USS Henry L. Stimson (SSBN-655)

USS Henry L. Stimson (SSBN-655), a Benjamin Franklin-class submarine fleet ballistic missile submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950), who served as U.S. Secretary of State (1929–1933) and U.S. Secretary of War (1911–1913, 1940–1945).

Construction and commissioning
The contract for the construction of Henry L. Stimson was awarded on 29 July 1963, and her keel was laid down on 4 April 1964 by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 13 November 1965, sponsored by Grace Murphy Dodd, wife of United States Senator Thomas J. Dodd, and commissioned on 20 August 1966 with Captain Richard E. Jortberg commanding the Blue Crew and Commander Robert H. Weeks commanding the Gold Crew.

Service history
Following shakedown, Henry L. Stimson was assigned to Submarine Squadron 16 at Charleston, South Carolina. On 23 February 1967 she put to sea from Charleston on her first strategic deterrent patrol, armed with Polaris A3 ballistic missiles. By mid-1967, her Blue and Gold crews had each completed one deterrent patrol


 * History needed for 1967-1971.

In 1971, Henry L. Stimson began her first overhaul, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock at Newport News, Virginia, during which her ballistic missile system was converted to support the new Poseidon C3 ballistic missile. Returning to service in 1973, Henry L. Stimson was based at Rota, Spain, while her Blue and Gold crews lived in Charleston when their counterpart crew was manning the submarine.


 * History needed for 1973-1980.

In 1980, Henry L. Stimson was converted pierside at Port Canaveral, Florida, to support the new Trident-I ballistic missile. Following that conversion, she changed her home port to Naval Station, Charleston, SC, where her Blue and Gold crew trained for her continued mission. However, she was based at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, as part of Submarine Squadron 16, which was embarked on USS Canopus (AS-40) and she continued the rest of her career.


 * History needed for 1980-1993.

Decommissioning and disposal
Henry L. Stimson was both decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 5 May 1993. Her scrapping via the U.S. Navy's Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Bremerton, Washington, was completed on 12 August 1994.