USS Will Rogers (SSBN-659)
USS Will Rogers (SSBN-659) on 15 February 1967.
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| History | |
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 United States of America
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| Namesake: | Will Rogers (1879–1935), an American humorist |
| Awarded: | 29 July 1963 |
| Builder: | General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut |
| Laid down: | 20 March 1965 |
| Launched: | 21 July 1966 |
| Sponsored by: | Muriel Buck Humphrey |
| Commissioned: | 1 April 1967 |
| Decommissioned: | 12 April 1993 |
| Struck: | 12 April 1993 |
| Identification: |
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| Fate: | Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program begun 2 November 1993, completed 12 August 1994 |
| Status: | Recycled |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Benjamin Franklin-class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 425 ft (130 m) |
| Beam: | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft: | 31 ft 4 in (9.55 m) |
| Installed power: | 15,000 shp (11,185 kW) |
| Propulsion: | One S5W pressurized-water nuclear reactor, later replaced by one S3G reactor; two geared steam turbines; one shaft |
| Speed: |
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| Test depth: | greater than 400 ft (120 m) (classified) |
| Complement: | Two crews (Blue Crew and Gold crew) of 140 each |
| Armament: |
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USS Will Rogers (SSBN-659) was a Benjamin Franklin-class ballistic missile submarine — the last of the "41 for Freedom" Polaris submarines. She was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for humorist Will Rogers (1879–1935).
The contract to construct Will Rogers was awarded on 29 July 1963, and her keel was laid down on 20 March 1965 at Groton, Connecticut, by the General Dynamics Corporation's Electric Boat Division. She was launched on 21 July 1966 sponsored by Muriel Buck Humphrey, the wife of Vice President of the United States Hubert Humphrey, and commissioned on 1 April 1967 with Captain R. Y. Kaufman in command of the Blue Crew and Commander W. J. Cowhill in command of the Gold crew.
Following shakedown, Will Rogers culminated her initial training and work-up by conducting a successful Polaris ballistic missile launch on the Atlantic Missile Range off Cape Kennedy, Florida, on 31 July 1967. In October 1967, she began her first strategic deterrent patrol.
Will Rogers was based at Groton until 1974 when she shifted to a forward deployment at Naval Station Rota, Spain. Around this time, she was converted to carry Poseidon ballistic missiles, and her nuclear reactor was modified to use an S3G core 3. She conducted additional deterrent deployments from Rota into 1978, bringing the total number of patrols she had conducted to 35.
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