View source for USS Daniel Boone

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox ship
|infobox_caption=USS ''Daniel Boone'' (SSBN-629)
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 |image= USS Daniel Boone SSBN-629.jpg
 |image_caption=USS ''Daniel Boone'' (SSBN-629) off [[Hampton Roads]], [[Virginia]], on 1 February 1991
 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=
 |country=United States
 |flag= {{USN flag|1994}}
 |name=
 |namesake=[[Daniel Boone]] (1734–1820), the American explorer and frontiersman.
 |ordered=21 July 1961
 |builder=[[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]], [[Vallejo, California]]
 |laid_down=6 February 1962
 |launched=22 June 1963
 |sponsor=	Mrs. James H. Wakelin, Jr.
 |acquired=
 |commissioned=23 April 1964
 |decommissioned=18 February 1994
 |in_service=
 |out_of_service=
 |struck=18 February 1994
 |renamed=
 |reclassified=
 |homeport=
 |motto=''New Trails to Blaze''
 |nickname=
 |honors=
 |fate=Scrapping via [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]] completed 4 November 1994
 |notes=
 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 |hide_header=
 |header_caption=
 |class={{sclass|Lafayette|submarine}} (hull design SCB-216 Mod 3)<ref name="Adcock304">
 {{cite book
 |last=Adcock
 |first=Al
 |title=U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarines
 |publisher=Squadron Signal
 |location=Carrolltown, Texas
 |year=1993
 |pages=30, (4 also credits mythical interwar ''Albacore'' and ''Trout'' classes, however)
 }}</ref>{{clarify| reason=what does pg 4 ref really mean? |date=September 2011}}
 |displacement=*{{convert|7320|LT|t|abbr=on}} (submerged)<ref name="Adcock30">
 {{cite book
 |last=Adcock
 |first=Al
 |title=U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarines
 |publisher=Squadron Signal
 |location=Carrolltown, Texas
 |year=1993
 |page=30
 }}</ref>
*{{convert|8240|LT|t|abbr=on}} (submerged)<ref name="Adcock30" />
 |length={{convert|425|ft|m}}
 |beam={{convert|33|ft|m}}
 |draught={{convert|32|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Adcock30" />
 |draft=
 |power=[[S5W reactor]]
 |propulsion=*2 × geared steam turbines {{convert|15000|shp|abbr=on}}
             *1 × shaft driving one 7-bladed screw
 |speed=Over {{convert|20|kn}}
 |range=
 |endurance=
 |test_depth=Over {{convert|400|ft|m|abbr=on}}
 |complement=Two crews (Blue and Gold), 13 [[Commissioned officer|officer]]s and 130 [[Enlisted man|enlisted]] each<ref name="Adcock30" />
 |sensors=
 |EW=
 |armament=*4 × {{convert|21|in|mm}} Mark 65<ref name="Adcock30" /> [[torpedo tube]]s bow; [[Mark 48 torpedo|Mark 48]] [[torpedo]]es
           *16 × vertical launch missile tubes amidships, various small arms
 |notes=
 }}
}}
'''USS ''Daniel Boone'' (SSBN-629)''', a {{sclass|James Madison|submarine|0}} [[ballistic missile submarine]], was the only ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for [[Daniel Boone]] (1734–1820), the pioneer and frontiersman.

==Construction and commissioning==
The contract to build ''Daniel Boone'' was awarded to [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] at [[Vallejo, California]], on 21 July 1961 and her keel was laid down there on 6 February 1962.  She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 22 June 1963 sponsored by Mrs. Margaret Smith Wakelin,<ref name="M Waklin">{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/04/11/79849249.html?pageNumber=50  |url-access=subscription|title= Mrs. James H. Wakelin, Jr.|date=11 April 1973 |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 November 2022}}</ref> wife of Dr. [[James H. Wakelin, Jr.]], a [[physicist]] who was the [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR)|Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research and Development)]] from 1959 until 1964. ''Daniel Boone'' was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 23 April 1964, with [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] George P. Steele, III, in command of the Blue Crew and [[Lieutenant Commander]] Alan B. Crabtree in command of the Gold Crew. Following her commissioning, ''Daniel Boone'' was assigned to [[Submarine Squadron 15]], becoming the first ballistic missile submarine assigned to the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]].<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=USS Daniel Boone Decommissioning Ceremony |url=http://www.navsource.net/archives/08/pdf/0862956.pdf |location=Puget Sound |page=5 |date=1994 }}</ref>

==Operational history==
During her first major overhaul, <!--between March 1971 & April 1972--> ''Daniel Boone'' was retrofitted with [[UGM-73 Poseidon|Poseidon C-3]] missiles and the associated Mark 88 firecontrol system, as had the rest of her [[James_Madison-class_submarine#Design|class]], .<ref name="Adcock30" /> Poseidon was replaced by [[UGM-96 Trident I|Trident C-4]] missiles and on 6 September 1980, ''Boone'' became the first ''James Madison'' operational with the new missile.<ref name="Adcock30" />

''Daniel Boone'' entered the Tenneco Shipyard at [[Newport News, Virginia]] sometime in late 1985 or early 1986 for refit. During post-refit sea trials on 7 April 1987 she ran aground in the [[James River]] at Newport News.  This grounding occurred primarily because the OOD (Officer of the Deck), in an attempt to counteract tidal currents, lowered the SPM (Secondary Propulsion Motor) which was quickly and violently snapped off on a sandbar. The OOD then ordered the SPM retracted which, when retracted would have opened up an unpluggable 6" diameter hole in the hull. This potentially catastrophic mistake was countermanded by watchstanders on the scene in the Machinery space.  In spite direct orders from the CONN and Maneuvering, the senior watchstander on the scene prevented the SPM from being retracted, preventing the submarine from sinking in the James River. This accident, however, significantly delayed her departure from the refit yards because they had to obtain another SPM and repair the hull penetration in Tenneco Shipyard's dry dock. No ballistic missiles were on board.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
''Daniel Boone'' was decommissioned on 18 February 1994 and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] the same day. Her scrapping via the Nuclear-Powered [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] in [[Bremerton, Washington]], was completed on 4 November 1994.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

* {{Naval Vessel Register|hull=SSBN-629}}
*{{navsource|08/08629a}} – Keel Laying – Launching
*{{navsource|08/08629b}} – Sea Trials – Pre Commissioning
*{{navsource|08/08629d}} – Pre Commissioning
*{{navsource|08/08629c}} – Active Service – Decommissioning

{{James Madison class submarine}}
{{1987 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel Boone (SSBN-629)}}
[[Category:James Madison-class submarines]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:United States submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1987]]
[[Category:Ships built in Vallejo, California]]
[[Category:1963 ships]]


{{US-submarine-stub}}