Laid down 26 April 1961 Commissioned 3 July 1963 Construction started 26 April 1961 | Ordered 23 July 1960 Length 130 m Launched 15 September 1962 | |
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Builders Mare Island Historic District, Vallejo | ||
USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619) was a Lafayette-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, it was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837).
Contents
Construction and commissioning
The contract to build Andrew Jackson was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California, on 23 July 1960 and her keel was laid down on 26 April 1961. She was launched on 15 September 1962 sponsored by Mrs. Estes Kefauver, and commissioned on 3 July 1963, with Commander Alfred J. Whittle, Jr. in command of the Blue Crew and Commander James B. Wilson in command of the Gold Crew.
She was 425 feet (130 m) long, 33 feet (10 m) wide, and had a draft of 32 feet (9.8 m). She displaces 7,250 tonnes (7,140 long tons; 7,990 short tons) when surfaced, and 8,250 tonnes (8,120 long tons; 9,090 short tons) when submerged. Her top speed was above 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), and she had a maximum depth of 1,300 feet (400 m). She had a complement of 120 men, and was armed with 16 Polaris missiles, and four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. She was propelled by a S5W Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor powering two turbines which generated 15,000 shaft horsepower (11,000 kW), driving one propeller.
Operational history
Following commissioning, Andrew Jackson sailed via the Panama Canal to the United States East Coast. On 1 October and 11 October 1963, during shakedown training out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, she successfully launched Polaris A-2 ballistic missiles; and, on 26 October 1963, she sent Polaris A-3X missiles into space in the first submerged launching of its type; and she repeated the feat on 11 November 1963. On 16 November 1963, six days before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy—embarked in the missile range instrumentation ship USS Observation Island—observed Andrew Jackson launch another Polaris A-2 ballistic missile from a point off Cape Canaveral and congratulated Commander Wilson and his crew for "impressive teamwork."
Decommissioning and disposal
Andrew Jackson was decommissioned on 31 August 1989 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day. Ex-Andrew Jackson entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington. Recycling of Ex-Andrew Jackson was completed 30 August 1999.