Complement | Two crews (Blue and Gold), 13 officers and 130 enlisted men each |
Sensors and processing systems | BQS-4 sonar [1] |
Armament |
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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.
The contract to build Daniel Webster was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut, on 3 February 1961 and her keel was laid down there on 28 December 1961. She was launched on 27 April 1963, sponsored by Mrs. Mary Ernestine (Appleton) Goodrich, great-great granddaughter of Daniel Webster [2] and wife of W. Osborn Goodrich, Jr., and commissioned on 9 April 1964, with Commander Marvin S. Blair in command of the Blue Crew and Commander Lloyd S. Smith in command of the Gold Crew.
Daniel Webster was originally built with diving planes mounted on a "mini-sail" near the bow, leading to her nickname "Old Funny Fins". This configuration, unique to US submarines, [3] was an attempt to reduce the effect of porpoising. While successful, the "mini-sail" required to contain the operating mechanism reduced hydrodynamic efficiency and lowered her overall speed. [4] During a mid-1970s overhaul, these unusual planes were removed and standard fairwater planes were installed. [5] Here is a rare 1964 16mm Silent Film of USS Daniel Webster bow planes tests off Cape Canaveral also showing crew and port.
While in service, Daniel Webster was the last Lafayette-class submarine to be retrofitted to carry UGM-73 Poseidon missiles. [6]
Patrol history includes: Patrol 50 (Gold Crew) July, 1982 from Holy Loch, port calls Groton, CT, and Kings Bay, GA; Patrol 52 Feb 1983 ERP Holy Loch; Patrol 56 March 1984 from Holy Loch, port call Naples, Italy; port call Groton, CT in transit to the Naval Weapons Station, Charleston, SC, March 1985; ERP Charleston, April 1985; Patrol 60 June 1985; Patrol 66 (Gold Crew) December 1986 - March 1987; port call Naples, Italy, March 1987; Patrol 68 June 1987 from Holy Loch, port call November 1987 Lisbon, Portugal.
Daniel Webster was decommissioned on 30 August 1990 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. She was converted to a moored training ship (MTS) and S5W reactor prototype training facility, by the Charleston Naval Shipyard at Charleston, South Carolina. Upon completion and designation as the MTS-626, she was towed up-river to her permanent berth at Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit Charleston.
USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), named after the American Revolutionary War figure and Founding Father Patrick Henry (1736–1799), was a George Washington class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine of the United States Navy. She was later converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-599.
USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was the United States's first operational ballistic missile submarine. She was the lead ship of her class of nuclear ballistic missile submarines, was the third United States Navy ship of the name, in honor of Founding Father George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States, and was the first of that name to be purpose-built as a warship.
USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), lead ship of her class, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen.
USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602), a George Washington-class fleet ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States (1861–1865), the first being USS President Lincoln (1907).
USS Sam Houston (SSBN-609/SSN-609), an Ethan Allen-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after Sam Houston (1793–1863), president of the Republic of Texas. Sam Houston was the US Navy's seventh ballistic missile submarine.
USS Lafayette (SSBN-616), the lead ship of her class of ballistic missile submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named to honor Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero who fought alongside and significantly aided the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
USS John Marshall (SSBN-611) was an Ethan Allen-class submarine, the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for John Marshall (1755–1835), the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. Originally a fleet ballistic missile submarine designated SSBN-611, she later was reclassified as an attack submarine and re-designated SSN-611.
USS Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617) was a United States Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarine. It was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, the first US Secretary of the Treasury, who was instrumental in the formation of both the United States Coast Guard and the United States Navy.
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 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 James Monroe (SSBN-622), a Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Founding Father and U.S. president James Monroe. She served with the United States Navy from 1963 to 1990.
USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624), a Lafayette class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924), the 28th President of the United States (1913–1921). She later was converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-624.
USS Henry Clay (SSBN-625), a Lafayette class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Henry Clay (1777–1852), the American statesman and orator.
USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642) was a Benjamin Franklin-class ballistic missile submarine and the only ship in the United States Navy to be named after Kamehameha I, the first King of Hawaii. She is one of only two United States ships named after a monarch.a She was later reclassified as an attack submarine and re-designated SSN-642.
USS James Madison (SSBN-627), the lead ship of her class of ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Founding Father James Madison (1751–1836), the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817).
USS Tecumseh (SSBN-628), a James Madison-class ballistic missile submarine, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Tecumseh (c.1768–1813), the leader of the Shawnee people.
USS Daniel Boone (SSBN-629), a James Madison-class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Daniel Boone (1734–1820), the pioneer and frontiersman.
USS Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633), a James Madison-class ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Casimir Pulaski (1745–1779), a Polish general 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 Power Training Unit at Goose Creek, South Carolina.
USS Holland was a submarine tender in service with the United States Navy from 1963 to 1996.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register , which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.The entry can be found here.