Which submarine was the first U.S. Navy ballistic-missile submarine?

USS George Washington was the first U.S. Navy ballistic-missile submarine. Commissioned in 1959, she was the lead ship of the George Washington class and established the U.S. Navy’s sea-based nuclear deterrent patrol system.

The submarine was designed to carry Polaris missiles in a dedicated missile compartment positioned between the forward and engineering sections. This arrangement allowed the vessel to launch nuclear-armed missiles while submerged, making it much harder for an opponent to locate and destroy the submarine before a retaliatory strike.

George Washington completed the first deterrent patrol by a U.S. ballistic-missile submarine in 1960. Her patrols helped create the “third leg” of the American nuclear triad, alongside land-based missiles and strategic bombers.

She is sometimes confused with USS Ohio, the first submarine of the Ohio class. Ohio entered service much later, in 1981, and became the lead ship of a newer generation of ballistic-missile submarines.