41 for Freedom: America's SSBNs Quiz

Answer: USS George Washington (SSBN-598)

The USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was the lead boat of her class, and the very first American fleet ballistic missile submarine. She and the other four boats of her class - USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), USS Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN-600), USS Robert E Lee (SSBN-601) and USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602) - were originally designed as fast attack submarines.

Their design was hastily modified to allow the insertion of a 130-foot missile section. SSBN is the US Navy hull classification symbol for a nuclear powered, ballistic missile-carrying submarine. "SS" stands for submersible ship, or submarine; "B" for ballistic missile; and the "N" denotes that it is nuclear powered.

Answer: To retaliate against any attack upon the United States

The presence of fleet ballistic missile submarines assured that the United States would possess a "second strike" capability in the event that a surprise attack was launched that wiped out all land-based missiles and aircraft equipped to deliver nuclear weapons. This was a major deterrent against any enemy aggression, and a major factor in maintaining peace throughout the Cold War era.

Answer: 1960

USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was commissioned on December 30, 1959. In 1960 she successfully launched four Polaris A-1 missiles during training exercises. She began her first patrol on November 15, 1960 and stayed at sea until January 21, 1961, running submerged for 66 consecutive days.

The last patrol of the "41 for Freedom" was made by the USS Mariano G. Vallejo (SSBN 658), who ended her final patrol on April 2, 1994.

Answer: They were very quiet

SSBNs were fairly fast, and they could dive to great depths; officially, their submerged speed was in excess of 20 knots, and they could dive deeper than 800 feet. They could actually go a bit faster and dive much deeper. But the main thing that these submarines relied upon to prevent the enemy from finding them (and potentially destroying them) was that they were extremely quiet and almost impossible to detect even with the most sophisticated equipment. United States submarines were much, much quieter than their Russian counterparts, which gave them an immeasurable advantage.

Answer: 16

Each of the 41 first ballistic missile submarines carried a total of 16 solid-fueled Polaris missiles. Each missile carried multiple nuclear warheads. A single submarine carried more destructive power than all of the explosives used during WWII. When the Polaris missiles were eventually retired, the "41 for Freedom" switched to the more advanced Poseidon missiles. Towards the end of their careers, a few were modified to carry the Trident missile.

Modern Trident submarines carry 24 missiles.

Answer: Boomer

Missile submarines have been called "boomers" almost as long as they have been around. The exact etymology of the term is unknown, but it probably relates to the explosive power of the missiles they carry.

Answer: Less than 150

The George Washington class SSBNs had an "official" compliment of 12 officers and 100 enlisted men; later classes had slightly larger crews. During the time I served, most boats did not carry the full compliment due to personnel shortages, especially in the engineering ratings. Workdays of of 16 to 18 hours a day were not uncommon.

In addition to standing watches, crew members had to maintain their equipment, and participate in constant drills to maintain combat readiness. An SSBN was no place for someone who needed a lot of sleep.

Answer: 60 to 70 days

The amount of time that a submarine could spend at sea was dependent on the endurance of the crew. While on patrol, the submarine spent virtually all of its time submerged, coming to periscope depth only very occasionally to receive data from satellites or radio communications. Crew members received no mail or news of the outside world while they were on patrol, only the rare "family gram," a very short message from loved ones. Often the crew would not even be informed of a death in the family until the patrol was over.

Answer: Each submarine had two separate crews

Each SSBN was assigned a "blue crew" and a "gold crew." The names were taken from the colors of the United States Naval Academy. When its patrol was over, the submarine would return to its home base, for a seven to ten day period called "turnover." Each man would meet with his counterpart on the other crew, exchange information, make necessary repairs, and the boat would return to sea with the new crew as quickly as possible.

The off-going crew would be given a 30 day rest period, during which they could do basically whatever they wished without being charged leave, although they would have to muster once a week.

The remainder of the "off crew" time would be devoted to refresher training. Both of the submarines I was on operated out of Guam; after turning over the boat to the incoming crew, we were flown back to Hawaii for our off-crew time.

By the end of a patrol, the men would be mentally and physically exhausted.

Answer: True

In addition to the dolphins worn by all personnel who were rated "qualified in submarines," both officers and enlisted men who completed a strategic deterrent patrol in a nuclear ballistic missile submarine were authorized to wear the SSBN Deterrent Patrol insignia, commonly called a "patrol pin." This consisted of a silver Lafayette-class submarine with superimposed Polaris missile and electron rings.

A gold star was added after each patrol, and a silver star after five patrols. If a sailor completed 20 patrols, he was authorized to wear a gold version of the device. Very few gold patrol pins were awarded.