Ulysses S Grant SSBN-631

Ulysses S. Grant

(SSBN-631: dp. 7,300 (surf.), 8,250 (subm.), 1. 426'; b. 33', dr. 31'4"; s. 20+ k.; cpl. 140; a. 16 Poseidon mist, 4 21" tt.; cl. James Madison)

Ulysses S. Grant (SSBN-631) was laid down on 18 August 1962 at Groton, Conn., by the Electric Boat Div. of the General Dynamics Corp., launched on 2 November 1963 sponsored by Mrs. David W. Griffiths, the great-granddaughter of General Grant, and was commissioned at Groton on 17 July 1964, Capt. J. L. From, Jr., in command.

Following shakedown, the fleet ballistic missile (FBM) submarine got underway from Groton in early December 1964, bound for the Pacific. Transiting the Panama Canal on New Year's Eve, she arrived at Pearl Harbor in January 19G6. The FBM submarine was deployed to Guam, in the Marianas, and operated from there into 1970. She conducted 18 deterrent patrols before returning to the east coast of the United States, departing the western Pacific in December 1970. After an overhaul at Charleston, S.C., Ulysses S. Grant was deployed to Holy Loch, Scotland, and operated in the European area until September 1975.

Returning home at that time, the submarine continued to operate with the Atlantic Fleet on deterrent patrols into 1980.

In the mid-1980s, Ulysses S. Grant underwent a refueling overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, in Kittery, Maine. After the overhaul period, the Blue Crew completed what was called "The best DASO (Demonstration and Shakedown Operation) in 10 years,"b which concluded with the firing of a test missile on 31 July 1987. Ulysses S. Grant then returned to Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut, where the Gold Crew, under the command of Commander Michael P. McBride, took Ulysses S. Grant through a non-firing second-half DASO. During that period, the Gold Crew enjoyed a luxury for a "boomer"c crew, a swim call in the Caribbean.

On 7 April 1987, two crewmen of Ulysses S. Grant were swept off the submarine's deck during heavy seas 3 mile off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One was rescued but was pronounced dead upon rescue. The other remains presumed "lost at sea".

In 1989, after the Blue Crew turned Ulysses S. Grant over to the Gold Crew while she was moored alongside the submarine tender USS Fulton, the Gold Crew took the submarine to Holy Loch, and Ulysses S. Grant operated on deterrent patrols out of Holy Loch for the remainder of her career.

Decommissioning and disposal
Ulysses S. Grant was decommissioned on 12 June 1992 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton was completed on 23 October 1993.