USS Mariano G. Vallejo (SSBN-658) was a Benjamin Franklin-class fleet ballistic missile submarine of the United States Navy. She was the only U.S. Navy vessel named for Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (1807–1890), a Californio military commander, politician, and key proponent of California statehood.
Construction and Commissioning
The contract to build Mariano G. Vallejo was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, on 8 August 1963. Her keel was laid down on 7 July 1964, and she was launched on 23 October 1965, sponsored by Miss Patricia Oliver Vallejo McGettigan, a great-great-granddaughter of General Vallejo. The submarine was commissioned on 16 December 1966, with Commander Douglas B. Guthe commanding the Blue Crew and Commander John K. Nunneley commanding the Gold Crew.
Characteristics
Mariano G. Vallejo was 425 feet (130 m) in length, with a beam of 33 feet (10 m) and a draft of 31 feet (9.4 m). She displaced approximately 6,465 long tons (6,569 t) when light, 7,300 long tons (7,417 t) surfaced, and 8,250 long tons (8,382 t) submerged. Propulsion was provided by one S5W pressurized-water nuclear reactor driving two geared steam turbines and a single shaft, generating 15,000 shaft horsepower (11,185 kW), enabling speeds in excess of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). Her test depth was 1,300 feet (400 m). The submarine carried two crews (Blue and Gold) of approximately 120 men each. Armament consisted of 16 ballistic missile tubes and 4 × 21-inch (533 mm) forward torpedo tubes.
Service History
Following commissioning, Mariano G. Vallejo conducted shakedown and training exercises along the U.S. West Coast, in the Caribbean Sea, and off the coast of Florida. After transiting the Panama Canal on 21 March 1967, she proceeded to her assigned home port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, arriving on 10 April 1967. She became a fully operational unit of Submarine Squadron 15 on 1 August 1967, conducting strategic deterrent patrols. Early in her career, she carried Polaris A-3 missiles and conducted approximately 70-day submerged deterrent patrols, with Blue and Gold crews alternating to maintain continuous station.
In the early 1970s, Mariano G. Vallejo was selected for a major overhaul and weapons system conversion to carry Poseidon C-3 missiles. This work began on 21 August 1972 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia, and she returned to the fleet as a Poseidon-capable submarine on 19 December 1973.
Mariano G. Vallejo was the last of the "Forty-one for Freedom" ballistic missile submarines to conduct a deterrent patrol, the last to offload her missiles, and the last to arrive in Washington State for disposal.
Decommissioning and Disposal
The submarine was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 March 1995. Her scrapping via the U.S. Navy's Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, began on 1 October 1994 and was completed on 22 December 1995.
Commemoration
Mariano G. Vallejo's sail (the vertical structure above the hull) was preserved and placed on the waterfront at Mare Island in 1995. As of 2019, it was moved to a permanent memorial within the Mare Island Museum as part of the "Save-Our-Sail Project." Additionally, the submarine's control room was reconstructed at the museum, including a fully operational periscope from the vessel.
