USS Sam Houston (SSBN-609)
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Awarded: | 1 July 1959 |
| Laid down: | 28 December 1959 |
| Launched: | 2 February 1961 |
| Commissioned: | 6 March 1962 |
| Fate: | submarine recycling |
| Stricken: | 6 September 1991 |
| General Characteris tics | |
| Displacement: | 6900 tons surfaced, 8000 tons submerged |
| Length: | 410 feet |
| Beam: | 33 feet |
| Draft: | 32 feet |
| Powerplant: | S5W reactor |
| Speed: | 20+ knots |
| Complement: | two crews of 110 officers and men each |
| Armament: | 16 Polaris missiles, four 21-inch torpedo tubes</t d> |
USS Sam Houston (SSBN-609), a Ethan Al len-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be n amed for the President of the Republic of Texas. (Several ships
have been named USS Houston for the city of [[Houston, Texa
s]] -- which was of course named in honor of Sam Houston.) Her keel was laid
down on 28 December 1959 by the [[Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Doc
k Company]] of Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on 2 February 1961 sponsored by Mrs. John B. Connally, and [[ ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 6 March 1962 with Captain W. P. Wil lis, Jr. commanding the Blue Crew and Commander Jack H. Hawkins commanding the G old Crew.
Following shakedown, the nation's seventh Polaris submarine fired her first miss ile on 25 April off Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Gold Crew, commanded by
Commander J. H. Hawkins, then took over, completed its missile firing on [[11
May]] 1962 and then departed from Cape Canaveral for its own shakedown train ing.
On her first patrol, Sam Houston, manned by the Blue Crew, operated continuo usly submerged for 48 days and two hours, then moored alongside the submarine te nder Proteus (AS-19) in Holy Loch, Scotland.
Following upkeep, the Gold Crew commenced its first patrol on 25 December,
returning to Holy Loch in February 1963. The crews were again alternated, an d Sam Houston departed on her third patrol in March. On this patrol, she was
the first fleet ballistic missile submarine to enter the Mediterranean Sea
where she joined the NATO forces. On a short operational visit to Izmir,
Turkey, she became the first Polaris submarine to make a port-of-call durin
g a patrol. With the two crews alternating every 90 days, Sam Houston comple ted six successful Polaris patrols by the end of the year.
By the end of 1964, Sam Houston had completed ten patrols. During [[1965 ]], she completed four additional deterrent patrols. During 1966, Sam Hous ton completed three more patrols, including her longest which lasted 71 days.
On 10 August 1966, she returned to the United States for the first
time since her deployment in 1962 and commenced a major overhaul at the Unit ed States Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On 30 October [[1 967]], she got underway for sea trials, and, a month later, her Blue Crew began shakedown training. In January 1968, the Gold Crew conducted shakedown opera tions. Following further tests, she got under way for her 18th deterrent patrol,
and put into Holy Loch on 25 May. By the end of the year, she was on her 21
st patrol. During 1969, Sam Houston completed her 22nd through 24th patr ols. In 1970, she continued to operate with Submarine Squadron 14 until shif ting to the Mediterranean on 9 August to join Submarine Squadron 16.
She operated out of her advanced base at Rota, Spain, until October of [[197 2]]. On 27 November, she entered Charleston Naval Shipyard and began an extended in-port period, which included regular overhaul and the updating of her
weapons and propulsion systems. As of May 1974, Sam Houston was still i
n port at Charleston, South Carolina.
- Seven more years of history go here.
In 1981, in compliance with the SALT I treaty, the missile section of Sam Houston was decommissioned. Cement blocks were placed in the missile tubes , the missile fire control system was removed as was one of the ship's inertial navigation systems. The ship was reclassified an attack submarine with [[hull cl assification symbol]] SSN-609 on 10 November 1980 and retained primarily
for training, ASW exercises and other secondary duties. From September 1982 to September 1985, Sam Houston was modified in [[Bremerton, Washington]
], as an Amphibious Transport to carry frogmen or commandos. This included addit ional troop berthing, removal of some missile tube bases and the conversion of o ther missile tubes as air locks and stowage for equipment.
Deactivated while still in commission on 1 March 1991, Sam Houston b egan the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton t he same day. She was formally decommissioned and stricken from the [[Naval Vesse l Register]] on 6 September and finished the recycling program on [[3 Februa ry]] 1992. On the latter day, the ship was officially listed as scrapped.
References
This article includes information collected from the [[Dictionary of American Na val Fighting Ships]].