View source for USS James K. Polk

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}

{{For|USS President Polk|USS President Polk{{!}}USS ''President Polk''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS James K. Polk (SSBN-645).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''James K. Polk'' (SSBN-645), probably while on [[sea trial]]s in the spring of 1966.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1999}}
|Ship name=USS ''James K. Polk''
|Ship namesake=[[James K. Polk]] (1795–1849), 11th President of the United States (1845–1849)
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=1 November 1962
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]
|Ship laid down=23 November 1963
|Ship launched=22 May 1965
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. [[Horacio Rivero, Jr.]]
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=16 April 1966
|Ship decommissioned=8 July 1999
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship reclassified=From [[fleet ballistic missile submarine]] (SSBN-645) to [[attack submarine]] (SSN-645) March 1994
|Ship struck=8 July 1999
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Scrapped via [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] 26 April 2000
|Ship badge=[[File:Insignia of SSN-645 James K Polk.PNG|200px]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|4}} [[fleet ballistic missile submarine]] 1966–1994; [[attack submarine]] 1994–1999
|Ship displacement=*6527&nbsp;[[ton]]s light
*7345&nbsp;tons full
*&nbsp; 818&nbsp;tons dead
|Ship length={{convert|425|ft|m}}
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|31|ft|m}}
|Ship power={{convert|15000|shp|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=One [[S5W reactor|S5W pressurized-water nuclear reactor]], two geared [[steam turbine]]s, one shaft
|Ship speed=Over 20 [[Knot (unit)|knots]]
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth={{convert|1300|ft|m}}
|Ship complement=Two crews (Blue Crew and Gold Crew) of 14 [[Commissioned officer|officers]] and 129 [[Enlisted man|enlisted men]] each
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*16 × [[ballistic missile]] tubes (removed 1994) with one [[Polaris missile|Polaris]], later [[Poseidon missile|Poseidon]] missile each
*4 × {{convert|21|in|mm}}[[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''James K. Polk'' (SSBN-645)''', a {{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|4}} [[fleet ballistic missile submarine]], was the second ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for [[James K. Polk]] (1795–1849), the eleventh President of the United States (1845–1849). She was later converted into an [[attack submarine]] and redesignated '''SSN-645'''.

==Construction and commissioning==
The contract for ''James K. Polk''{{'}}s construction was awarded on 1 November 1962, and her [[keel]] was laid down on 23 November 1963 by the [[Electric Boat]] Division of the [[General Dynamics]] Corporation at [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], Connecticut. She was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 22 May 1965, sponsored by Hazel (Hooper) Rivero, wife of Admiral [[Horacio Rivero, Jr.]], the [[Vice Chief of Naval Operations]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 16 April 1966 with [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] R.M. Douglass commanding the Gold Crew and Commander F.D. McMullen, Jr., commanding the Blue Crew.

==Service history==
[[File:USS James K. Polk;0864502.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.25|''James K. Polk'' sometime in the mid- or late 1990s after conversion to an [[attack submarine]] and redesignation as SSN-645. The [[Dry Deck Shelter]]s were installed on her [[Deck (ship)|deck]] during her 1992–1994 conversion are visible.]]
''James K. Polk'' sailed to [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], South Carolina in September 1966 to load [[Polaris missile|Polaris ballistic missiles]] for her initial [[Deterrence theory|deterrent]] patrol. After completion of her [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]], she operated on strategic deterrent patrols in the Atlantic Ocean and completed 19 of them between September 1966 and May 1971.

In July 1971, ''James K. Polk'' began her first [[wikt:overhaul|overhaul]] at [[Newport News Shipbuilding]] in [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], Virginia, for nuclear [[Refueling and Overhaul|refueling]] and conversion of her ballistic missile system to support the [[UGM-73 Poseidon|Poseidon C-3 ballistic missile]]. She completed her conversion in late 1972 and commenced a rigorous schedule of [[sea trials]] and exercises, culminating in the Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO) of her Poseidon missile system, which tested her ballistic missile system and crew by requiring the launch of a Poseidon C-3 missile from the submarine.

''James K. Polk'' resumed deterrent patrols in the Atlantic Ocean in May 1973 with her new Poseidon missiles. She conducted her second overhaul at [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]] at [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]], Maine, after completing her 50th deterrent patrol in September 1981. She completed overhaul in 1983 and conducted seven more successful deterrent patrols.

''James K. Polk'' returned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in January 1986 for a third overhaul after completing her 58th deterrent patrol. She departed Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in November 1988, then headed south for her post-overhaul DASO. In May 1989 she began her final series of Poseidon strategic deterrent patrols.

''James K. Polk'' celebrated her 25th year of commissioned service in April 1991. She finished her 66th and final strategic deterrent patrol in August 1991.

===Conversion to attack submarine===
In August 1992, ''James K. Polk'' began a nineteen-month [[shipyard]] conversion that removed her ballistic missiles and deactivated her missile tubes, converted her into an attack submarine, and installed [[Dry Deck Shelter]]s on her [[Deck (ship)|deck]] which would allow her to support [[special warfare]] operations. Upon completion of this conversion in March 1994, her [[hull classification symbol]] was changed from SSBN-645 to SSN-645 to reflect her conversion from a fleet ballistic missile submarine to an attack submarine.

After conversion, ''James K. Polk'' completed three extended deployments to the [[Mediterranean Sea]], participating in numerous [[special forces]] and [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] exercises.

==Deactivation, decommissioning, and disposal==
{{stack|[[File:National Museum of Nuclear Science & History USS James K. Polk.tif|thumb|The sail on display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History]]}}

On 9 January 1999, ''James K. Polk'' was deactivated at [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], Virginia. On 8 July 1999, she was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] at the [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]] at [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], Washington, and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] the same day. Her scrapping via the [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]] was accomplished on 26 April 2000.

==Commemoration==
''James K. Polk''{{'}}s [[Sail (submarine)|sail]] is on display at the [[National Museum of Nuclear Science & History]] in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]].<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.nuclearmuseum.org/see/exhibits/heritage-park/
|title=Heritage Park
|publisher=[[National Museum of Nuclear Science & History]]
|access-date=17 August 2012
}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* The USS ''James K. Polk'' "Welcome Aboard" pamphlet.{{Clarify| reason=What in this article is taken from this reference?| date=September 2011}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/j1/james_k_polk.htm}}
*{{Naval Vessel Register|{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=SSN645}}}}
*{{Citation
|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08645.htm
|title=NavSource Online Submarine Photo Archive: James K. Polk (SSBN-645)
|access-date=26 September 2011
}}
*{{Citation
|url=http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ssbn645.htm
|title=hazegray.org: USS James K. Polk
|access-date=26 September 2011
}}
*{{Citation
 |url         = http://stmaryssubmuseum.com/polk.html
 |title       = St Mary's Submarine Museum, Inc. – USS James K. Polk Display Project
 |access-date  = 26 September 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110929172321/http://stmaryssubmuseum.com/polk.html
 |archive-date = 29 September 2011
 |df          = dmy-all
}}

{{Benjamin Franklin class submarine}}
{{James K. Polk}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:James K. Polk (SSBN-645)}}
[[Category:Benjamin Franklin-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1965 ships]]