USS Thomas A. Edison

USS Thomas A. Edison

History
Name:	USS Thomas A. Edison
Namesake:	Thomas Edison (1847–1931)
Ordered:	1 July 1959
Builder:	Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation
Laid down:	15 March 1960
Launched:	15 June 1961
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Madeleine Edison Sloane
Commissioned:	10 March 1962
Decommissioned:	1 December 1983
Struck:	30 April 1986
Motto:	Potentia Tenebras Repellendi (Power to Repel the Darkness)
Fate:	Recycling via Ship and Submarine Recycling Program completed 1 December 1997
General characteristics
Class and type:	Ethan Allen-class submarine
Type:	Ballistic Missile Submarine
Displacement:	6,900 tons surfaced 7,900 tons submerged
Length:	410 feet 4 inches (125.07 m)
Beam:	33.1 feet (10.1 m)
Draft:	27 feet 5 inches (8.36 m)
Propulsion:	S5W reactor - two geared steam turbines - one shaft
Speed:	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced, 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) submerged
Test depth:	1,300 feet (400 m)
Complement:	12 Officers and 128 Enlisted (two crews Blue and Gold)
Armament:	16 fleet ballistic missiles, 4 × 21 inches (530 mm) torpedo tubes

USS Thomas A. Edison (SSBN-610), an Ethan Allen-class ballistic-missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the inventor, Thomas Edison (1847–1931).

Construction and commissioning

Thomas A. Edison's keel was laid down on 15 March 1960 by the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corporation of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 15 June 1961 sponsored by Mrs. Madeleine Edison Sloane, and commissioned on 10 March 1962 with Captain Charles M. Young commanding the Blue Crew and Captain Walter Dedrick commanding the Gold Crew.

Service history

On 9 April 1962, during shakedown training off the eastern coast of the United States, Thomas A. Edison collided with the destroyer USS Wadleigh (DD-689).^[1]

Thomas A. Edison underway in the Atlantic Ocean in 1962.

Thomas A. Edison loaded Polaris missiles at Charleston, South Carolina, and embarked upon her first deterrent patrol on 7 November 1962. She concluded that patrol at the base at Holy Loch, Scotland, from which she operated for the next four years and conducted 17 deterrent patrols. In September 1966, her official home port was changed from New London, Connecticut, to Charleston, South Carolina, in preparation for her first major overhaul. She ended her 17th patrol at Charleston on 15 October 1966 and began her overhaul on 28 October 1966. She completed repairs on 9 May 1968; and, after post-overhaul sea trials and shakedown, she embarked upon her 18th deterrent patrol on 22 September 1968.

After a shortened 19th patrol, she conducted a "Follow On Target" (FOT) test launch. For this test, four missiles were selected at random, their warheads were removed, and telemetry packages were fitted in place of the warheads. Thomas A. Edison then proceeded to a location just off the Canary Islands and fired these missiles into the Caribbean. Due to the accuracy and timeliness of these successful launches, the members of that Blue Crew were awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation.

Through June 1973, Thomas A. Edison operated out of New London and Rota, Spain, from which ports she conducted another 19 deterrent patrols in the Mediterranean Sea.

In June 1973, she was transferred to the United States Pacific Fleet, arriving in San Diego, California, on 11 July 1973. After a short period of operations with Submarine Group 5, she moved to Vallejo, California, on 6 August 1973 to begin another overhaul, this time at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California. On 30 November 1974, she completed repairs and, following shakedown in January and February 1975, she transited the Panama Canal again in March 1975 to fire test missiles near Cape Canaveral, Florida. She concluded that mission in July and retransited the Canal on 8 August 1975. Thomas A. Edison carried out operations along the United States West Coast until December 1975, at which time she headed for her new home port, Apra, Guam.

On 6 October 1980, Thomas A. Edison completed her final deterrent patrol and was reclassified an attack submarine, given hull number SSN-610.^[2] In 1981, in compliance with the SALT I treaty, Thomas A. Edison's missile section was deactivated. Concrete blocks were placed in the missile tubes, and the missile fire-control system and one of the ship's inertial navigation systems were removed.^[3] She was retained primarily for training, ASW antisubmarine warfare exercises, and other secondary duties.

In August 1982 Thomas A. Edison conducted the first Western Pacific deployment by an ex-SSBN. During deployment, her crew enjoyed visits to Japan, Korea, Thailand and the Philippines. On 29 November 1982, 40 miles (64 km) east of Subic Bay, Philippines, Thomas A. Edison collided with USS Leftwich (DD-984) while conducting ASW exercises. Thomas A. Edison was at periscope depth preparing to surface. Her sail and sail planes were damaged, but there was no flooding. After the collision the boat never submerged again. She went to Guam for temporary repairs by USS Proteus (AS-19), then made a 35-day transit across the Pacific on the surface to Bremerton, Washington, where she had home ported as an SSN.

The original plan for Thomas A. Edison, after some preliminary testing in the Philippines, was for her to become the test platform for the Seal Delivery system, as Thomas A. Edison was in the best material shape of the Ethan Allen-class boats, so she was chosen for this mission. The Navy had planned to decommission the USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) or USS Sam Houston (SSBN-609), but after the collision it was decided to decommission Thomas A. Edison instead. In January 1983, Thomas A. Edison entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for inactivation.

Decommissioned on 1 December 1983, Thomas A. Edison was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 April 1986. She went through the Navy's Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, beginning on 1 October 1996 and on 1 December 1997 ceased to exist as the recycling was completed.

Steinway piano

During the construction of Thomas A. Edision, the construction captain requested that a Steinway piano be placed aboard.^[4] This piano remained on board the submarine for 22 years (1961–1983) up through her decommissioning. The Steinway piano is the only example of a full-sized piano ever installed on a U.S. submarine conducting nuclear deterrent patrols.^[5]

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

1. Silverstone 2009, p. 34.
2. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 612.
3. Couhat 1986, p. 621.
4. "Legendary Piano Maker Steinway & Sons to Kick-off Historic Piano Exhibit as Part of 150th Anniversary Celebrations". Steinway & Sons (Press release). Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
5. United States Navy. "030611-O-0000X-001". Archived from the original on 2005-03-18. Retrieved 2011-09-23.

• Couhat, Jen Labayle, ed. (1986). Combat Fleets of the World 1986/87. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85368-860-5.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen, eds. (1995). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• Silverstone, Paul H. (2009). The Navy of the Nuclear Age 1947–2007. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-87773-9.