| The
USS James Monroe (SSBN-622) on 9 January 1968 became the
first submarine with POLARIS A2's to enter overhaul and to
receive POLARIS A3 capability.
In
1974 the SSBN Extended Refit Program (ERP). was initiated.
Previously, an operational SSBN was scheduled to undergo an
overhaul approximately every 7 ½ years, which resulted in
taking it off line for almost 2 years. To increase the SSBNs
at sea effectiveness, it was decided to initiate a program
to accomplish some preventive/corrective maintenance (mini-overhaul)
on SSBNs at its normal refit site. This was done by
extending a normal 32-day refit/upkeep between patrols to
provide a 60-day extended refit period. This was to be
conducted at 4-year and 7 ½ year intervals after initial
deployment or overhaul of a SSBN. The time between overhauls
was then extended to 10 years versus the 7 ½ years. The
first SSBN to undergo ERP was the USS James Madison
(SSBN-627); the ERP was conducted at the Holy Loch, Scotland,
tender refit site in September- November 1974.
Lockheed
commenced the TRIDENT I (C4) program in November of 1973
with the missile's IOC date established as 1979. The first
of the new Ohio-Class submarines was authorized in 1974 but
would not be available until 1979. Thus the Navy decided to
borrow a page from the Extended Refit Program (ERP) book and
a C3 to C4 SSBN "backfit" program was initiated in
mid- 1976. Five additional SSBNs 629, 630, and 634 underwent
a "pierside backfit" while three other SSBNs (627,
632, and 633) were backfitted during their
normally-scheduled second shipyard overhauls.
On
10 June 1985, the White House announced the decision to
dismantle a ballistic missile submarine to remain within the
SALT II ceiling on MIRVed missiles. USS Sam Rayburn
(SSBN-635) was selected to fulfill this requirement and was
deactivated on 16 September 1985, with missile tubes filled
with concrete and tube hatches removed.
The
USS Sam Rayburn was converted into a training
platform - Moored Training Ship (MTS-635). The Sam Rayburn
arrived for conversion on February 1, 1986, and on July 29,
1989 the first Moored Training Ship achieved initial
criticality. Modifications included special mooring
arrangements including a mechanism to absorb power generated
by the main propulsion shaft. USS Daniel Webster (SSBN 626)
was converted to the second Moored Training Ship (MTS2 / MTS
626) in 1993. The Moored Training Ship Site is located at
Charleston, SC. The USS Sam Rayburn is scheduled to
operate as an MTS until 2014 while undergoing shipyard
availabilities at four year intervals. |
