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USS WILL ROGERS SSBN 659: NUCLEAR SUBMARINE LAUNCH PROGRAM JULY 21, 1966 (RARE);
This item is an official program for the launching of the USS Will Rogers SSBN 659(Benjamin Franklin Class Nuclear Powered Ballistic Missle Submarine)that took place in Groton, Connecticut on July 21, 1966. This lot also includes the original invitation and (2) parking passes.
USS Will Rogers Specs:
Builder: Electric Boat Division of GeneralDynamics Corp.
Surfaced Displacement:7,250 tons
Submerged Displacement: 8,250 tons
Length:425 feet
Beam:33 feet
Draft: 31.5 feet
Flank Speed:16-20 knots
Submerged Speed: 22-25 knots
Complement: 140 Officers & Enlisted
Test depth: 1,300 feet
Propeller(s): (1)
Propulsion System: S5W Pressurized Water NuclearReactor
Armament:(16) Vertical Tubes for Polarisor Poseidon Missiles, (4) 21" Torpedo Tubes forMk-48,Mk-14/16, Mk-37, and Mk-45 Nuclear Torpedoes.
USS Will RogersHistory:
Class:Benjamin Franklin Class
Named:Will Rogers (1879–1935)
Awarded:July 29, 1963
Keel Laid Down:March 20, 1965 at ElectricBoat Division of General Dynamics Corp. Groton, CT
Launched: July 21, 1966
Commissioned:USS Will Rogers (SSBN-659) April1, 1967
Patrols:Conducted over 70 Fleet BallisticMissile Deterrent Patrols
Dives:Completed more than 1,000 Dives
Missile Launch:Successfully Fired a PolarisMissile on July 31, 1967
Forward Deployment:Based out of Groton,Conn. until 1974 when she shifted to a forwarddeployment at Rota, Spain.
Deterrent Deployments:Conducted additional deterrentdeployments from Rota over the next fouryears, into 1978.
Deactivated: November 2, 1992
Decommissioned:Struck from the Naval Registeron April 12, 1993
Disposition:The USSWill Rogers was disposed ofthrough the Navy’s nuclear powered ship andsubmarine recycling program at
the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard inBremerton, Washington.
PROGRAM SPECS;
Publication; USSWill Rogers SSBN 659
Publisher; General Dynamics; Electric Boat Division
Event; Launching of the USS Will Rogers
Product/Item; Official Program
Event Date; July 21, 1966
Type; Nuclear Class Submarine
Classification; SSBN 669
Contents; Order Of The Day
No. Pages; 8-Pages
Features; Original Invitation & Parking Pass(2)
Size;8.5” x 11"
Region of Manufacture;Groton, Connecticut
Country of Origin;United Notes; NormalWear/Light Use