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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • Boats-Ships--Nuclear Powered
  • Boats-Ships--Submarine
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Tecumseh IV (SSBN-628)

1964-1993

The fourth Tecumseh was also named to honor the prominent Native American of the Shawnee tribe. See Tecumseh I for complete biography.

IV

(SSBN-628: displacement 7,300 (surfaced), 8,250 (submerged); 1ength 425'; beam 33'; draft 31'4"; speed 16 knots (surfaced), 21 knots (submerged); complement 140; armament 16 Polaris missiles, 4 torpedo tubes; class James Madison)

The fourth Tecumseh (SSBN-628) was laid down on 1 June 1962 at Groton, Conn., by the Electric Boat Division of the General Dynamics Corp.; launched on 22 June 1963; sponsored by Mrs. Robert L. F. Sikes; and was commissioned on 29 May 1964, Cmdr. Arnett B. Taylor (Blue Crew) and Cmdr. Charles S. Carlisle (Gold Crew) in command.

Tecumseh soon departed the east coast, bound for Hawaii. Based at Pearl Harbor, the nuclear-powered submarine deployed to the Marianas on 17 December 1964, arriving at Guam 12 days later to commence deterrent patrols. Alternately manned by Blue and Gold crews, she conducted 21 of these missions into 1969.

The submarine was then transferred to the Atlantic Fleet where she proceeded via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal to the east coast and reached Newport News, Va., on 8 November 1969. Soon thereafter, she entered the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. yards for a conversion which replaced her Polaris missile system with its Poseidon counterpart. Emerging from dry dock on 9 May 1970, Tecumseh then underwent a thorough overhaul through that fall and winter before being assigned a new home port of Charleston, S.C., on 18 February 1971.

She conducted sea trials and shakedown out of Charleston before conducting two deterrent patrols in late 1971. Subsequently deployed to Holy Loch, Scotland; Tecumseh arrived in Scottish waters on 9 February 1972. She conducted 18 more deterrent patrols out of Holy Loch through 1976 and operated with the Atlantic Fleet into 1980.

Ultimately decommissioned on 23 July 1993, Tecumseh was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day [23 July 1993]. She was disposed of, by submarine recycling, on 1 April 1994.

Updated, Robert J. Cressman

21 July 2022

Published: Thu Jul 21 15:57:33 EDT 2022