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USS Thomas Jefferson (SSBN 618)

USS THOMAS JEFFERSON was the fifth and final ETHAN ALLEN - class nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarine and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name.

After 18 years of service, the THOMAS JEFFERSON was redesignated as SSN 618 to comply with the SALT I treaty on March 11, 1981, and concrete blocks were placed in the missile tubes to disable the submarine's missile launch capability. She served as an attack submarine (SSN) mainly doing exercises until she was decommissioned on January 24, 1985, and stricken from the Navy list on April 30, 1986. On October 1, 1996, the THOMAS JEFFERSON entered the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., which was completed on March 6, 1998.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS THOMAS JEFFERSON. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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About the Submarine's Name:

Thomas Jefferson was born at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Va., 13 April 1743 and graduated from William and Mary College in 1762. He was admitted to the bar 5 years later. In 1769, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses where he soon became a leader of the patriot faction and helped form the Virginia Committee of Corespondence. He maintained that the colonies were not subject to Parliament but were bound to England only by allegiance to the Crown.

Jefferson was sent to the Continental Congress in June 1775, and a year later he was entrusted with writing the Declaration of Independence. He returned to the Virginia legislature in October 1776 where he labored to reform the new state on democatic principles. He succeeded Patrick Henry as governor in 1779 and held that office until 1781.

Jefferson succeeded Franklin as Minister to France in 1785 and, after his return in 1789, became the Nation’s first Secretary of State. Growing differences with Alexander Hamilton prompted him to resign from Washington’s cabinet 31 December 1793, and he subsequently led growing opposition to the Federalist party. From 1797 to 1801, he was Vice President and he defeated John Adams in the presidential election of 1800. Upon entering the White House, Jefferson introduced a more democratic tone to public life, and his two terms as Chief Executive were marked by careful administration and rare frugality. Highlights of his presidency included the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the Navy’s victory over the Barbary pirates. Their valiant and skillful fighting in the struggle with the North African corsairs gave American seamen some of their most colorful and cherished memories while strengthening the new nation’s position as a power worthy of respect.

In retirement, Jefferson exerted great political and intellectual influence as he worked to establish the University of Virginia. His brilliant career was brought to a fitting close when he died 4 July 1826, the 50th anniversary of his immortal Declaration of Independence.

Perhaps Jefferson’s place in American history was best measured by President Kennedy while entertaining the Nobel Prize winners of the Western Hemisphere. “...I think,” the President told his distinguised guests, “this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

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History of USS THOMAS JEFFERSON:

USS THOMAS JEFFERSON was laid down on 3 February 1961 at Newport News, Va., by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; sponsored by Mrs. Robert S. McNamara; and commissioned on 4 January 1963, Comdr. Leon H. Rathbun (Blue Crew) and Comdr. Charles Priest, Jr., (Gold Crew) in command.

After shakedown training by both crews and a yard availability period, the fleet ballistic missile submarine was assigned to Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 14 in early October. On 28 October, the Blue Crew took the submarine on her first deterrent patrol which ended at Holy Loch, Scotland, in December 1963. THOMAS JEFFERSON continued patrols from Holy Loch for the next four years and also acted as flagship for SubRon 14. In 1966, she returned to New London for two training and rehabilitation periods. She began her 15th deterrent patrol on 12 January 1967 and, upon its completion, returned to Newport News for her first overhaul and refueling. On 17 June 1968, the submarine was ready for sea, and refresher training was held for both crews. Her 16th patrol began on 29 October and terminated at Rota, Spain, on 5 December 1968.

THOMAS JEFFERSON made four deterrent patrols in each of the following years: 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972. She also conducted special operations in 1970 and 1971. On 20 October 1972, the Gold Crew was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation for its special operations of the previous year.

THOMAS JEFFERSON completed two patrols in 1973 before returning to the United States to hold midshipman training from 18 June to 31 August. Her last patrol of the year terminated on 12 December 1973. Her 36th and final, patrol in the Atlantic lasted from 31 January to 22 March 1974. After calling at Norfolk and Charleston, the submarine returned to New London on 22 May. THOMAS JEFFERSON was then reassigned to the Pacific Fleet with her new homeport at Vallejo, Calif. She stood out of New London on 7 June en route to the west coast and arrived at Mare Island on the 27th.

On 1 July 1974, THOMAS JEFFERSON entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for overhaul, refueling, and conversion to the Polaris A-3 missile system. She remained in the yard until 17 November 1975 when she got underway for Bremerton, Wash. The submarine remained in Puget Sound for a month and then moved to San Diego.

During the period January to March 1976, THOMAS JEFFERSON's Blue Crew conducted post-overhaul shakedown operations and then transited the Panama Canal to conduct a Polaris missile firing at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Gold Crew took over the ship on 4 April and conducted additional post-overhaul shakedown operations which included a missile firing at Cape Canaveral, a transit of the Panama Canal, and a missile loadout at Bangor, Washington, before resuming deterrent patrol operations with the Pacific Fleet on 8 August. THOMAS JEFFERSON continued these operations as a unit of Submarine Squadron 15 throughout 1977 and 1978, at the end of which she completed her 44th deterrent patrol.

In 1979, THOMAS JEFFERSON continued this pattern of Guam-based deterrent patrols. As with other Submarine Squadron 15 boats, her routine consisted of loading out weapons and supplies at Apra Harbor, Guam, proceeding into the Pacific for a months-long submerged patrol, then returning for a short refit and crew turnover before the next patrol. A photograph from 1979 shows THOMAS JEFFERSON in a floating dry dock at Apra Harbor, Guam, undergoing work on her hull. This dry-docking fits the normal pattern of periodic hull inspection and maintenance between deterrent patrols for forward-deployed SSBNs.

Through 1980 THOMAS JEFFERSON remained in this role. Public summaries of her service note that she continued operations with Submarine Squadron 15 from 1977 through 1980 and that by the end of this period she had completed her 51st deterrent patrol. Those patrols took place against the backdrop of the later Cold War: on one side, Soviet ballistic-missile submarine and surface-fleet activity in the western and northern Pacific; on the other, U.S. efforts to maintain a survivable second-strike force while newer OHIO-class TRIDENT submarines were entering service. In these years, the Pacific SSBN force was gradually transitioning from the older GEORGE WASHINGTON-, ETHAN ALLEN- and LAFAYETTE-class boats to the larger TRIDENT boats, and each patrol by THOMAS JEFFERSON contributed to that continuous coverage until the first TRIDENT submarines could assume a larger share of the load.

By the turn of the decade, U.S. arms-control obligations under the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) and the planned force structure for strategic systems made it uneconomical to retain all older Polaris boats in the ballistic-missile role. In fiscal year 1981, the United States began disabling some of the older missile compartments while keeping the ships themselves in commission as conventional attack submarines. For THOMAS JEFFERSON this change came in 1981. To comply with SALT I limitations on launchers, the missile section was physically disabled: concrete blocks were placed in the missile tubes and the ballistic-missile fire-control system was removed. Contemporary accounts also note the removal of the specialized inertial navigation systems used for precise missile targeting.

On 11 March 1981, she was formally reclassified from fleet ballistic missile submarine to attack submarine and redesignated SSN 618, marking the end of her career as a nuclear-deterrent platform and the beginning of a short second career as a training and antisubmarine warfare asset. As an attack submarine, THOMAS JEFFERSON no longer carried strategic missiles but retained her nuclear propulsion plant and torpedo armament. Open sources describe her new role in general terms: she was "retained primarily for training, antisubmarine warfare exercises, and other secondary duties."

In practice, this meant serving as an opposing-force submarine in exercises, providing realistic submarine contacts for surface ships and maritime patrol aircraft, and supporting the training of new submarine officers and crews. By 1982, U.S. Navy professional publications were listing USS THOMAS JEFFERSON alongside other units in descriptions of fleet exercises. One account of U.S. naval operations in 1982 cites her in company with the guided-missile destroyer USS DAHLGREN (DDG 43), the frigate USS CAPODANNO (FF 1093), the attack submarine USS SCAMP (SSN 588) and the dock landing ship USS PLYMOUTH ROCK (LSD 29), indicating her participation in multi-ship exercises that combined surface combatants, amphibious forces and submarines in coordinated operations.

The detailed day-to-day itinerary of THOMAS JEFFERSON's last four years in commission is not fully documented in public sources. Available material indicates that she continued in this training and exercise role through the early 1980s, with crew rosters showing sailors serving aboard from 1981 to 1984 and references in veterans' accounts to routine exercises rather than long forward-based patrols. By this time, the ETHAN ALLEN-class hulls were among the oldest nuclear submarines in the fleet, and the Navy was already planning their retirement as newer LOS ANGELES-class attack submarines entered service in greater numbers.

By 1984, THOMAS JEFFERSON's career was drawing to a close. A veteran's recollection places USS THOMAS JEFFERSON en route from Charleston, South Carolina, to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1984 for decommissioning, showing that by then she had shifted fully to the U.S. West Coast for final inactivation work. At Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, she joined other early Polaris boats slated for retirement. A combined decommissioning brochure produced there later summarized her service alongside that of USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598).

USS THOMAS JEFFERSON was formally decommissioned on 24 January 1985 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 April 1986, ending more than twenty-two years of commissioned service that had included both front-line strategic deterrent patrols and later training duties. After decommissioning, the submarine remained laid up for several years before entering the Navy's Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, Washington. She entered the program on 1 October 1996, and the recycling process - which involved defueling the reactor, cutting out and safely disposing of the reactor compartment, and scrapping the remaining hull - was completed on 6 March 1998.

Almost all of the ship ceased to exist at that point, but her sail was preserved and installed in a park at Gosport, adjacent to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, where it serves as a visible reminder of the early generation of U.S. nuclear ballistic-missile submarines and of THOMAS JEFFERSON's long service from the early 1960s through the early 1980s.

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