USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730)

- formerly RHODE ISLAND -

USS HENRY M. JACKSON is the fifth OHIO class Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine and the only SSBN in the OHIO class named after a person.

General Characteristics:	Keel Laid: January 19, 1981
	Launched: October 15, 1983
	Commissioned: October 6, 1984
	Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat Division, Groton, Conn.
	Propulsion system: one nuclear reactor
	Propellers: one
	Length: 560 feet (171 meters)
	Beam: 42 feet (12.8 meters)
	Draft: 36,5 feet (11.1 meters)
	Displacement: Surfaced: approx. 16,765 tons Submerged: approx. 18,750 tons
	Speed: 20+ knots
	Armament: 24 tubes for Trident I and II, Mk-48 torpedoes, four torpedo tubes
	Homeport: Bangor, Wash.
	Crew: 17 Officers, 15 Chief Petty Officers and 122 Enlisted (2 crews)

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Crew List:

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

Click here to view the list.

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Click here to see which USS HENRY M. JACKSON memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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Accidents aboard USS HENRY M. JACKSON:

Date	Where	Events
November 6, 1987	off Bangor, Wash	HENRY M. JACKSON collided with the fishing boat SOUTH PAW. The Navy paid $25,721.

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About the Submarine’s Name, about Henry M. Jackson:

Henry M. Jackson served on Capitol Hill for 42 years, the last 31 of which he spent in the Senate. As a dominant member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he led an important faction within the Democratic party in his support of a more aggressive role in world affairs. Senator Jackson was a strong proponent of the TRIDENT submarine program, a watchdog over U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations, and a critic of SALT. Held in the ship's library and dating back to 1955 is a set of point papers, newspaper articles, and speeches which give clear testimony to his firm commitment to rapid development of nuclear submarines and the POLARIS program (vessels which he often called "underwater satellites"); a greatly expanded attack submarine program to counter a rapidly growing Soviet fleet; emphasis upon arctic operations; and most recently, the TRIDENT program. In 1959, after riding the USS SKIPJACK (SSN 585) at sea with (then) VADM Rickover, Senator Jackson called for the establishment of a Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Undersea Warfare because he believed submarines were "lost in a welter of naval bureaucracy."

Senator Jackson was lauded as a true "Defender of Freedom" in a speech given on the Senate floor shortly after his death. These words are now, appropriately, found in the ship's insignia.

In a September 1973 Senate speech, Senator Jackson stated the following:
"If we choose the prudent course - to proceed without delay with the TRIDENT program - we can at least be certain that we will have done what we can do to support the effort of our negotiators to obtain an equitable SALT agreement if we can - and to protect our national security if we cannot."

This submarine bearing his name is a fitting tribute to the man who so labored to keep America strong and free.

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USS HENRY M. JACKSON Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Jim Goodall during his visit aboard the HENRY M. JACKSON on January 8, 2004.

Empty Torpedo Tubes	Missile Launch Tubes (looking aft)	Live Mk-48s	Missile Launch Control Center	Missile Launch Control Center
	Missile Compartment (second level)	Missile Launch Tubes (left hand side)	Missile Launch Tubes (right hand side)

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