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'USS ''Kamehameha'' (SSBN/SSN-642)' (called ''Kamfish'' by her crew), a ''Benjamin Franklin''-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for King Kamehameha I of Hawaii. It is one of only two ships of the United States to be named after a monarch. The other was the Continental Navy's USS Alfred.
The contract to build her was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 31 August 1962 and her keel was laid down on 2 May 1963. She was launched on 16 January 1965 sponsored by Mrs. Samuel Wilder King, and commissioned on 10 December 1965, with Commander Roth S. Leddick in command of the Blue Crew and Commander Robert W. Dickieson in command of the Gold Crew.
For much of ''Kamehameha's service she was based in Rota, Spain.
In July 1992, ''Kamehameha'' was converted to a drydeck shelter/swimmer delivery platform and given hull classification symbol 'SSN-642'. Her subsequent missions included SEAL special warfare operations. All crew orders to the Kamehameha since the conversion were to Kamehameha "Blue" crew.
''Kamehameha's armament as a ballistic missile submarine was 16 Poseidon ballistic missiles plus ten to twelve 21" Mark 48 heavy torpedoes non adcap (advanced capability). After conversion to DDS platform, ''Kamehameha'' carried only torpedoes as armament.
As the 20th century ended, ''Kamehameha'' became the last of the original "41 for freedom" boats in service, and the oldest submarine in the United States Navy. She holds the record for the longest service lifetime of any nuclear submarine — nearly 37 years.
''Kamehameha'' was decommissioned on 2 April 2002 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 April 2002. Ex-''Kamehameha'' entered the Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program in Bremerton, Washington, in October 2001 and on 28 February 2003 ceased to exist, except for a few items preserved for display. Her sail with fairwater planes and the upper half of her rudder, the boat's bust of King Kamehameha, a koa plate, bow and spear, and the wardroom monkeypod wood table are stored in Pearl Harbor. Her periscopes have been donated to the Deterrent Park on SubBase Bangor to become part of the USS ''Woodrow Wilson'' (SSBN-624) exhibit.
The ship's motto was "Imua", which roughly translates (from the Hawaiian) as "go forth and conquer."

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Based on data from the Naval Vessel Register.

External links

★ navsource.org: USS ''Kamehameha''