USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642)
USS Kamehameha (SSN-642) after her 1992 conversion to support Navy SEALS as an attack submarine
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Namesake: | Kamehameha I (c. 1758–1819), King of Hawaii (c. 1795–1819) |
| Ordered: | 31 August 1962 |
| Builder: | Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California |
| Laid down: | 2 May 1963 |
| Launched: | 16 January 1965 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Samuel Wilder King |
| Commissioned: | 10 December 1965 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 April 2002 |
| Reclassified: | Attack submarine (SSN-642) in 1992 |
| Struck: | 2 April 2002 |
| Motto: |
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| Nickname(s): | "Kamfish" |
| Fate: | Scrapping via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program begun October 2002; completed 28 February 2003 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Benjamin Franklin-class submarine |
| Displacement: | 6,511 tons light, 7,334 tons full, 823 tons dead |
| Length: | 425 ft (130 m) |
| Beam: | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft: | 31 ft (9.4 m) |
| Installed power: | 15,000 shp (11,185 kW) |
| Propulsion: | One S5W pressurized-water nuclear reactor, two geared steam turbines, one shaft |
| Speed: | Over 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Test depth: | 1,300 feet (400 m) |
| Complement: | Two crews (Blue Crew and Gold Crew) of 20 officers and 130 enlisted men each |
| Armament: |
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USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642) (called Kamfish by her crew), a Benjamin Franklin-class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Kamehameha I, the first King of Hawaii (c. 1758–1819). She is one of only two ships of the United States to be named after a monarch. She was later reclassified as an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-642.
The ship's motto was Imua, which roughly translates (from the Hawaiian) as "go forth and conquer." Another motto used by her crew was Kam do.
The contract to build Kamehameha was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California, on 31 August 1962 and her keel was laid down there on 2 May 1963. She was launched on 16 January 1965, sponsored by Mrs. Samuel Wilder King, and commissioned on 10 December 1965 with Commander Roth S. Leddick in command of the Blue Crew and Commander Robert W. Dickieson in command of the Gold Crew.
Conducting deterrence patrols during the Cold War, Kamehameha's armament as a ballistic missile submarine was 16 Poseidon ballistic missiles plus ten to twelve Mark 48 heavy torpedoes non-ADCAP (advanced capability).
Kamehameha was built by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. Upon completion she went on her first sea trials, off the coast of California. Missile firing tests at Cape Canaveral, Florida, followed, after which, she sailed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which was her home port until 1970. Although Pearl Harbor was her home port, she made all of her Pacific patrols out of Apra Harbor, Guam, in order to permit maximum time on patrol station with minimum transit time to and from port. Maximum time on patrol is also the reason why every ballistic missile submarine has two crews, dubbed Blue and Gold. Early in 1966, Kamehameha joined the United States Pacific Fleet and the Blue Crew began her first deterrent patrol on 6 August 1966. After this patrol in November 1966, the Gold Crew relieved the Blue Crew, and Kam was soon underway again. It was on her last Pacific patrol that the Blue Crew took her to the Pacific Missile Test Range to fire two dummy warhead missiles. The Blue Crew then took Kam into port at Pearl Harbor in preparation for transfer to the Atlantic Fleet.
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