View source for USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644)

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

{{other ships|USS Lewis and Clark}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644) and bridge.jpg|300px|USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644)]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Lewis and Clark'' (SSBN-644)
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1992}}
|Ship name=USS ''Lewis and Clark''
|Ship namesake=[[Meriwether Lewis]] (1774–1809) and [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] (1770–1838), who carried out the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] (1804–06)
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=1 November 1962
|Ship builder=[[Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]]
|Ship laid down=29 July 1963
|Ship launched=21 November 1964
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. M. F. Engman and Mrs. M. G. Sale
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=22 December 1965
|Ship decommissioned=27 June 1992
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 August 1992
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Scrapping via [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] began 1 October 1995; completed 23 September 1996; Sail and top of rudder preserved.
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|4}} [[fleet ballistic missile submarine]]
|Ship displacement=*7,320&nbsp;[[ton]]s surfaced
* 8,250&nbsp;tons submerged
|Ship length={{convert|425|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draft={{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|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 [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] and 126 [[Enlisted man|enlisted men]] each
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*16 [[ballistic missile]] tubes with one [[Polaris missile|Polaris]], later [[Poseidon missile|Poseidon]] ballistic missile each
* 4 × {{convert|21|in|mm}} [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Lewis and Clark'' (SSBN-644)''', a {{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|4}} [[ballistic missile]] [[submarine]], was the first ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the explorers [[Meriwether Lewis]] (1774–1809) and [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] (1770–1838), who carried out the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] of 1804–06.

==Construction and commissioning==
The contract to construct ''Lewis and Clark'' was awarded on 1 November 1962, and her [[keel]] was laid down by [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company]] at [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], [[Virginia]], on 29 July 1963. She was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 21 November 1964, sponsored by Mrs. M. F. Engman and Mrs. M. G. Sale, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 22 December 1965 with [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] John F. Fagan, Jr., in command of the Blue Crew and Commander Kenneth A. Porter in command of the Gold Crew.

==Service history==
After [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] and missile firing off [[Cape Kennedy]], [[Florida]], in 1966, ''Lewis and Clark'' began deterrent patrols, armed with [[Polaris A3 missile|Polaris A3 ballistic missiles]].

:''History needed for 1969–72.''

On 21 July 1972, ''Lewis and Clark'' completed conversion of her [[ballistic missile]] tubes to carry [[Poseidon C3 missile|Poseidon C3 ballistic missiles]]. On 18 December 1972, the Gold Crew successfully launched one Poseidon C-3 missile in support of ''Lewis and Clark''{{'}}s Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO).

:''History for 1972–73 needed.''

On 8 April 1973, ''Lewis and Clark'' deployed for an operational deterrent patrol.

:''History needed for 1973–81.''

On 19 June 1981, ''Lewis and Clark'' successfully fired four Poseidon C-3 missiles in a Follow-on Operational Test. On 23 July 1981, she began a Poseidon [[refueling overhaul]] at Newport News Shipbuilding.

:''History needed for 1981–85.''

On 13 June 1985, ''Lewis and Clark'' successfully launched four Poseidon C-3 missiles in a Follow-on Operational Test.

:''History needed for 1985–91.''

==Deactivation, decommissioning, and disposal==
Deactivated while still in commission on 1 October 1991, ''Lewis and Clark'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 27 June 1992 and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 1 August 1992. Her scrapping via the U.S. Navy's Nuclear-Powered [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] at [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] began on 1 October 1995 and was completed on 23 September 1996.

==Commemoration==
''Lewis and Clark'''s [[Sail (submarine)|sail]] and [[fairwater plane]]s and the top of her [[rudder]] are on display at the [[Patriot's Point|Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum]] in [[Mt Pleasant, South Carolina]], part of a memorial to the officers and men of the U.S. Navy Submarine Service who served during the [[Cold War]].

== References ==
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l6/lewis_and_clark.htm}}
* {{Naval Vessel Register|{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=SSBN644}}}}
* {{Citation 
|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08644.htm 
|title=NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644) 
|access-date=26 September 2011
}}

{{Benjamin Franklin class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644)}}
[[Category:Benjamin Franklin-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:1964 ships]]
[[Category:Lewis and Clark Expedition]]


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