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USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657) is waterborne at Electric Boat, Groton, CT, 23 April 1965. |
|
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Francis Scott Key |
| Ordered: | 29 July 1963 |
| Laid down: | 5 December 1964 |
| Launched: | 23 April 1965 |
| Commissioned: | 3 December 1966 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 September 1993 |
| Struck: | 2 September 1993 |
| Fate: | Submarine recycling |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Benjamin Franklin-class |
| Length: | 425 feet (129.5 m) |
| Propulsion: | S5W reactor |
USS Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657), a Benjamin Franklin-class ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Francis Scott Key, the author of the poem "The Defense of Fort McHenry", which became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner".
The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 29 July 1963 and her keel was laid down on 5 December 1964. She was launched on 23 April 1965 sponsored by Mrs. Marjory Key Thorne & Mrs. William T. Jarvis, and commissioned on 3 December 1966, with Captain Frank W. Graham in command of the Blue Crew and LCommander Joseph B. Logan in command of the Gold Crew.
Francis Scott Key was decommissioned on 2 September 1993 with Commander Carl D. Olson in command, and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 September 1993. Ex-Francis Scott Key entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, and on 1 September 1995 ceased to exist.
Based on data from the Naval Vessel Register.