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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Radio Call Sign: November - Tango- Novemeber- Lima

Patrick Henry (SSBN / SSN-599)

George Washington Class Ballistic Missile Submarine: Laid down, 27 May 1958, as the (SSBN-599), at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT; Launched, 22 September 1959; Commissioned, USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), 11 April 1960; Reclassified (SSN-599), 24 October 1981; Decommissioned, 25 May 1984; Struck from the Naval Register, 16 December 1985; Final Disposition, disposed of through Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program, 31 August 1997 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 5,900 t., Submerged: 6,700 t.; Length 381' 8" ; Beam 33'; Draft 29'; Speed, Surfaced 20 kts, Submerged 25 kts; Complement 112; Test Depth 700'; Armament, 16 Polaris missile tubes; six 21" torpedo tubes, Propulsion, S5W Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor, two geared turbines at 15,000 shp, one propeller.

Size	Image Description	Source
93k	Oil on canvas, 1891 ca. entitled "Patrick Henry" by the artist George Bagby Matthews (1857 - 1943) after Thomas Sully". Patrick Henry, born in Hanover Co., Va., in 1736, was licensed to practice law in 1760 and became an immediate success. On 20 May 1765 he became a member of the House of Burgesses, defending the western and northern counties against the tidewater region. He was the leader of a new party between 1765 and 1770, thereafter consolidating the opposition to Great Britian. Chosen delegate to the first Continental Congress, he supported radical, nationalistic measures. On 20 March 1775, at an assembly meeting in Richmond, he uttered his famous saying "Give me liberty, or give me death." In May 1776 he was elected Governor of Virginia and twice reelected. He was Governor again 1784–86. He died at Red Hill Plantation, Charlotte Co., Va., 1799.	Photo & text courtesy of senate.gov & submitted by Bill Gonyo. Photo added 02/21/08.
179k	Submarine Silhouettes of 1960: Nautilus (SSN-571), Seawolf (SSN-575), Skate (SSN-578), Skipjack (SS-585), Triton (SSRN-586), Halibut (SSGN-587), Thresher (SSN-593), Tullibee (SSN-597), George Washington (SSBN-598), & Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) classes.	U.S. Navy Photograph submitted by Ron Titus, courtesy of Ingersoll-Rand. Corp.
187k	Nuclear Submarine Profiles 1960: Nautilus (SSN-571), Seawolf (SSN-575), Triton (SSRN-586), Skate (SSN-578) & Skipjack (SS-585) classes, Halibut (SSGN-587) & Tullibee (SSN-597) classes, George Washington (SSBN-598) & Thresher (SSN-593) classes.	US Navy photo courtesy of Ron Titus courtesy of Ingersoll-Rand. Corp. Photo i.d. courtesy of Dave Johnston.
66k	Capt. Harold E. Shear with a birds eye view from his perch atop the shortly after launch 9 March 1960.	US Navy photo. Partial text courtesy of Jack Treutle.
104k	Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) with President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his party on board, August 1960. The Presidential boat *Barbara Anne* is alongside.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 68576, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
70k	President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the controls of the Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), 1960.	USN photo courtesy of Jack Treutle /Jim Warrick FTCS SS USN Ret. Gold 1962-1969.
59k	Capt. Harold E. Shear & on the left and CO R.L.J. Long JR. on right, aboard the Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), 1960.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle /Jim Warrick FTCS SS USN Ret. Gold 1962-1969.
25k	Commemorative post card marking the first Polaris missle fired by Patrick Henry's (SSBN-599) Gold crew, 20 Oct. 1960.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle, Gold Crew, 1962-1969.
54k	Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) returning from patrol, early 1960s.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle /Jim Warrick FTCS SS USN Ret. Gold 1962-1969.
110k	Transfer of a Polaris Missile between Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) and Proteus (AS-19) at Holy Loch, Dunoon, Scotland, 1961.	US Navy photo.
71k	Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations, on board Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) during the countdown for a "Polaris" missile launch, off Cape Canaveral, Florida, 22 September 1960.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 55874, courtesy of the USNHC.
68k	Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations, on board Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) during the countdown for a "Polaris" missile launch, off Cape Canaveral, Florida, 22 September 1960. The man at right is Stephen D. Gage.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 55875, courtesy of the USNHC.
156k	Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) off Guam, 1976.	USN photo # 137437-7-76 courtesy of Darryl Baker.
30k	Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) at Apra Harbor, Guam, 20 December, 1978.	USN photo.
13k	The last Polaris missle fired by Patrick Henry's (SSBN-599) Gold crew leaves the boat sometime during the late 1970's.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle, Gold Crew, 1962-1969.
41k	Possibly the Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) with STASS (Submarine Towed Array Sonar System) while on the surface entering or leaving port.	Photo courtesy of Russ Padden.
683k	An aerial view of a section of the Ship Intermediate Maintenance Facility at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 17 May 1993. One submarine tender and 16 decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines are shown including the Seawolf (SSN-575); six *George Washington, and Lafayette* class SSBN's (with their missile sections cut out) plus several *Skate, Skipjack, Permit* and *Sturgeon* class SSN's. All are awaiting scrapping. Bottom row, from left to right Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610), Skipjack (SS-585), Snook (SSN-592), Henry Clay (SSBN-625), Lapon (SSN-661), Dace (SSN-607), Skate (SSN-578), Swordfish (SSN-579), Sargo (SSN-583) , Seadragon (SSN-584). Across the pier are Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618), and not in view, Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), George Washington (SSBN-598),Barb (SSN-596) & Sea Devil (SSN-664).	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-95-01863, by Calvin Larsen, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USN).
291k	"Sign of the times." March 1994 photo of Nuclear submarines at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard waiting in line for scrapping. Top row left to right are Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), Seawolf (SSN-575), Plunger (SSN-595), Shark (SSN-591), Nathanael Greene (SSBN-636), Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN-685) alongside Sperry (AS-12), with Triton (SSRN-586) across the pier from the *Sperry* . Bottom row, from left to right Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610), Skipjack (SS-585), Snook (SSN-592), Henry Clay (SSBN-625), Lapon (SSN-661), Dace (SSN-607), Skate (SSN-578), Swordfish (SSN-579), Sargo (SSN-583) , Seadragon (SSN-584). Across the pier are Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618), and not in view, Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), George Washington (SSBN-598),Barb (SSN-596) & Sea Devil (SSN-664). There are so many submarines at PSNSY that the yard is running out of pier space.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
25k	Commemorative post card marking the scrapping of the Seawolf (SSN-575), Snook (SSN-592), Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), Henry Clay (SSBN-625) and Baton Rouge (SSN-689), 31 August 1997 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
83k	Trench 94, Hanford Site, Washington, 1994. Hull sections containing defueled reactor compartments of decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines are put in disposal trenches. Once full, the trench will be filled with dirt and buried. The compartments are expected to retain their integrity for more than 600 years.	USN photo & partial text courtesy of home.flash.net/~tomj/tunny/chop/rx. & submitted by Jack Treutle.
569k	Sealed reactor compartments are shipped by barge out of Puget Sound Naval Base down the coast and along the Columbia River to the port of Benton. There the radioactively-contaminated hull sections are transferred to special multiwheeled high-load trailers for transport to the Hanford Reservation in Washington State. Pictured below is the burial ground for spent fuel of the following 77 nuclear reactor submarines as of March 2003: Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), Snook (SSN-592), George Washington (SSBN-598), Scamp (SSN-588), Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601), Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618), Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN-600), Dace (SSN-607), John Adams (SSBN-620), Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602), Barb (SSN-596), Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610), Pollack (SSN-603), Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN-685), James Monroe (SSBN-622), Skipjack (SS-585), Nathan Hale (SSBN-623), Plunger (SSN-595), Shark (SSN-591), Lafayette (SSBN-616), Sam Houston (SSBN-609), Jack (SSN-605), Haddo (SSN-604), Tinosa (SSN-606), Guardfish (SSN-612), Permit (SSN-594), Queenfish (SSN-651), Ulysses S. Grant (SSBN-631), John Marshall (SSBN-611), George C. Marshall (SSBN-654), Flasher (SSN-613), Guitarro (SSN-665), Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617), George Washington Carver (SSBN-656), Tecumseh (SSBN-628), Halibut (SSGN-587), Will Rogers (SSBN-659), Henry L. Stimson (SSBN-655), Daniel Boone (SSBN-629), Greenling (SSN-614), John C. Calhoun (SSBN-630), Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633), Skate (SSN-578), Sargo (SSN-583), Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657), Sturgeon (SSN-637), Benjamin Franklin (SSBN-640), Swordfish (SSN-579), Seadragon (SSN-584), Stonewall Jackson (SSBN-634), Simon Bolivar (SSBN-641), Hammerhead (SSN-663), Mariano G. Vallejo (SSBN-658) , Tullibee (SSN-597), Lewis & Clark (SSBN-644), Pargo (SSN-650), Seahorse (SSN-669), Gurnard (SSN-662), Flying Fish (SSN-673), Gato (SSN-615), Puffer (SSN-652), Seawolf (SSN-575), Baton Rouge (SSN-689), Bergall (SSN-667), Whale (SSN-638), Henry Clay (SSBN-625), James Madison (SSBN-627), Finback (SSN-670), Spadefish (SSN-668), Sunfish (SSN-649), George Bancroft (SSBN-643), Grayling (SSN-646), Pintado (SSN-672), Tunny (SSN-682), Archerfish (SSN-678), & Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624).	USN photo & partial text courtesy of home.flash.net/~tomj/tunny/chop/rx. & submitted by Jack Treutle.