USS James Monroe (SSBN 622)

- decommissioned -

USS JAMES MONROE was the fifth LAFAYETTE - class nuclear powered fleet ballistic missile submarine. Completed with the Polaris A2 missiles, the JAMES MONROE received the 2500-mile range Polaris A3 in 1968-70 and was refitted with the Poseidon missiles between 1969-78.

Decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on September 25, 1990, the JAMES MONROE spent the next years at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash., until she entered the Navy's submarine recycling program. Recycling was finished on January 10, 1995.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: February 3, 1961
	Keel laid: July 31, 1961
	Launched: August 4, 1962
	Commissioned: December 7, 1963
	Decommissioned: September 25, 1990
	Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Va.
	Propulsion system: one S5W nuclear reactor
	Propellers: one
	Length: 425 feet (129.6 meters)
	Beam: 33 feet (10 meters)
	Draft: 31.5 feet (9.6 meters)
	Displacement: Surfaced: approx. 7,250 tons; Submerged: approx. 8,250 tons
	Speed: Surfaced: 16 - 20 knots;Submerged: 22 - 25 knots
	Armament: 16 vertical tubes for Polaris or Poseidon missiles, four 21" torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes, Mk-14/16 torpedoes, Mk-37 torpedoes and Mk-45 nuclear torpedoes
	Crew: 13 Officers and 130 Enlisted (two crews)

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS JAMES MONROE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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Click here to see which USS JAMES MONROE memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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About the Ship's Name:

Born in Westmoreland County, Va., 28 April 1758, James Monroe interrupted his education at William and Mary College in 1776 to join the Continental Army. He saw extensive action during the Revolutionary War receiving a wound at the battle of Trenton. In 1780 he began the study of law under Thomas Jefferson, then governor of Virginia, and 2 years later was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates to begin a legislative career which took him to the Confederation Congress and the United States Senate.

He served the executive branch as Minister to France, Spain, and Great Britain. He joined Robert R. Livingston in negotiations with the French government leading to the Louisiana Purchase. President Madison appointed him Secretary of State in 1811 and added the War-Department portfolio to his duties during the closing months of the War of 1812.

Elected fifth President of the United States in 1816, Monroe led the country during a period remembered as "The Era of Good Feeling." His administration witnessed the settlement of several long standing disputes with Great Britain, the acquisition of Florida, the Missouri Compromise, and the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine.

At the end of his second term Monroe retired to his estate, "Oak Hill" and died 4 July 1831 while on a visit to New York.

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