Henry Clay SSBN-625

 

 

Henry Clay

(SSBN~625: dp. 7,250; 1. 425'; b. 33'; dr. 32'; s. over
20 k.; cpL 122; a. Poll mis; cl. Lafayette)

Henry Clay (SSBN-625) was launched 30 November 1962 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA.; sponsored by Mrs. Green B. Gibson, great granddaughter of Henry Clay and commissioned 20 February 1964, Comdr. J. C. Lewis (gold crew) and Comdr. T. A. Bryce (blue crew) in command.

A modern atomic-powered submarine designed to fire the second generation Polaris ballistic missile, Henry Clap conducted shakedown off the coast of Florida beginning 28 February 1964. She completed her first submerged firing 6 April 1964 and returned to Newport News 29 May 1964. The submarine then sailed to her new home port, Charleston, s.a., and departed for her first deployment 17 August 1964. Joining America's strong and mobile deterrent force beneath the seas, she began her operations in the protection of the free world. By January 1967 she had completed 11 patrols as a ready and powerful deterrent to aggression. At present assigned to Submarine Squadron 14, Henry Clay in mid 1967 continues to cruise the depths of her assigned patrol areas where she serves both as an instrument of peace and, at a moment's notice if need be, as a lethal weapon of war.

- Henry Clay was decommissioned on 5 November 1990 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. She entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, for scrapping, which was completed on 30 September 1997.