Original sent in an e-mail to many scientists, engineers and leaders in business and government.
American Ingenuity Commitment Capability and Capacity Just 52 Year Ago Richard McPherson April 5, 2019 Every once in a while, you hear someone question whether or not America is exceptional. But just look at one single example of what this country is capable of and say that it would be very hard to match what we have already demonstrated can be done when the need arises. Notwithstanding the phenomenal processes and elements that were created to achieve the goals or building a submarine fleet like 41 for Freedom, while at the same time putting a man on the moon, the sheer magnitude of this accomplishment is even more impressive when you consider the time frame and the limits on engineering that existed. We did not yet have the computers and interconnected networks that are so prevalent today. As you review this 1967 article in All Hands Magazine, ponder it took less than ten years to build not only the ships of this group, but many other fast attack submarines at the same time. That is incredible! When the USS Will Rogers (SSBN (659) was commissioned in April 1967, the powerful Trident Submarine concept was just in its infancy. But the boats in the 41 for Freedom program will forever remain as a mark of American ingenuity and ability. SEPTEMBER 1967 ALL Hands Magazine Taking a Muster of the Fleet of FBM Submarines W ITH THE commission of Will Rogers (SSBN 659) on 1 April, all 41 of the programmed Fleet ballistic missile submarines have joined the Fleet. There have been three classes of Polaris submarines built since the beginning of the program. They are: •
George Washington (SSBN 598)—this class, of which five were built, had an Albacore hull and were, in fact, designed to be nuclear attack submarines. A 130-foot missile section was added, enabling them to accommodate 16 Polaris missiles. They are 380 feet long, with a 33-foot 1