View source for 41 for Freedom

{{Short description|US Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=yes}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Woodrow Wilson sub.jpg
|Ship caption={{USS|Woodrow Wilson|SSBN-624|6}}, a ''Lafayette''-class submarine that formed part of the "41 for Freedom" force
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=
|Operators= {{navy|United States}}
|Class before=[[Regulus missile submarines]]
|Class after={{sclass|Ohio|submarine|4}}
|Name=*Five classes:
**{{sclass|George Washington|submarine|5}}
**{{sclass|Ethan Allen|submarine|5}}
**{{sclass|Lafayette|submarine|5}}
**{{sclass|James Madison|submarine|5}}
**{{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|5}}
|Built range=1 November 1958 to 20 March 1965
|In commission range=
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=41
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=0
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=0
|Total ships retired=39
|Total ships preserved=2
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|381|-|425|ft|abbr=on}} (depending on class)<ref name="Janes 71-72">Jane's Fighting Ships, 1971–72</ref>
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m}}<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|31|ft|m}}<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|20|kn}}<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=In excess of {{convert|400|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship complement=14 officers, 140 enlisted<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
*4 × {{convert|21|in|mm|0|adj=on}} bow [[torpedo tube]]s
*16 × SLBMs depending upon class and vessel:<ref>Jane's Fighting Ships, 1985–86</ref>
**[[UGM-27 Polaris]] A1, A2, or A3
**[[UGM-73 Poseidon]] C3
**[[Trident missile#Trident I .28C4.29 UGM-96A|UGM-96A Trident]] I C4
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''41 for Freedom''' refers to the [[US Navy]] [[Fleet Ballistic Missile]] (FBM) submarines from the {{sclass|George Washington|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|Ethan Allen|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|Lafayette|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|James Madison|submarine|5}}, and {{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|4}}es. All of these submarines were commissioned 1959–1967, as the goal was to create a credible, survivable sea-based [[deterrence theory|deterrent]] as quickly as possible. These submarines were nicknamed "41 for Freedom" once the goal of 41 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) was established in the early 1960s. The 1972 [[SALT I Treaty]] limited the number of American [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]] tubes to 656, based on the total missile tubes of the forty-one submarines, in line with the treaty's goal of limiting strategic nuclear weapons to the number already existing.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/subs/const/anatomy/boomers/index.html
|title=Nuclear-powered Ballistic Missile Submarines
|year=2000
|work=Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War 
|publisher=[[National Museum of American History]]
|access-date=2012-01-30
}}</ref>

== Overview ==
The United States had deployed nuclear weapons aboard submarines for the purpose of deterrence since 1959, using the [[SSM-N-8 Regulus]] [[cruise missile]]. However, this was intended to act merely as a stopgap, as the Regulus was limited both by its size—the greatest number of missiles capable of being taken to sea was five aboard {{USS|Halibut|SSGN-587|6}}—and by its range and speed, as well as by the submarine's requirement to surface to launch a missile. The intention was that the main element of the US Navy's contribution to the strategic nuclear deterrent be a [[ballistic missile]]–armed submarine. The "41 for Freedom" [[nuclear-power]]ed [[ballistic missile submarine]]s (SSBNs) were armed with [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]]s (SLBMs) to create a [[deterrence theory|deterrent force]] against the threat of [[nuclear warfare|nuclear war]] with any foreign power threatening the United States during the [[Cold War]].

The US Navy created a new [[hull classification symbol|submarine classification]] for these boats: SSBN. The first of the "41 for Freedom" submarines to be completed was {{USS|George Washington|SSBN-598|6}}, which was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 30 December 1959. The final boat to enter service was {{USS|Will Rogers|SSBN-659|6}}, which was commissioned on 1 April 1967. The 41 submarines were ultimately superseded in service by the {{sclass|Ohio|submarine|4}}, the first of which was commissioned in 1981.

{{USS|Kamehameha|SSBN-642|6}}, operating as a [[SEAL]] platform in her later years, was decommissioned on 2 April 2002, the last boat of the original "41 for Freedom" submarines in commission, and the oldest submarine in the US Navy. Almost 37 years old, she held the record for the longest service lifetime of any nuclear-powered submarine. As of 2014, two boats, {{USS|Daniel Webster|SSBN-626|6}} and {{USS|Sam Rayburn|SSBN-635|6}}, though decommissioned, continue to serve as [[moored training ship]]s, attached to Naval [[Nuclear Power School]] at [[Naval Support Activity Charleston|Charleston]], [[South Carolina]].

== Submarines by class ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!rowspan=2|Class
!rowspan=2|Completed
!rowspan=2|Retired
!rowspan=2|Preserved
!rowspan=2|In commission
!colspan=2|[[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris A1/A2]]
!colspan=2|[[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris A3]]
!colspan=2|[[UGM-73 Poseidon|Poseidon C3]]
!colspan=2|[[UGM-96 Trident I|Trident C4]]
|-
!Yes/No
!No. of<br>boats
!Yes/No
!No. of<br>boats
!Yes/No
!No. of<br>boats
!Yes/No
!No. of<br>boats
|-align=center
|[[George Washington-class submarine|''George Washington'']]
|5
|5
|0
|1959–1985
|{{Aye}} 
|5
|{{Aye}}
|5
|{{Nay}}
|0
|{{Nay}}
|0
|-align=center
|[[Ethan Allen-class submarine|''Ethan Allen'']]
|5
|5
|0
|1961–1992
|{{Aye}}
|5
|{{Aye}}
|5
|{{Nay}}
|0
|{{Nay}}
|0
|-align=center
|[[Lafayette-class submarine|''Lafayette'']]
|9
|9
|1*
|1963–1994
|{{Aye}}
|9
|{{Aye}}
|9
|{{Aye}}
|9
|{{Nay}}
|0
|-align=center
|[[James Madison-class submarine|''James Madison'']]
|10
|10
|1*
|1964–1995
|{{Nay}}
|0
|{{Aye}}
|10
|{{Aye}}
|10
|{{Aye}}
|6
|-align=center
|[[Benjamin Franklin-class submarine|''Benjamin Franklin'']]
|12
|12
|0
|1965–2002
|{{Nay}}
|0
|{{Aye}}
|12
|{{Aye}}
|12
|{{Aye}}
|6
|}
<small><nowiki>*</nowiki> Preserved as training vessels</small>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Weapons of the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Fleet.jpg|Weapons of the FBM submarines (left to right): Polaris A1, Polaris A2, Polaris A3, Poseidon, Trident I, and Trident II
File:USS Halibut SSGN-587.jpg|{{USS|Halibut|SSGN-587|6}} launches a [[SSM-N-8 Regulus|Regulus]] missile. The limitations of the use of Regulus led to the development of the use of [[ballistic missile]]s from submarines.
File:UGM-27C Polaris A3 launch.jpg|A Polaris A3 missile is launched from {{USS|Robert E. Lee|SSBN-601|6}}. The advent of Polaris allowed for a virtually undetectable launching platform, as the submarine no longer needed to surface to launch its weapons
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[Regulus missile submarines]]
*[[Nuclear navy]]
*[[Nuclear warfare]]
*[[Nuclear strategy]]
*[[Vertical launching system]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
From the Federation of American Scientists:
*{{cite web
|url=http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-598.htm
|title=SSBN-598 George Washington-Class FBM Submarines
}}
*{{cite web
|url=http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-608.htm
|title=SSBN-608 Ethan Allen-Class FBM Submarines
}}
*{{cite web
|url=http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-616.htm
|title=SSBN-616 Lafayette-Class FBM Submarines
}}
*{{cite web
|url=http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-640.htm
|title=SSBN-640 Benjamin Franklin-Class FBM Submarines
}}

{{George Washington class submarine}} 
{{Ethan Allen class submarine}} 
{{Lafayette class submarine}}
{{James Madison class submarine}}
{{Benjamin Franklin class submarine}}

[[Category:Submarine classes of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ballistic missile submarines]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1960s]]