USS Tecumseh (SSBN-628)

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.

The contract to build the ship was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 20 July 1961. Originally, she was to have been named "William Penn", and would have been the first Navy ship to bear that name, but was renamed on 11 April 1962.

"Tecumseh"'s keel was laid down on 1 June 1962. She was launched on 22 June 1963 sponsored by Mrs. Robert L.F. Sikes, and commissioned on 29 May 1964, with Commander Arnett B. Taylor in command of the Blue Crew and Commander Charles S. Carlisle in command of the Gold Crew.

Based at Pearl Harbor, "Tecumseh" deployed to the Mariana Islands on 17 December 1964, arriving at Guam 12 days later to commence deterrent patrols. She conducted 21 strategic deterrent patrols into 1969, then transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. She proceeded via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal to the East Coast and arrived at Newport News, Virginia, on 8 November 1969. Soon thereafter, she entered Newport News shipyard for a conversion which replaced her Polaris missile system with its Poseidon missile counterpart. Emerging from drydock on 9 May 1970, "Tecumseh" underwent a thorough overhaul through that fall and winter before being assigned a new home port of Charleston, South Carolina, on 18 February 1971.

She conducted sea trials and shakedown out of Charleston before conducting two deterrent patrols in late 1971. Subsequently deployed to Holy Loch, Scotland, "Tecumseh" arrived in Scottish waters on 9 February 1972. She conducted 18 more deterrent patrols out of Holy Loch through 1976.

"Tecumseh" was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 23 July 1993. Ex-"Tecumseh" entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, and on 1 April 1994 ceased to exist.

References

Based on data from the Naval Vessel Register