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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


Contributed by Mike Smolinski
Radio Call Sign: November - Papa - Oscar - India

Thomas Jefferson (SSBN / SSN 618)

Ethan Allen Class Ballistic Missile Submarine: Laid down, 3 February 1961, at Newport New Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA.; Launched, 24 February 1962; Commissioned, USS Thomas Jefferson (SSBN 618), 4 January 1963; Reclassified Attack Submarine (SSN-618), 11 March 1981; Decommissioned, 24 January 1985; Struck from the Naval Register, 30 April 1986; Disposed of through Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program, 6 March 1998 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 6,700 t., Submerged: 7,600 t.; Length 410' ; Beam 33'; Draft 32'; Speed, Surfaced/Submerged 20+ kts; Complement 120; Test depth 1,300'; Armament, 16 Polaris missile tubes, four 21" torpedo tubes; Propulsion, S5W Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor, two geared turbines at 15,000 shp, one propeller.
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Thomas Jefferson158k Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 – 4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776).Photo from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540, courtesy of Bill Gonyo. Photo added 02/02/08.
Submarine Silhouettes 1960179kSubmarine 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.
Nuclear Submarine Profiles187kNuclear 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.
Thomas Jefferson33kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of the Thomas Jefferson's (SSBN-618) launching at Newport New Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA., on 24 February 1962.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
Thresher57k Navy ships circle in the vicinity of the site of Thresher's (SSN-593) sinking, 15 April 1963, five days after her loss. Ships are (left to right): Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618); Sunbird (ASR-15); Warrington (DD-843), group flagship; and Redfin (SS-272). Photographed by PHCS Parker.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97555, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
Thomas Jefferson92kThomas Jefferson (SSBN-618), during her first operational cruise off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, 28 October 1963.
US Navy Photo.
Thomas Jefferson92kPort side view of the Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618) in the Atlantic, 1968.
US Navy Photo.
Thomas Jefferson623kAn aerial bow view of the nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618) underway on 14 Jun 1976.
USN photo # DN-SC-86-00163 by PH1 A. Legare from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Thomas Jefferson63kThomas Jefferson (SSBN-618) at Pearl Harbor with the Arizona Memorial in the background. The Thomas Jefferson was serving then as a unit of Submarine Squadron 15 throughout 1977 and 1978, at the end of which she completed her 44th deterrent patrol.
US Navy Photo courtesy of STSCS(SS) Robert Carlin. Text courtesy of DANFS.
Thomas Jefferson51kThomas Jefferson (SSBN-618), underway, date and place unknown.
US Navy Photo courtesy of STSCS(SS) Robert Carlin.
Thomas Jefferson83kThomas Jefferson (SSBN-618), underway, date and place unknown.
US Navy Photo.
Thomas Jefferson58kThe Thomas Jefferson (SSN-618) after her SSN conversion. This was taken in Naples Italy in 1983 on a Med cruise out of Charlston S.C.
Courtesy of Ron Brown, STSC(SS) Ret.
Thomas Jefferson81kThe Thomas Jefferson's (SSN-618) sonar shack.
Courtesy of Ron Brown, STSC(SS) Ret.
Thomas Jefferson213kThe Fulton-class submarine tender Orion (AS-18) services the Thomas Jefferson (SSN-618) on 15 Aug 1983. The Orion is berthed at the Italian island of Santo Stefano, located between the Sandinian coastal town of Palau and the island of La Maddalena. Official U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-84-07596 by PH3 Lange, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil. & submitted by Bill Gonyo. Photo i.d. courtesy of Richard Watson, Orion Storekeeper 1983-1984.
Thomas Jefferson128kCommemorative post mark on the occasion of the Thomas Jefferson's (SSBN-618) commissioning on 4 January 1963 and her last day in commissioning, 24 January 1985.
Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
PSNSY 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).
PSNSY291k"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.
Spent Fuel569kSealed 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.
View the Thomas Jefferson (SSBN 618)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Thomas Jefferson SSB(N) 618 Association
USS Thomas Jefferson - SSBN-618
FAS - SSBN-608 Ethan Allen Class FBM Submarines
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