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USS Von Steuben (SSBN 632)

USS VON STEUBEN was the 15^th LAFAYETTE - class nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarine and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name.

Placed “in commission, in reserve” on July 7, 1993, VON STEUBEN was both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on February 26, 1994. VON STEUBEN spent the next years berthed at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., awaiting disposal through the Navy’s Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program. Recycling was finished on November 1, 2001.

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Crew List:

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

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About the Ship's Name:

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben was born sometime in 1730 in Magdeburg in the Electorate of Brandenburg. The son of a lieutenant of engineers in the army of Frederick William I, King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg, he spent his early childhood in Russia where his father had entered the service of Czarina Anne at the command of Frederick William I. After the accession of Frederick II to the Prussian throne, von Steuben returned to Germany with his father in 1740.

In 1747, at age 17, he became a cadet in a Prussian infantry regiment and, two years later, received his patent (commission) as an ensign. Von Steuben served with distinction during the Seven Years’ War. His specific training and experience in general staff duties equipped him for his later role in the American Revolution.

His discharge from the army for obscure reasons in 1763 and subsequent financial difficulties caused him to seek service with the American Army in 1777. Stating that he wished no immediate compensation and would stake his fortunes upon the success of the Revolution, von Steuben reported to General Washington at Valley Forge in February 1778.

He was almost immediately successful in the training of the Continental Army in accordance with the exacting standards of the Prussian Army. Thereafter, the Continental Army proved itself, battalion for battalion, the equal in discipline of the best British regulars. He served with distinction with General Nathanael Greene in the Carolinas in 1780 and with General Lafayette at Yorktown in 1781.

Von Steuben became a citizen of the United States in 1783 and, following retirement from the army, resided in New York where he became one of the most popular figures in the city until his death in 1794.

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Accidents aboard USS VON STEUBEN:

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USS VON STEUBEN History:

USS VON STEUBEN was one of the "41 for Freedom" fleet ballistic missile submarines that formed the core of the United States' sea-based nuclear deterrent during the Cold War. A member of the JAMES MADISON subgroup of the LAFAYETTE-class, she spent three decades almost entirely in the Atlantic, moving through three generations of ballistic missiles - Polaris A-3, Poseidon C-3, and Trident I C-4 - before decommissioning in 1994 and eventual recycling in the early 2000s.

The contract to build the submarine was awarded on July 20, 1961, to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at Newport News, Virginia, as part of the rapid expansion of the ballistic missile submarine force after the introduction of the earlier GEORGE WASHINGTON- and ETHAN ALLEN-classes. Her keel was laid at Newport News on September 4, 1962. Construction proceeded quickly. USS VON STEUBEN was launched on October 18, 1963, sponsored by Vera (Connell) Korth, wife of secretary of the Navy Fred Korth. She was commissioned on September 30, 1964, with Commander John P. Wise in command of the blue crew and Commander Jeffrey C. Metzel in command of the gold crew, reflecting the two-crew manning system adopted to keep ballistic missile submarines on patrol as much as possible.

Following commissioning, the boat moved directly into shakedown and training. During the autumn of 1964, each crew carried out its own shakedown cruise, separated by a period of antisubmarine warfare training in which USS VON STEUBEN operated as a target and participant to integrate into fleet tactics. On December 22, 1964, the gold crew fired the submarine's first Polaris A-3 ballistic missile on the Atlantic Missile Range off the east coast of Florida, a key step in certifying the ship and crew for strategic service. After returning to Newport News for the Christmas period, the crews exchanged. Early in 1965, the blue crew took the boat back to the missile range off Cape Canaveral and conducted its first Polaris firing, after which USS VON STEUBEN returned to Newport News in February 1965, having completed her initial training program and weapons evaluations.

In March 1965, USS VON STEUBEN departed the yard for her first operational assignment. She joined Submarine Squadron 18 at Charleston, South Carolina, which became her homeport, and immediately entered the cycle of strategic deterrent patrols that defined her career for the next three decades. From Charleston, she would be resupplied, have her missiles and torpedoes serviced, and then deploy into the North Atlantic or Norwegian Sea for extended submerged patrols, typically on the order of two months in duration. While one crew was at sea, the other trained ashore and prepared for the next patrol, and then the two would swap, keeping the submarine on station for as much of the year as possible.

Through the remainder of the 1960s, USS VON STEUBEN completed a succession of Polaris A-3 deterrent patrols out of Charleston. These patrols took place against the backdrop of the escalating Cold War in Europe, including the build-up of Soviet strategic forces and continued tensions over Berlin and NATO's northern flank. By early 1968, she had completed her eleventh patrol. At the end of this patrol, early in 1968, she was reassigned from Submarine Squadron 18 to Submarine Squadron 16, with operating base at Rota, Spain, reflecting the Navy's practice of forward-basing a portion of its Polaris force in Europe to shorten transit times to patrol areas and provide quick turnaround between patrols. From this point until the middle of 1969, VON STEUBEN operated primarily out of Rota, using the squadron's support facilities there for refit and maintenance between patrols.

While operating from Rota, she experienced the most serious incident of her career. On August 9, 1968, during a strategic deterrent patrol and while running submerged about 40 miles off the southern coast of Spain, USS VON STEUBEN struck a submerged tow cable between a tug and the merchant tanker SEALADY. The tow created almost no machinery noise, giving the submarine little acoustic warning. Loss of depth control and steering followed, and, without yet understanding the cause, the crew executed an emergency main ballast tank blow to surface. As the submarine broke the surface she collided with the towed tanker, suffering damage to her sail, superstructure and main deck plating. At the time, she carried sixteen Polaris A-3 missiles and forty-eight nuclear warheads, illustrating the risk associated with nuclear-armed patrols near busy sea lanes. The damage was confined to external structures. There was no reported reactor or missile compartment compromise and no loss of life.

Immediate repairs were made at Rota using the facilities of Submarine Squadron 16. Once the boat was made seaworthy for Atlantic transit, USS VON STEUBEN sailed to Groton, Connecticut, for more extensive work at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics. There, the damaged structures were repaired and inspected, and the ship was returned to full operational status. After completing these repairs, she resumed deterrent patrols out of Rota, continuing to operate under Submarine Squadron 16 through the end of the decade.

In parallel with individual ship repairs, the Navy was beginning to upgrade its Polaris force with the more capable Poseidon C-3 missile. As part of this broader program, USS VON STEUBEN entered a major overhaul and conversion period at Electric Boat beginning on July 11, 1969. Over the next sixteen months, the ship's missile compartment and related systems were modified to accommodate the larger, multiple-warhead Poseidon, and other modernization work was carried out on machinery, electronics and habitability. This extended availability ended on November 19, 1970, by which time USS VON STEUBEN had become one of the Poseidon-equipped boats of the Atlantic fleet.

Following completion of the Poseidon conversion, the submarine conducted post-overhaul shakedown trials and missile tests in early 1971. Operating on the Atlantic Missile Range off Florida, and escorted for range safety by the destroyer USS WILLIAM C. LAWE (DD 763), she carried out a Demonstration and Shakedown Operation that included test launches of Poseidon missiles in February and March 1971, confirming both the performance of the new weapon system and crew proficiency.

In May 1971, USS VON STEUBEN returned to Charleston and resumed regular strategic deterrent patrols, now armed with Poseidon C-3 missiles. Through the early and mid-1970s, she alternated between patrols and refits, with blue and gold crews maintaining the familiar two-month patrol rhythm. During this period, the Atlantic ballistic missile submarine force remained focused on countering Soviet strategic capabilities, while also serving as a stabilizing element during episodes such as the latter stages of the Vietnam War and the early rounds of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. The boat took part in the ongoing series of missile reliability and follow-on operational tests that characterized the Poseidon era. She conducted multi-missile test firings in 1972 and again in 1976 on the eastern test range to verify long-term system performance under operational conditions.

Maintenance during these years included both stateside and overseas yard work. Between March 1978 and May 1978, USS VON STEUBEN underwent an Extended Refit Period at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, where shipyard workers performed more thorough repairs and upgrades than were possible during routine refits, including work on the propulsion plant, auxiliary systems and hull preservation. In addition, photographic and documentary evidence shows the submarine in dry dock at Holy Loch, Scotland, during the 1970s for a non-refueling overhaul, notable as one of the first such major overhauls for a fleet ballistic missile submarine conducted outside the continental United States. This work at Holy Loch reflected the high tempo of Atlantic SSBN operations and the role of overseas bases in sustaining them.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, strategic modernization again changed the technical configuration of USS VON STEUBEN. The Navy decided to retrofit a portion of the Poseidon-armed JAMES MADISON- and BENJAMIN FRANKLIN-class submarines to carry the new Trident I (C-4) missile, extending their usefulness as the first OHIO-class SSBNs entered service. USS VON STEUBEN was selected for this program and went to Newport News Shipbuilding for another major overhaul and missile system conversion. On June 1, 1982, she completed this overhaul and formally became the eleventh Poseidon submarine converted to Trident I capability.

After conversion, the submarine again underwent a period of shakedown operations and missile testing to prove the new system. On November 4, 1982, the gold crew of USS VON STEUBEN successfully launched a Trident I missile in support of Demonstration and Shakedown Operations, marking the boat's first firing of the C-4 system and contributing to the Navy's certification of Trident I for Atlantic fleet use. On November 7, 1983, the blue crew carried out a Follow-on Operational Test in which two Trident I missiles were launched, providing further data on reliability under operational conditions. Additional tests followed: on September 17, 1986, the submarine again launched two Trident I missiles during a follow-on test sequence, demonstrating continued system performance four years into Trident service.

With the adoption of Trident I, USS VON STEUBEN entered the final phase of her operational life. The reequipped boat remained part of the Atlantic ballistic missile force, associated with Submarine Squadron 16, which by this time had shifted from its earlier base at Rota to the developing submarine facility at Kings Bay, Georgia. Contemporary accounts from former crew members describe a pattern in which the submarine was still nominally tied to Charleston but conducted refits and weapons handling at Kings Bay, where purpose-built infrastructure for the Trident fleet was being brought online. Over time, Kings Bay became the primary support base for the boat and her squadron.

During the 1980s, the submarine continued to make strategic deterrent patrols in the Atlantic, now with Trident I missiles providing significantly increased range and improved guidance over Poseidon. These patrols coincided with a shifting geopolitical environment: renewed Cold War tensions early in the decade, followed by arms control agreements such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks. At sea, however, the day-to-day pattern on board USS VON STEUBEN changed little - extended submerged patrols with alternating crews, regular drills and inspections, and periodic refits at Kings Bay and other facilities to keep the ship and her missile battery at the required level of readiness.

The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought a gradual restructuring of United States strategic forces. In late 1991 and 1992, non-strategic nuclear weapons were removed from surface ships and attack submarines, but ballistic missile submarines like USS VON STEUBEN continued to carry strategic warheads as part of the remaining deterrent. At the same time, the growing OHIO-class force made it possible to retire the older "41 for Freedom" boats. As part of this drawdown, USS VON STEUBEN was selected for deactivation.

After nearly three decades of patrols, the submarine was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on February 26, 1994. Following decommissioning, USS VON STEUBEN was transferred to Bremerton, Washington, to enter the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. There, in accordance with the Navy's standard procedures for nuclear-powered vessels, her reactor compartment was defueled and prepared for long-term storage, radioactive materials were handled under regulatory control, and the hull and remaining structures were cut up for recycling. Scrapping began on October 1, 2000, and was completed on October 30, 2001, bringing the total span from delivery to final disposal to just over thirty-seven years.

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