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| After WWII, submariners saw the feasibility of using the stealth of submarines to fire guided missiles from close offshore an enemy's territory. To test this out, CARBONERO, CUSK, TUNNY, and BARBERO were converted to missile-firing subs in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A couple of missile types were developed but the Navy ended up with REGULUS I. It was a subsonic, turbojet-powered missile that could carry a 3,000 pound warhead 500 nautical miles. GRAYBACK and GROWLER were purpose-built to fire guided missiles, but after it became clear that nuclear power was the future for submarines HALIBUT (SSGN-587) became the first nuclear-powered, missile-firing submarine. The main disadvantage of the REGULUS weapons system was that the boats had to remain on the surface while a missile was unfolded, placed on its firing ramp, and fired. There was also the problem of the missile hangers flooding in rough weather. By the late 1950s, work was well along on the Navy's ballistic missile program and this eventually caused the demise of the REGULUS program. |
| In the 1950s, the Navy wanted to play a part in the new military strategy of "nuclear deterrence" against the Soviet Union's growing nuclear threat. They achieved this role by merging the technologies of ballistic missiles, small but powerful nuclear warheads, inertial guidance systems, and nuclear-powered submarines into a single weapons system whose buildup was like a wartime mobilization program. By the late 1950s, a missile known as Polaris A-1 was ready to have a platform built for it. This was a reliable, solid-fuel missile that was small enough to fit inside the hull of a sub and could be launched from under water. It had a single warhead and a range of 1200 nautical miles. |
| To speed up the process, Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the head of the Navy's Nuclear Power Program AND the head of the Atomic Energy Commission's Naval Reactors Branch, had Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut split a new-construction Fast Attack (originally to be the USS SCORPION) just aft of the sail and insert a 130-foot long section containing 16 missile tubes and their associated equipment. The new boat became USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN-598) ("BN" stands for "Ballistic Nuclear"), the first Fleet Ballistic Missile (or FBM) submarine. The acronym "FBM" was eventually slurred into "F-Boom" then shortened to today's slang word for an FBM - "Boomer." When GEORGE WASHINGTON successfully test-fired two A-1s on July 20, 1960, the weapons system became operational and later that year she left on the first of the FBM force's over 3,000 (and still counting) deterrent patrols, each one lasting 60 to 80 (or more) days. The first 41 FBMs were dubbed "Forty-One For Freedom" and, departing from the tradition of naming subs after marine creatures, were named after famous Americans or those who had helped the cause of America. These boats came into being with a minimum of difficulty and served as a highly-credible, reliable nuclear deterrent force for over 30 years. |
| The best example of their deterrent credibility occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. Thanks to the support for the FBM program by President Kennedy, there were 7 FBMs on patrol at the onset of the crisis, and at that time the Soviet Navy had very poor anti-submarine (ASW) capability. The Soviets might have been able to wipe out all our bombers and their bases and the few ICBMs we had then, but they were unable to do anything about ALL our FBMs. This was one of the major reasons that Khruschev backed down from a potential nuclear confrontation with the U.S. All during the Cold War, this inherent difficulty in finding FBMs maintained the deterrent value of America's (and the U.S.S.R.'s) strategic policy of "Mutually Assured Destruction," i.e., "You can try blowing me up, but I'll have enough left over to blow you up, too." |
| To enable FBMs to be on patrol for as many days as possible, the two-crew ("Blue" and "Gold") concept was instituted. While one crew had the boat for a three-month period, the off-crew was back in the States undergoing training and R&R. To decrease the time needed for the boats to get their medium-range missiles within range of their targets, FBMs operated from advanced bases, first in Holy Loch, Scotland, then later in Rota, Spain and Guam. The subsequent generations of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) had their ranges and capabilities (i.e., multiple warheads) increased. By increasing the range, the area FBMs could operate in, and still be in range of their targets, was vastly increased, making it even harder for Soviet ASW forces to detect them. And, there was no longer a need for FBMs to operated from advanced bases (which have now all been shut down). Today, as soon as FBMs leave their bases at Kings Bay, Georgia and Bangor, Washington, their Trident D-5 missiles (with a reported range of 6,000 nautical miles) are in range of their targets. |
| Because of the range of SLBMs, FBMs were the first subs that could truly inflict major, direct damage on an enemy country's entire INTERIOR infrastructure. Until the advent of the submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missile, Fast Attack subs were not a direct threat to any country's homeland (other than to their port areas and sea-based supplies). But, as evidenced during the Gulf War, they were one of the major threats to Baghdad. |
| In conclusion, so successful have FBMs been that it's reported that none of them has ever been tracked for any duration while on patrol. Another secret to their success is the ability of American technology to make them as quiet as possible, something that the Russians are just coming up to speed on. |
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| TORPEDO ROOM - Similar to a Diesel boat torpedo room. Four torpedo tubes; Torpedoes; forward Signal Ejector; forward escape trunk. Some Torpedomen berthed here. |
| OPERATIONS COMPARTMENT - Upper Level: CO's stateroom; Control Room
where the Diving Station, Ballast Control Panel, Periscope Stand, Navigation
Center, Fire Control Console, Sonar Shack were located.
Middle Level: Officers' staterooms; Wardroom; Crew's Mess; Ship's Office; Fan Room where the Low Pressure Blower was located. Lower Level: Crew's Berthing; Missile Fire Control; Crew's Lounge; One Diesel boat-sized battery located below this deck. |
| MISSILE COMPARTMENT - Upper Level: Entry to warheads.
Two-man rule applied, i.e., two men of equal qualifications and security
clearances required to enter a missile tube.
Middle Level: Missile Tube Control Panel; berthing for Missile Technicians and Torpedomen; Engineering Laboratory Technician Lab (Nucleonics Lab) where radiological and radio-chemical analyses were performed; Sick Bay; entry to missiles. Lower Level: Missle launch valves; entry to missiles (two-man rule again applied). |
| AUXILIARY MACHINERY ROOM NUMBER 1 (AMR-1) - Oxygen Generators (2); one 3,000 psi (later upped to 4500 psi after the loss of USS THRESHER) High Pressure Air Compressor; Engineering Log Room; Hovering System components (when a boat launches missiles it has to maintain an exact depth which is achieved by use of a special tank that could quickly be flooded or blown). |
| REACTOR COMPARTMENT - Reactor plant; Steam Generators (2) located inside thick shielding made up of water, steel, lead, and polyethylene. There was a shielded "tunnel" for passage of personnel fore and aft above the reactor. |
| AUXILIARY MACHINERY ROOM NUMBER 2 (AMR-2) - Upper Level: Reactor
Coolant sampling sink; Reactor Plant Fresh Water Cooling System Heat Exchangers
(2); Main Steam Bulkhead Cutout Valves (2); Main Steam System piping; Reactor
Control instrumentation panels; electrical supply switchboards.
Lower Level: Stations for charging and discharging water to and from the reactor plant; Reactor Plant Fresh Water Cooling pumps; Water flasks for operating Main Coolant Cutout Valves; Emergency Fairbanks-Morse Diesel; Main Feed Pumps for the Steam Generators (4); Feed Water Station; Carbon Dioxide Scrubbers (2); Carbon Monoxide/Hydrogen Burners (2); Motor-Generators (2); electric Outboard Motor (used during Hovering evolutions to maintain fore and aft alignment of the boat); sampling sink for the Steam Generators. |
| ENGINE ROOM - Upper Level: Manuevering Room where the Reactor, Steam
Plant, and Electrical Control Panels were located; aft escape trunk; Surge
Tanks for feed system; steam-operated Lithium Bromide Air Conditioning
plant; Low Pressure Steam Distilling Plant (8000 gallons per day); Ship's
Service Turbine Generators (2); Propulsion Turbines (2) and reduction gear;
Emergency Electric Propulsion Motor; Clutch to isolate main shaft from
reduction gear; Main Hydraulic Plant; electric Distilling Plant (2000 gallons
per day); Lube Oil Purifiers (2); aft Signal Ejector; Main Shaft and associated
equipment.
Lower Level: Freon Air Conditioning Plants; High Pressure Brine Pump; Components of the Lithium Bromide Air Conditioning plant; Main Condensers; Main Sea Water pumps (2); Auxiliary Sea Water pumps (2); Fresh Water Cooling pumps (2) and heat exchangers (on newer boats); Condensate pumps (2); Main and Shaft Lube Oil pumps (2 each) and sumps ; 3000 psi (see note in AMR-1 above) High Pressure Air Compressors (2); Reserve Feed Tanks. |
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(From Sub Base, Groton, Connecticut) |
| Took two Navy buses from Sub Base to NAS, Quonset Point, Rhode Island (went to Boston once because of fog in RI); boarded chartered plane (originally two Air Force transports, later one commercial plane) for flight to Prestwick, Scotland or Rota, Spain. |
| In Scotland, boarded two double-decker "London" buses for an hour's ride to the boat landing in Gourock. There we loaded a large liberty boat for a 45-minute ride across the Firth of Clyde to the submarine tender anchored out in the Holy Loch (in Spain, the sub tender was right near the NAS where the plane landed). |
| Stayed in tender's relief-crew berthing during a three-day turnover period. During this time we went over the boat's records and discussed equipment problems with our counterparts on the other crew. After the turnover period, a change of command ceremony was held and the other crew left for the States. We then moved from the tender to the boat. |
| Underwent an approximate 25 days of upkeep on the boat on port and starboard duty days. Usually worked all night on duty days, but were still ready to go over on liberty nights. Liberty in Holy Loch and Rota was well worth it, even though you might be tired. After the upkeep period, we had a one-day "Fast Cruise" alongside the tender to check out the equipment after repairs. Then we went on two days of sea trials before leaving on patrol. On sea trials, we took the boat to test depth and performed "angles and dangles," i.e., put the boat through 30 degrees up and 30 degrees down angles to ensure everything was secure in place. |
| Once the patrol started, all hands shifted to "poopie suits." These were blue coveralls used because of their low lint content (which helped to prevent spontaneous combustion fires in the laundry dryers, a problem which a few boats had prior to poopie suits being required), and they dried faster than dungarees. The laundry was kept going 24 hours a day. |
| On patrol, the boat's mission, as it cruised along in Patrol Quiet conditions at a speed of 6 knots, was to man Battle Stations Missile (Condition 1SQ) within 5 minutes of receiving a verified message from higher authority, then launch all 16 missiles, one after the other, one minute apart (later boats could fire 4 per minute). Weapons Systems Readiness Tests (WSRTs), initiated by higher authority or the CO, were held unannounced at any time of the day or night. The boat received its communications via a floating wire antenna that was trailed behind the boat and floated just below the surface. In addition to Battle Stations Missile drills, the nukes constantly had emergency reactor shutdown, steam leak, flooding, radioactive water spill or leak drills, as well as other reactor- or steam plant-related casualty drills. And, the nukes had to attend lectures on the plant every day except Sunday. Watch standing consisted of 6 hours on and 12 or 18 hours off (depending on the availability of qualified watchstanders - my first few patrols we stood only 4 on and 8 off). |
| We were given two patrols to qualify (or re-qualify) on the boat, while at the same time qualifying on our various watch stations (the number depended on which division you were in). It took several patrols to finish up on all your watch station quals. Even after we got qualified on everything, Admiral Rickover required his nukes to periodically requalify on all their watch stations. Admiral Rickover did not want his nuke Chiefs to qualify as Chief of the Watch or Diving Officer in Control because he felt it took away from their focus on the nuclear plant. Many Chiefs did it on their own, though. He also didn't allow his nuke Chiefs (even if one of them was the senior enlisted man on board) to be the Chief of the Boat (or COB) for the same reason. |
| Entertainment on patrol consisted of half-way parties (where guys would put on skits or play instruments to entertain the crew), casino nights, raffles to raise funds for the Welfare and Recreations Committee, pinochle and cribbage tournaments, WSRT "anchor pools," and Plan of the Day Bingo. We also had movies every night that only qualified men (or those up on their quals) could attend. We had stationary bikes and weights in the Missile Compartment and guys could jog around the Upper Level Missile Compartment for exercise. For a sauna-like experience the forward guys could come back to the Engine Room and sit outboard a turbine. Occasionally, the officers, Chiefs, and each Department took a turn at cooking and serving a special meal, like "surf and turf," for example, to give the cooks and messcooks a break.) A favorite pastime (as it was on Diesel boats) was to try to "get to" anyone you knew who could be bothered by something. |
| Being on a nuke boat underwater is like being on a spaceship. You're always in a completely hostile environment. We made our own water and from that we made oxygen. Because of the long core life of the reactor (13 years without refueling on my last boat, but longer today), we weren't concerned with steam plant efficiency (which is all conventional steam-powered ships think about), so we didn't worry about being on water hours. Our 8000 gallon per day steam distilling plant ran most of the time. Patrol length was (and still is) limited by the amount of food the boat can carry and the crew's psychological endurance. To help psychologically, crews received "Family Grams." These were three (more these days) 20-word (also more these days) radio messages per patrol that could be sent by your loved ones back home. Guys really got upset if they didn't get a Family Gram when they were expecting one. |
| Living conditions on an FBM weren't bad. Each man had his own bunk (no "hot-bunking" as they do on Fast Attacks) with a pan locker under the bunk and a curtain for privacy. Also, each bunk had its own air-conditioning outlet. The heads were large, with four showers, about six sinks and mirrors, and four or five commodes. FBMs also had crew's lounge areas, the size depending on the class of boat. These areas were used for playing cards, telling sea stories, or for holding qualification boards. |
| We had field day once a week and constantly performed preventive maintenance on the equipment. With Admiral Rickover, there was no such thing as "if it ain't broke don't fix it." COs were required to spend at least one hour a day conducting materiel inspection on some part of the engineering plant. Admiral Rickover didn't want his COs to be like the COs on surface craft who knew very little about the engineering spaces (his ways for Engineering Departments later spread to the surface Navy). Once a year, the nukes had an Operational Reactors Safeguards Exam (ORSE) by Admiral Rickover's boys from Washington. This was usually held at the end of a patrol and if the nukes failed this exam, the entire crew had to stay aboard until they passed. The other crew could not take over the boat. No wonder everyone loved the nukes. |
| FBMs at first had a regular Medical Doctor aboard during patrols. He was aided by two Hospital Corpsmen, who also performed the twice-daily atmospheric surveys to ensure that the oxygen was high enough and gases such as hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and Freon were low. |
| Upon completion of patrol, the boat returned to its advanced base and reversed the process with the crews swapping places. It was like getting transferred every three months. Pack your seabag and take off. |
| After returning to the States, the crew was given a 30-day R&R period. If you didn't want to take leave you only had to come in to the off-crew office once a week during this time to let the command know you were still alive (sometimes you could just call in). There was no duty except for an occasional turn by junior Petty Officers at answering the phone in the office or making mail runs. |
| Once the R&R period was over we attended equipment operation- and maintenance-related schools at the Sub Base. We were also required to periodically attend damage control refresher training. And, during the six-month interim before the next ORSE, the nukes were given oral boards by a CO, an XO, an Engineer, and a Main Propulsion Assistant from an off-crew of another boat. |
| During the three months in the States we still got sub pay and Pro-Pay, but we lost sea pay. The married guys made up for that by getting Commuted Rations (ComRats - which was tax-free) and the single guys who lived in the barracks usually saved money by eating in the base chow hall. In the early 1970s, an FBM CO figured out that when a crew was in the States it was away from its "tax home," i.e., the boat itself. He argued, successfully, that a percentage of the money a crew member spent on food, lodging, clothing, and transportation should be tax deductible. This became known as the "FBM tax break" and it's probably still in force. Once again, the crew members on Fast Attacks did not have such a tax break. |
| Two weeks before a crew was due to go back to the boat another R&R period was granted. Just prior to this time (for a while) everyone self-addressed envelopes to be used by the other crew for mailing paychecks to wherever a person wanted them to go. A few years later (after single guys complained that they didn't have wives to take care of their bills), the policy was instituted to give everyone three months advanced pay (including sub pay and Pro-Pay) so that bills could be paid three months in advance. Or, we could take the money and blow it all in Scotland or Spain. |
| In summary, duty on a FBM was (and probably still is) the best sea duty in the Navy. For an excellent visual insight into what it's like to be on a nuclear submarine, watch the series NOVA's episode entitled "Submarine!" and the series "Sharks of Steel" that show up on cable or PBS. |
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