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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patch on left contributed by Mike Smolinski, Decal on right by unlimiteddetails.com
Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Uniform - Echo

Will Rogers (SSBN-659)

Benjamin Franklin Class Ballistic Missile Submarine: Laid down, 20 March 1965, at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT.; Launched, 21 July 1966; Commissioned, USS Will Rogers (SSBN-659), 1 April 1967; Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1993; Disposed of through the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program, 12 August 1994 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 7,250 t., Submerged: 8,250 t.; Length 425' ; Beam 33'; Draft 32'; Speed, Surfaced/Submerged 20+ kts; Complement 120; Test depth 1,300'; Armament, 16 missile tubes, four 21" torpedo tubes; Propulsion, S5W Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor, two geared turbines at 15,000 shp, one propeller.
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Will Rogers42kWilliam Penn Adair "Will" Rogers (4 November 1879 – 15 August 1935) was a Cherokee-American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor. Known as Oklahoma's favorite son. Rogers was born to a prominent Indian Territory family and learned to ride horses and use a lariat so well that he was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for throwing three ropes at once—one around the neck of a horse, another around the horse's rider, and a third around all four legs of the horse. He ultimately traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies (50 silent films and 21 "talkies"), wrote more than 4,000 nationally-syndicated newspaper columns, and became a world-famous figure. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was adored by the American people, and was the top-paid movie star in Hollywood at the time. On an around-the-world trip with aviator Wiley Post, Rogers died when their small airplane crashed near Barrow, Alaska Territory in 1935.Photo courtesy of Bill Gonyo.
BB-38 Pennsylvania93kHumorist Will Rogers with crewmen of Pennsylvania (BB-38), on the battleship's after deck, 28 March 1928.USNHC # NH 42750, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
Will Rogers285kWill Rogers (SSBN-659) was sponsored by Mrs. Hubert H. Humphrey, the wife of the Vice President of the United States.Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Will Rogers181kThe Will Rogers (SSBN-659) slides down the launching ramp at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 21 July 1966.USN photo courtesy of pelicanharborsubvets.com & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Will Rogers192kCover of the launching program of the Will Rogers (SSBN-659) at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 21 July 1966.Photo courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
Will Rogers100kCommemorative postal cover marking the Will Rogers (SSBN-659) at her launching at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT., 21 July 1966.Photo courtesy of Dale Hargrave.
Will Rogers507kWill Rogers (SSBN-659), waterborne following her launching, 21 July 1966.USN photo.
Will Rogers861kAt Polaris Milestone. Leaders of the Navy's Polaris program are shown in front of Will Rogers (SSBN-659), the fleet's 41 missile submarine, following the April 1st commissioning of the ship. Left to right are Vice Admiral I.J. Galantin, Chief of Naval Material and former director of the Navy's Special Projects (Polaris) office; Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, retired Chief of Naval Operations, who initiated the Polaris program; Vice Admiral Arnold F. Schade, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Vice Admiral William F. Raborn, (retired), first director of the Special Projects Office and Rear Admiral Levering Smith, the present director. In the background is the General Dynamics, Electric Boat Division, Groton, Connecticut, shipyard where 17 Polaris submarines, including Will Rogers, were built. USN photograph Polaris-8, now in the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Subject Files, from the National Museum of the U.S. Navy via flickr.com.
Will Rogers76kWill Rogers (SSBN-659), underway 15 February 1967. USN photo.
Will Rogers470kThe trials of Will Rogers (SSBN-659) on 15 February 1967.USN photo # NPC K-36123 courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Will Rogers59kCrewmembers of the Will Rogers (SSBN-659) salute the National Ensign at her launching, 1 April 1967.USN photo.
Will Rogers104kSacked out X2 on the Will Rogers (SSBN-659).Photo by Steve Kaufman from the book:Silent Chase: Submarines of the U.S. Navy by Yogi and Steve Kaufman, Naval Institute Press, courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Will Rogers116kWill Rogers (SSBN-659) steaming out of Holy Loch, Scotland, on her way to patrol.Photo by Steve Kaufman from the book:Silent Chase: Submarines of the U.S. Navy page 104 and 105 by Yogi and Steve Kaufman, Naval Institute Press.
Photo I.D. courtesy of David Galloway & David Johnston (USN, retired)
Will Rogers162kWill Rogers (SSBN-659) high and dry in dock. USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Will Rogers257k Underwater launch of a Poseidon Fleet ballistic missile from a submarine, possibly the Will Rogers (SSBN-659) on 23 November 1981. Official USN photo # DF-ST-83-02546 by AFSC, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Will Rogers265k A UGM-73 Poseidon C-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile is launched from the nuclear-powered ballistic missile Will Rogers (SSBN-659) on 20 May 1986. This is the 81st launch of a Poseidon missile and the 61st from a submarine. Official USN photo # DF-SC-87-12796 by TGS Technology, Inc., from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil & submitted by Bill Gonyo.
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard625kAn aerial view of four boomers in the early stages of being scrapped out in a graving dock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington, 17 May 1993.
Assuming the 17 May 1993 date is correct and based on recycling data in the June 1995 edition of Naval Proceedings, these are the likely submarines in the photo. Can’t tell which one is which.
On the top port side most likely is the Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617).
The rest are Henry L. Stimson (SSBN-655),
George Washington Carver (SSBN-656) &
Will Rogers (SSBN-659).

Alexander Hamilton recycling start date was 1 October 1992 & recycling end date was 28 February 1994.
Henry L. Stimson start date was 2 November 1992, end date 28 February 1994.
George Washington Carver start date was 2 November 1992, end date was 12 March 1994.
Will Rogers start date was 2 November 1992, end date 12 August 1994.

Other Comments:
1. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was only using one dry dock at this time for recycling. Therefore, four submarines in process was the limit.
2. Submarine on the upper left is defueled and the reactor patch is reinstalled. Missile tubes are SALT compliant.
3. Submarine on the lower left is defueled (top of defueling house is open). Missile tubes are SALT compliant.
4. Submarine on the upper right is likely in the process of being defueled. Missile tubes are not SALT compliant.
5. Submarine on the lower left has defueling house in place and maybe the next ship in line for defueling. Missile tubes are not SALT compliant.

Text I.d. courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
USN photo # DN-ST-95-01860 by Calvin Larsen, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
Reactor Compartments83kTrench 94, Hanford Site, Washington, 1994. Hull sections containing defueled reactor compartments of decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines are put in disposal trenches. Once full, the trench will be filled with dirt and buried. The compartments are expected to retain their integrity for more than 600 years. USN photo submitted by Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Spent Fuel569kSealed reactor compartments are shipped by barge out of Puget Sound Naval Base down the coast and along the Columbia River to the port of Benton. There the radioactively-contaminated hull sections are transferred to special multiwheeled high-load trailers for transport to the Hanford Reservation in Washington State. Pictured below is the burial ground for spent fuel of the following 77 nuclear reactor submarines as of March 2003:
Patrick Henry (SSBN-599),
Snook (SSN-592),
George Washington (SSBN-598),
Scamp (SSN-588),
Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601),
Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618),
Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN-600),
Dace (SSN-607),
John Adams (SSBN-620),
Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602),
Barb (SSN-596),
Ethan Allen (SSBN-608),
Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610),
Pollack (SSN-603),
Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN-685),
James Monroe (SSBN-622),
Skipjack (SS-585),
Nathan Hale (SSBN-623),
Plunger (SSN-595),
Shark (SSN-591),
Lafayette (SSBN-616),
Sam Houston (SSBN-609),
Jack (SSN-605),
Haddo (SSN-604),
Tinosa (SSN-606),
Guardfish (SSN-612),
Permit (SSN-594),
Queenfish (SSN-651),
Ulysses S. Grant (SSBN-631),
John Marshall (SSBN-611),
George C. Marshall (SSBN-654),
Flasher (SSN-613),
Guitarro (SSN-665),
Alexander Hamilton (SSBN-617),
George Washington Carver (SSBN-656),
Tecumseh (SSBN-628),
Halibut (SSGN-587),
Will Rogers (SSBN-659),
Henry L. Stimson (SSBN-655),
Daniel Boone (SSBN-629),
Greenling (SSN-614),
John C. Calhoun (SSBN-630),
Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633),
Skate (SSN-578),
Sargo (SSN-583),
Francis Scott Key (SSBN-657),
Sturgeon (SSN-637),
Benjamin Franklin (SSBN-640),
Swordfish (SSN-579),
Seadragon (SSN-584),
Stonewall Jackson (SSBN-634),
Simon Bolivar (SSBN-641),
Hammerhead (SSN-663),
Mariano G. Vallejo (SSBN-658) ,
Tullibee (SSN-597),
Lewis & Clark (SSBN-644),
Pargo (SSN-650),
Seahorse (SSN-669),
Gurnard (SSN-662),
Flying Fish (SSN-673),
Gato (SSN-615),
Puffer (SSN-652),
Seawolf (SSN-575),
Baton Rouge (SSN-689),
Bergall (SSN-667),
Whale (SSN-638),
Henry Clay (SSBN-625),
James Madison (SSBN-627),
Finback (SSN-670),
Spadefish (SSN-668),
Sunfish (SSN-649),
George Bancroft (SSBN-643),
Grayling (SSN-646),
Pintado (SSN-672),
Tunny (SSN-682),
Archerfish (SSN-678),
& Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624).
As time passes & more boats are retired from service and their reactors are brought here, so the numbers rise. In this photo dated November 2009, 98 nuclear submarines and six nuclear cruisers have been recycled. For an up to date view, click here		USN photo submitted by Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Insert link courtesy of wikimedia.org
View the Will Rogers (SSBN 659)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway web site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
FAS - SSBN-640 Benjamin Franklin Class FBM Submarines
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