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USS James Madison (SSBN 627)

- decommissioned -

USS JAMES MADISON was the tenth LAFAYETTE - class nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarine and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Completed with the 2500-mile range Polaris A3, the JAMES MADISON was refitted with the Poseidon missiles between 1969 and 1978. In 1979-82, she received Trident I missiles.

Decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on November 20, 1992, the JAMES MADISON spent the next years at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., awaiting to be disposed of by submarine recycling. Recycling was finished on October 24, 1997.

General Characteristics:Awarded: July 20, 1961
Keel laid: March 5, 1962
Launched: March 15, 1963
Commissioned: July 28, 1964
Decommissioned: November 20, 1992
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.
Propulsion system: one S5W nuclear reactor
Propellers: one
Length: 425 feet (129.6 meters)
Beam: 33 feet (10 meters)
Draft: 31.5 feet (9.6 meters)
Displacement: Surfaced: approx. 7,250 tons; Submerged: approx. 8,250 tons
Speed: Surfaced: 16 - 20 knots;Submerged: 22 - 25 knots
Armament: 16 vertical tubes for Polaris or Poseidon missiles, four 21" torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes, Mk-14/16 torpedoes, Mk-37 torpedoes and Mk-45 nuclear torpedoes
Crew: 13 Officers and 130 Enlisted (two crews)


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Crew List:

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


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Accidents aboard USS JAMES MADISON:

DateWhereEvents
November 3, 1974North SeaAccording to Jack Anderson's regular newspaper column of January 1, 1975, the USS JAMES MADISON collides with an unknown Soviet submarine in the North Sea. According to Anderson the two submarines came within inches of sinking each other. The JAMES MADISON proceeded to Holy Loch, Scotland, to effect repairs. The US Navy refused to comment on the incident.


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About the Ship's Name:

James Madison was born at Port Conway, Va., 10 March 1751, and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) in 1771. He was a member of the Virginia Council of State, and in 1780 became a member of the Continental Congress. An early advocate of increased Federal power under the Articles of Confederation, Madison served in the Virginia House of Delegates 1784-86 and was instrumental in securing passage of Jefferson's religious freedom bill. He played an influential role in the movement which led to the Constitutional Convention, drafted the "Virginia Plan" which became the core of that document, and worked tirelessly for its adoption. A first-rate thinker and writer on political theory and practice, he was the author of 29 of the famous Federalist Papers.

Madison served in the House 1789-97 and proposed the first 10 amendments to the Constitution which became the Bill of Rights. Later, as leader of the Jeffersonian Republicans, he drew up the Virginia Resolves and condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts.

After being Secretary of State under Jefferson 1801-09, he was elected President. His first term was marred by the unpopular War of 1812 and his administration was marked by a trend toward nationalism. President James Madison, died 28 June 1836, but continues in fame as one of the Nation's most important thinkers and statesmen.


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