350-029 USS KAMEHAMEHA (SSN -642 )

The USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642, later SSN-642) was an American nuclear-powered submarine carrying ballistic missile (SSBN) missiles. The keel for this unit was laid in 1963, the launch took place in January 1965, and the entry into service with the US Navy took place in December 1965. The ship was 130 meters long, 10 meters wide, and had a displacement of 8,250 tons. The maximum underwater speed is approx. 21-22 knots. The main armament was 16 Polaris and later Poseidon ballistic missile launchers and 4 533 mm torpedo tubes. The USS Kamehameha was one of the Benjamin Franklin-class submarines. Units of this type were created as an evolutionary development of the Madison-class ships. They differed from their predecessors mainly by better silencing of the gym and marginally better electronic equipment. The B-class Franklin ships were also built after the USS Tresher disaster and provided a higher level of safety for their crew. The class of these ships belonged to the so-called 41 for Freedom. One of the ships of this class - USS Kamehameha was built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Valleyo. After entering service, the unit was assigned to the Pacific Fleet, to be transferred to the Atlantic in the early 1970s. The unit was initially armed with Polaris A-3 missiles, but during the service it was rearmed twice: with Polaris C-3 missiles in the 1970s and - finally - with Poseidon. Due to the entry into service of Ohio-class units and the end of the Cold War, at the turn of 1992-1993, the USS Kamehameha was reclassified the SSN-type unit and was modernized in such a way that it could support special forces operations. The unit was finally decommissioned in April 2002.