USS Andrew Jackson

USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619) was a Lafayette-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. It was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), the seventh President of the United States (1829–1837).

USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619)
History
United States
Name	USS Andrew Jackson
Namesake	Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), seventh President of the United States (1829–1837)
Ordered	23 July 1960
Builder	Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California
Laid down	26 April 1961
Launched	15 September 1962
Sponsored by	Mrs. Estes Kefauver
Commissioned	3 July 1963
Decommissioned	31 August 1989
Stricken	31 August 1989
Motto	One man with courage is a majority
Fate	Scrapping via Ship-Submarine Recycling Program completed 30 August 1999
General characteristics
Class and type	Lafayette-class submarine
Type	Ballistic missile submarine (hull design SCB-216)
Displacement	7,250 long tons (7,370 t) surfaced 8,250 long tons (8,380 t) submerged
Length	425 ft (130 m)
Beam	33 ft (10 m)
Draft	31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
Propulsion	1 × S5W reactor 2 × General Electric geared turbines=15,000 shp (11,000 kW)
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h) surfaced 25 knots (46 km/h) submerged
Complement	Two crews (Blue and Gold), 13 officers and 130 enlisted men each
Sensors and processing systems	BQS-4 sonar
Armament	4 × 21 in (530 mm) Mark 65 torpedo tubes with Mark 113 firecontrol system, for Mark 48 torpedoes 16 × vertical tubes for Polaris or Poseidon ballistic missiles

Construction and commissioning

The contract to build Andrew Jackson was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California on 23 July 1960 and her keel was laid down on 26 April 1961. She was launched on 15 September 1962 sponsored by Nancy Patterson Pigott, wife of Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, and commissioned on 3 July 1963, with Commander Alfred J. Whittle, Jr. in command of the Blue Crew and Commander James B. Wilson in command of the Gold Crew.

She was 425 feet (130 m) long, 33 feet (10 m) wide, and had a draft of 32 feet (9.8 m). She displaced 7,250 tonnes (7,140 long tons; 7,990 short tons) when surfaced, and 8,250 tonnes (8,120 long tons; 9,090 short tons) when submerged. Her top speed was above 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), and she had a maximum depth of 1,300 feet (400 m). She had a complement of around 120 men, and was armed with 16 Polaris missiles and four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. She was propelled by a S5W Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor powering two turbines which generated 15,000 shaft horsepower (11,000 kW), driving one propeller.

Operational history

President Kennedy watching USS Andrew Jackson launch a Polaris A-2 missile.

Following commissioning, Andrew Jackson sailed via the Panama Canal to the United States East Coast. On 1 October and 11 October 1963, during shakedown training out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, she successfully launched Polaris A-2 ballistic missiles. On 26 October 1963, she sent Polaris A-3X missiles into space in the first submerged launching of its type; she repeated the feat on 11 November 1963. On 16 November 1963, six days before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy—embarked in the missile range instrumentation ship USS Observation Island—observed Andrew Jackson launch another Polaris A-2 ballistic missile from a point off Cape Canaveral and congratulated Commander Wilson and his crew for "impressive teamwork."

USS Liberty incident

There is speculation amongst survivors of the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty and their supporters that a U.S. Navy submarine observed and filmed the attack through their periscope. The working theory is that the submarine was either the Andrew Jackson or the USS Amberjack. The Andrew Jackson was assigned to Submarine Squadron 16, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet from 1964 to 1973, where she conducted patrols out of the American naval base at Rota, Spain. This would mean she could, in theory, have been in the vicinity of the attack when it occurred. There is no confirmation of this theory and it remains speculative.

In 1988, the LBJ Presidential Library declassified and released a document from the Liberty archive with the “Top Secret—Eyes Only” security caveat (Document #12C sanitized and released 21DEC88 under review case 86–199). This “Memorandum for the Record” dated April 10, 1967 reported a briefing of the “303 Committee” by General Ralph D. Steakley. According to the memo, General Steakley “briefed the committee on a sensitive DOD project known as FRONTLET 615,” which is identified in a handwritten note on the original memorandum as “submarine within U.A.R. waters.” Further Freedom of Information Act requests returned no information on any project called “FRONTLET 615.” This has lent credence to the theory that a U.S. Navy submarine was present during the attack.

The 1981 book Weapons by Russell Warren Howe says that the Liberty was accompanied by the Andrew Jackson, which filmed the entire episode through its periscope but was unable to provide assistance.

Decommissioning and disposal

Andrew Jackson was decommissioned on 31 August 1989 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day. Ex-Andrew Jackson entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington. Recycling of Ex-Andrew Jackson was completed 30 August 1999.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive: Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619) Keel Laying – Launching, retrieved 24 September 2011
• NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619) Sea Trials / Decommissioning, retrieved 24 September 2011
• Kennedy Presidential Library Andrew Jackson Polaris Launch Photos, retrieved 26 April 2014