USS George Washington Carver (SSBN-656)

The USS George Washington Carver Underway Public domain photo from the Naval Historical Center
Career
Awarded:	29 July 1963
Laid down:	24 August 1964
Launched:	14 August 1965
Commissioned:	15 June 1966
Fate:	submarine recycling
Stricken:	18 March 1993
General Characteristics
Displacement:	7250 tons
Length:	425 feet
Beam:	33 feet
Draft:	33 feet
Powerplant:	S5W reactor
Speed:
Complement:	two crews of 100 oficers and men each
Armament:	16 Polaris or Poseidon missiles, four 21-inch torpedo tubes

USS George Washington Carver (SSBN/SSN-656), a Benjamin Franklin-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the researcher and inventor. Her keel was laid down on 24 August 1964 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. She was launched 14 August 1965; sponsored by Miss Marian Anderson; and commissioned 15 June 1966, Captain R. D. Donavan (blue crew) and Lieutenant Commander Carl J. Lidel (gold crew) in command.

Following shakedown, George Washington Carver's first patrol began 12 December 1966.

In 1991, George Washington Carver's missile tubes were disabled and she was redesignated an attack submarine with the hull classification symbol SSN-656.

George Washington Carver was decommissioned on 18 March 1993 at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, where she was disposed of through the Ship and Submarine Recycling Program on 12 March 1994.

Insignia of the USS George Washington Carver
Public domain photo from the Naval Historical Center

See USS George Washington Carver for other ships of the same name.

References

This article includes information collected from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.