Some 60 years ago this month, an important show of force for the Fleet Ballistic Missile Progam:
The Lafayette class ballistic missile submarine USS Henry Clay (SSBN-625) launches a Polaris A-2 missile from the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Kennedy, Florida, on 20 April 1964. This was the first demonstration that Polaris subs could launch missiles from the surface as well as from beneath the surface. Just 30 minutes earlier, Clay had successfully launched an A-2 missile submerged.
USN Photo 1094722
The above tactic would come in handy if, say, the FBM was stuck in port and an emergency launch order came, or, for instance, if surfaced in the icepack.
The objects flying through the air around the missile are launch adapters designed to detach themselves automatically once the missile has left the tube. The sub’s slight port list is a standard part of surface launch procedures. The tall mast is a temporary telemetry antenna installed for operations at the Cape only.
The 15th of the famed “41 for Freedom” boomers, Henry Clay was launched on 30 November 1962 and commissioned on 20 February 1964.
Henry Clay was decommissioned on 5 November 1990 and her recycling was completed on 30 September 1997.