- USS Lafayette (SSBN-616)
USS "Lafayette" (SSBN-616), the
lead ship of her class ofballistic missile submarine , was the third ship of theUnited States Navy to be named to honor Marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero who fought with and significantly aided the American Army during theAmerican Revolutionary War .Her keel was laid down on
17 January 1961 by theElectric Boat Division ofGeneral Dynamics inGroton, Connecticut . She was launched8 May 1962 , sponsored byFirst Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy , wife of the 35thPresident of the United States , and commissioned23 April 1963 atGroton, Connecticut , with Commander P. J. Hannifin in command of the Blue Crew and Commander James T. Strong in command of the Gold Crew.After a shakedown in the
Caribbean Sea , "Lafayette" loaded missiles atCharleston, South Carolina , and during June sailed toCape Canaveral, Florida , for ballistic missile maneuvers. Four missiles were fired, two by each crew, after which the nuclear submarine steamed toGroton, Connecticut , arriving there2 August . For the rest of the year her two crews alternately took her through a series of exercises before she took her place in the Navy's expanding Polaris Fleet."Lafayette" departed Charleston
4 January 1964 for her first deterrent patrol in the Atlantic. During the next four years, "Lafayette" made 16 deterrent patrols out ofRota, Spain . Her 15th patrol, the 400th of the Polaris submarine fleet, won "Lafayette" special commendation fromSecretary of the Navy Paul Nitze . She returned to Charleston from her 16th patrol on23 August 1967 . A week later, she arrivedNewport News, Virginia , for a major overhaul by Newport News Shipbuilding to prepare for future service. On28 December 1968 , "Lafayette"'s overhaul officially ended and in January1969 , she once again took up her position with the fleet.Deactivated while still in commission on
1 March 1991 , "Lafayette" was decommissioned and stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on the following12 August . She began the Navy's Nuclear PoweredShip and Submarine Recycling Program atBremerton, Washington , the day she was stricken. On25 February 1992 , the ship no longer existed as an entity and was classed as scrapped.References
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