Ballistic missile submarineIn 1959, the first U.S. ballistic missile submarine, the nuclear-poweredU.S.S. George Washington, was commissioned. The 380-ft-long ship had 16 vertical missile launch tubes, able to fire Polaris missiles even while the vessel was underwater. Building it began on 7 Nov 1967 at Groton, Connecticut, at a cost of about $110 million. It was launched 9 Jun 1959. The following July, it successfully tested the launch of two Polaris missile while submerged. On its first duty patrol (15 Nov 1960 - 21 Jan 1961) the ship spent 67 days travelling underwater. Two complete crews, of 130 men each, rotated after each 60-day period (after a 30-day resupply and refit period) to get the maximum use of the submarine on extended patrols.«[Image width compressed to fit thumbnail space.] |
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