USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599)

USS "Patrick Henry" (SSBN/SSN-599), christened after an American Revolutionary War figure by the same name, was a "George Washington"-class fleet ballistic missile submarine of the United States Navy.

"Patrick Henry"'s keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation, in Groton, Connecticut, on 26 May 1958. She was launched on 22 September 1959, sponsored by Mrs. Leslie E. Arends and was commissioned on 9 April 1960, with Captain Harold E. Shear in command of the Blue crew and Commander Robert L.J. Long commanding the Gold crew.

Manned alternately by two crews, Blue and Gold, like all US Navy ballistic missile submarines, to maximize her submerged operations, "Patrick Henry" underwent shakedown with the Blue crew until 16 September 1960, when the Gold crew took over. This second Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine (FBM) commenced her first deterrent patrol in December 1960(Blue Crew on board). When she surfaced off Holy Loch, Scotland on 8 March 1961, she had set a record for her type, cruising submerged 66 days and 22 hours. "Patrick Henry" was the first ballistic missile submarine to enter Holy Loch, Scotland, and first to go alongside USS "Proteus" (AS-19) for replenishment and routine repair.

"Patrick Henry" conducted 17 deterrent patrols from Holy Loch until December 1964 when she returned to Electric Boat. For 18 months she received complete and extensive overhaul and repair operations, including refueling of the S5W reactor plant and modifications to permit the handling of the Polaris A-3 missiles. After shakedown in mid-1966 off Puerto Rico and Cape Canaveral, Florida, "Patrick Henry" departed Charleston, South Carolina, in December for patrol #18, equipped with A-3 Polaris missiles and assigned to Submarine Squadron 14. On 1 March 1968, "Patrick Henry" completed her 22nd patrol at Holy Loch. During the early 1970's Patrick Henry was Home Ported out of Pearl Harbor Hi. 1976 She moved to Mare Island Naval Shipyard for refueling. In the sprint of 1978, the "Patrick Henry" underwent demonstration and shakedown operations. After transiting the Panama Canal, the Blue Crew successfully fired an A-3 Polaris missile off the coast of Cape Kennedy in July 1978, and the Gold Crew completed a successful missile firing several weeks later. The Gold Crew brought the "Patrick Henry" back through the Panama Canal and transited to Pearl Harbor. She remained with the Pacific Fleet into the 1980s.

In 1982 "Patrick Henry" and many of her sister FBMs had their missile tubes disabled and were reclassified as SSNs. "Patrick Henry" was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 May 1984. She was disposed of through the Ship-Submarine recycling program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, ceasing to exist on 21 August 1997.

See also

*CSS "Patrick Henry"