41 for Freedom

[Music] [Applause] [Music] the Bap [Applause] [Music] lafette Daniel boo [Music] Mariano G [Music] bjo l a submersible ship ballistic nuclear Navy's designation for the fleet ballistic missile submarine 425 ft long 33 ft in diameter displacement over 8,000 tons and by the intent of our government the most powerful seagoing weapon ever built there are 41 of these remarkable missile firing ships 41 for Freedom the building of that Fleet stands as a high point in the annals of Naval [Applause] History throughout the world the ssbn is known simply as Polaris the fleet ballistic missile firing submarine that gave new meaning to the term sea power carrying 16 Polaris missiles her single purpose like other deterrent forces on our nation's Arsenal is to be constantly ready to answer the challenge of nuclear aggression Polaris however is unique carried at Sea aboard the ssbn which is ever moving always submerged hidden and invulnerable to sneak attack and destruction technologically the ssbn is the most advanced ship ever built in addition to her 16 nuclear tipped ballistic missiles and her atom fired engines of propulsion there is crammed within her limited space a computer coupled in commercial navigator that for weeks on end and without benefit of any other navigational reference keeps a precise moment by- moment log of the ship's position a host of radar sonar on communication equipment to give her eyes ears and a voice with which to penetrate the Eternal darkness of the ocean's depths missile checkout Fire Control and launching systems equal to the most complex Cape Kennedy block housee [Music] and a vast array of life support Machinery that can maintain for months a comfortable and safe atmosphere completely independent of the outside world to build a ship such as this is a highly demanding task a task requiring an almost unbelievable level of detailed planning and skillful workmanship volumes of blueprints pinpoint the locations and detail specifications for every steel plate every length of pipe every nut and bolt for forming and fitting mockups provide a complete dimensional presentation of the ship's hundreds of systems and components dozens of special Jigs and Tool fixtures enable custommade components to be fitted exactly to the shape of odd spaces the sbn's thick armor tough steel hle is built first in smaller sections then assembled on the ways to form the long cylindrical pressure Hull that will encase all other ship systems and components with near watchmakers Precision the hull sections are aligned to within thousandths of an inch and throughout the assembly operation this alignment is carefully maintained covering ings over the building ways provide shade from the sun's heat which on a warm day could cause the entire Hull structure to expand unevenly into a slight Crescent shape also as the sections are joined electric strip heaters girdling the hull maintain a uniform temperature and metal expansion around the hull to prevent the development of undesired stresses at the weld joint within 18 months from the date of ke laying around the clock work schedule and the carefully coordinated efforts of hundreds of Master Craftsmen and Engineers transformed tons of raw materials and pre-assembled subsystems and components into the Triumph of technology that is the fleet ballistic missile submarine [Music] high point of the construction activity is the traditional and colorful [Music] launching the ceremony is attended with a great deal of pageantry which includes loud and stirring band music several hundred yards of red white and blue bunting patriotic oratory the story of the Polaris Fleet is the story of Science and of course [Music] champagne for the official record and for the men who will serve aboard this ship during the years of her active duty this is a special day a day of dedication that will long be [Music] remembered but in the overall timetable of construction the launching merely marks that point at which it is no longer practical to continue the work on the building ways in fact nearly a third of the critical construction items have yet to be finished except for brief Peri had spent in dry do the now properly launched ssbn will complete her Construction in the water for yet another year an army of workmen engineers and her own Navy crew will swarm throughout her Labyrinth of passageways and compartments their attention to hundreds of minute details will be focused and intensified until slowly the confusion of yet to be connected Ed pipes cables and racks of electronic circuitry will give way to an orderly arrangement signaling that the end of construction is near the concept of a missile launched from a submarine became feasible shortly after World War II regulus was the first practical outgrowth of the early development work but the air breathing missiles with their inher Cent limitations were merely a stop Gap the requirement for longer range pinpoint accuracy and greater payload capacity inevitably singled out the ballistic missile toward the realization of that objective the early 1950s saw remarkable technological [Music] breakthroughs Atomic propulsion for submarines became a reality in January of 1955 when the USS Nautilus put to Sea for the first [Music] time and for longer range ballistic missiles the application of solid fueled Rocket Motors became feasible with the development of high- performance aluminized propellants and the reduction in size of nuclear warheads by the winter of 1956-57 a workable design was fixed for the Revolutionary Polaris Fleet ballistic missile weapon system and under the direction of a budding Navy Department management group called special projects a government industry contractor team was established that within months would grow into a nationwide organization of over 20,000 separate contractors and government agencies quietly behind the veil of strict security control pois became a national effort equal in scope to the Herculean Manhattan Project of World War [Music] II not just another submarine and missile were being built the fleet ballistic missile weapon system was a totally new concept as the concept became a design the action that followed was quick and [Music] decisive from broad farmlands that once produced a harvest of onions and tomatoes factories arose that would produce the components of a [Music] missile from the sterile furrows of California's exhausted goldfields bunkers were carved and fitted with test stands to fire powerful solid fuel Rocket motors and in a tree stuttered New England Valley dust free facilities were built for the Precision assembly of critical guidance and navigation system components on the building ways at the electric bolt Shipyard in gron Connecticut a nuclear powered attack type submarine the USS scorpion was literally cut in half and her Hull lengthened to allow inclusion of 16 ballistic missile stoage and launch tubes she was renamed the USS George Washington the first first of 41 to carry the names of men who have contributed so much to America's Freedom strength and character the Reigns of management swiftly and deafly brought into control a cross-nation network of research development and production facilities and with the assignment of top priorities there would be no delays due to lack of Manpower or material program advancement was rapidly accelerated and achievement Milestones were swept into history as the concert of progress steadily [Music] swells [Music] see [Music] her design and Builders ship is only half of putting her to Sea and in the case of the fleet ballistic missile submarines not merely one ship but a whole fleet was being built men to sail this Fleet were needed and as vital to the program's success as the priority procurement of critical materials also only the best men would do and of these all must be volunteers ready and able to face the rigors of Submarine [Music] Duty completed the operation in the lecture room endless hours of intensive Theory study let us take a look at the circuit that will in laboratory classes Theory applied to exact duplicates of equipment and syst systems built to go aboard ship finally operational training under conditions simulated by computer to match those to be encountered at c number 45o 45 all right next St will be 15 all right over 2 years of concentrated training often is required to qualify a man for critical jobs aboard an fbm submarine to train the over 10,000 men needed just for the crews of the 41 ssbns and the thousands more needed to man The logistic support system entire training complexes were built at New London Connecticut Dam Neck Virginia Charleston South Carolina at at Pearl Harbor Hawaii for logistic support state side weapon system Supply depos were built at Charleston on the east coast and at Banger Washington on the west coast as the scope of weapon system operations expanded logistic supply lines extended to forward area replenishment sites at Holy loock Scotland Rota Spain and [Music] W within Just 4 years of the George Washington's deployment on her first deterrent Patrol the fleet ballistic missile weapon system was an operation around the world the USS Will Rogers is the 41st Fleet ballistic missile submarine here at Cape Kennedy in the summer of 196 7 she's preparing for her final and most important Shakedown test the firing of a Polaris missile far into the southern reaches of the Eastern test range below decks the weeks of intensive preparation for this final demonstration are drawing to a close the ship the missile and the men soon will be ready among the participants in these final preparations believe is rear Admiral Ling Smith director of the Navy special project office Admiral Smith since 1956 has participated directly in the development and growth of the Polaris system first as Deputy technical director then as technical director and finally since early 1965 as the Director of the Polaris effort as with the 40 previous submarines Admiral Smith is conferring with the commanding officer of the Will Rogers on the Readiness of ship and weapon system for this last critical test Prime C Ates are uh are really ready and focal point of these preparations is the missile within this launch tube as it strikes its Target with pinpoint accuracy that moment signals the climax of the most intensive weapons development program in our nation's history missile 16 away all missile sated away second condition 2 SQ Char [Applause] supervisor within hours this ship the USS Will Rogers will have proven her Readiness to share with her sister ships the responsibility of nuclear deterrents the fleet of 41 ballistic missile firing submarines will then be complete Admiral Smith over the years since U 1956 you've been able to monitor closely the progress of our fbm program just what is it about this nuclear powered submarine and its 16 Polaris missiles that makes it so important to our National Defense well of greatest importance is the Dependable capability of these 41 Polaris submarines to assure destruction of a nuclear aggressor as a world power it is on this that we are depending that the world will never see nuclear war the whole concept of nuclear deterrence is based on our conviction that faced with the assurance that his own Nation would be destroyed no other than an insane man would start a nuclear war we believe that the leaders of the nations of the world are not insane Admiral every place we look at on the submarine seems to be crammed with panels of blinking lights and gauges and dials and circuits now doesn't all this equipment provide ample opportunity for breakdown well it could the characteristics which give it the Dependable capability for Aur destruction do lead to complexity however we have been able to design the system so as to be simple to operate furthermore when we have demonstrated not only in exercises such as this but also in exercises on some 420 patrols to date that the complexity which you have seen does not lead to unreliability the system is very dependable then essentially do we know that a potential aggressor uh does appreciate the awesome capabilities of this Fleet ballistic missile system of ours we have very good reason for believing that he understands and knows he is able to observe the operations that we conduct here he is able to attempt to locate the submarines at Sea we know that he is not able to locate them at Sea and when chairman kushav reported to the Supreme Soviet following the the Cuban confrontation he acknowledged that the deployment of the Polaris submarines was a significant factor in the total us Force arrayed against him that influenced him to remove Russian missiles from Cuban soil at dawn on 31 July 1967 in accordance with with schedules set months before the Will Rogers accompanied by the Destroyer gearing steamed out of Port Canaveral to fulfill her final predeployment performance demonstration from Cape Kennedy to Ascension Island Eastern test range tracking and Telemetry equipment was tuning up time shortly after 11:00 a.m. the last seconds of the countdown were being Mark 5 4 3 2 1 [Music] therey first as those of us aboard this support ship have just seen and as Missile Range inst will verify the years of development the months of training and weeks of preparation have paid off the Will Rogers and her crew can now look forward to their next Milestone deterrent patrols and their mission of [Music] peace make it up 200 ft 200 ft I make it up 200 ft 10° down bubble 200 ft I sir 10° down bubble I sir the Buble is 10° down sir your bubble to five down pleas bubble five down I [Music] sir 200 ft sir all right the fleet ballistic missile submarine is a new breed of Naval weapons never before has the potential of sea power been so strongly exemplified as in the 41 submarines of the fleet ballistic missile weapon system the USS George Washington the first of the 41 put to seea on her maiden Patrol in the fall of [Music] 1960 the USS Will Rogers completes the list heading for her initial Patrol in the summer of [Music] 1967 the blue and gold Crews of the 41 also are of a new breed representing a resource of over 10,000 men they are the the most highly qualified and thoroughly trained of any men in uniform today their dedication is total their responsibility awesome now attention all hands we are just about to enter the patrol Zone it's mandatory that you maintain the ship in an extremely quiet condition from now until we come out of the patrol Zone rig ship for patrol quiet the fleet ballistic missile weapon system 41 for Freedom a product of our nation's resolve to thwart aggression a free world guarantee against the destructive use of nuclear power all