USS Henry Clay
USS Henry Clay (SSBN-625) on 6 December 1967.
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Henry Clay |
Namesake | Henry Clay (1777–1852), an American statesman and orator |
Ordered | 3 February 1961 |
Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company |
Laid down | 23 October 1961 |
Launched | 30 November 1962 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Green B. Gibson |
Commissioned | 20 February 1964 |
Decommissioned | 5 November 1990 |
Stricken | 5 November 1990 |
Motto | Preservation of the Nation |
Fate | Scrapping via Ship-Submarine Recycling Program completed 30 September 1997 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Lafayette-class submarine |
Type | Ballistic missile submarine (hull design SCB-216)[1] |
Displacement |
|
Length | 425 ft (130 m) |
Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
Draft | 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Complement | Two crews (Blue and Gold), 13 officers and 130 enlisted men each |
Sensors and processing systems | BQS-4 sonar[1] |
Armament |
|
USS Henry Clay (SSBN-625), a Lafayette class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Henry Clay (1777–1852), the American statesman and orator.
Construction and commissioning
The contract to build Henry Clay was awarded to
Operational history
Henry Clay conducted
She then moved to her new home port, Charleston, South Carolina, and departed for her first deterrent patrol on 17 August 1964.
By January 1967, Henry Clay had completed 11 deterrent patrols. As of mid-1967, she was assigned to Submarine Squadron 14.
During December 1986, Henry Clay made a port call at
In 1987, Henry Clay's Gold Crew underwent an unannounced Operational Reactor Safeguards Examination (ORSE). She received an EXCELLENT grade, the only submarine in the
RECORD SETTING: In 1989, in preparation for its final deterrent patrol, the Henry Clay crew spent just three days in Holy Loch, Scotland for its refit (instead of the normal three week refit period), and onloaded 250,000 pounds of food. Henry Clay spent a record 121 days (April–August) beneath the North Atlantic waves on deterrent patrol. It made two, short back to back port calls in Plymouth and Portsmouth, England respectively. After its successful patrol, the Henry Clay pulled into Norfolk, VA for a brief rest and to pick up many of the crew's (male) family members for a three-day, fun "Tiger Cruise" to her home port of Charleston, South Carolina.
Decommissioning and disposal
Henry Clay was decommissioned on 5 November 1990 and stricken from the
References
External links
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- "NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Henry Clay (SSBN-625)". Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- "USS Henry Clay SSBN-625 Home Page". Retrieved 24 September 2011.