UGM - 27 Polaris The Polaris missile was a two - stage solid - fuel nuclear - armed submarine - launched ballistic missile ( SLBM ) built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy . It was designed to be used as part of the Navy ' s contribution to the United States arsenal of nuclear weapons , replacing the Regulus cruise missile . Known as a Fleet Ballistic Missile ( FBM ) , the Polaris was first launched from the Cape Canaveral , Florida , missile test base on January 7 , 1960 . Following the Polaris Sales Agreement in 1963 , Polaris missiles were also carried on British Royal Navy submarines between 1968 and the mid - 1990s . Plans to equip the Italian Navy with the missile ended in the mid - 60s , after several successful test launches carried out on board the Italian cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi . Despite the successful launching tests , the US never provided the missiles , due to political convenience . Instead the Italian Government set to develop an indigenous missile , called Alfa , with a successful program , officially halted by Italian Nuclear Non - Proliferation Treaty ratification and failure of the NATO Multilateral Force . The Polaris missile was gradually replaced on 31 of the 41 original SSBNs in the US Navy by the MIRV - capable Poseidon missile beginning in 1972 . During the 1980s , these missiles were replaced on twelve of these submarines by the Trident I missile . The ten George Washington - and Ethan Allen - class SSBNs retained Polaris A - 3 until 1980 because their missile tubes were not large enough to accommodate Poseidon . With the USS Ohio ( SSBN - 726 ) commencing sea trials in 1980 , these submarines were disarmed and redesignated as attack submarines to avoid exceeding the SALT II strategic arms treaty limits . Many new project management techniques were introduced during the development of the Polaris missile program , to deal with the inherent system complexity . This includes the use of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique ( PERT ) . This technique replaced the simpler Gantt chart methodology which was largely employed prior to this program . History and development . The Polaris missile replaced an earlier plan to create a submarine - based missile force based on a huge surfaced submarine carrying four " Jupiter " missiles , which would be carried and launched horizontally . This Navy " Jupiter " missile is not to be confused with the U . S . Army Jupiter Intermediate - range ballistic missile . At Edward Teller ' s prompting , the Navy ' s " Jupiter " missile plans were abandoned in favor of the much smaller , solid - fuel - propelled Polaris . Originally , the Navy favored cruise missile systems in a strategic role , such as the Regulus missile deployed on the earlier USS " Grayback " and a few other submarines , but a major drawback of these early cruise missile launch systems ( and the Jupiter proposals ) was the need to surface , and remain surfaced for some time , to launch . Submarines were very vulnerable to attack during launch , and a fully or partially fueled missile on deck was a serious hazard . Rough weather was another major drawback for these designs , but rough sea conditions did not unduly affect Polaris launches . It quickly became apparent solid - fueled ballistic missiles had advantages over cruise missiles in range and accuracy , and unlike both Jupiter and cruise , were able to be launched from a submerged submarine , improving submarine survivability . The prime contractor for all three versions of Polaris was Lockheed Missiles and Space Company , now Lockheed Martin . The Polaris program started development in 1956 . The USS " George Washington " , the first US missile submarine , successfully launched the first Polaris missile from a submerged submarine on July 20 , 1960 . The A - 2 version of the Polaris missile was essentially an upgraded A - 1 , and it entered service in late 1961 . It was fitted on a total of 13 submarines and served until June 1974 . ( 1 ) . Ongoing problems with the W - 47 warhead , especially with its mechanical arming and safing equipment , led to large numbers of the missiles being recalled for modifications , and the U . S . Navy sought a replacement with either a larger yield or equivalent destructive power . The result was the W - 58 warhead used in a " cluster " of three warheads for the Polaris A - 3 , the final model of the Polaris missile . Polaris A - 3 . This missile replaced the earlier A - 1 and A - 2 models in the US Navy , and also equipped the British Polaris force . The A - 3 had a range extended to 2 , 500 nautical miles ( 4 , 630 km ) and a new weapon bay housing three Mk 2 re - entry vehicles ( ReB or Re - Entry Body in US Navy and British usage ) ; and the new W - 58 warhead of 200 kt yield . This arrangement was originally described as a " cluster warhead " but was replaced with the term Multiple Re - Entry Vehicle ( MRV ) . The three warheads were spread about a common target and were not independently targeted ( such as a MIRV missile is ) . The three warheads were stated to be equivalent in destructive power to a single one - megaton warhead . Later the Polaris A - 3 missiles ( but not the ReBs ) were also given limited hardening to protect the missile electronics against electromagnetic pulse effects while in the boost phase . This was known as the A - 3T ( " Topsy " ) and was the final production model . Polaris A - 1 . The first version , the Polaris A - 1 , had a range of 1000 nautical miles ( 1853 km ) and a single Mk 1 re - entry vehicle , carrying a single W - 47 - Y1 600 kt nuclear warhead , with an inertial guidance system which provided a Circular error probable ( CEP ) of 1800 meters ( 6000 ft ) . The two - stage solid propellant missile had a length of 28 . 5 ft ( 8 . 69 m ) , a body diameter of 54 in ( 1 . 37 m ) , and a launch weight of 28 , 800 lbs ( 13 , 090 kg ) . The USS " George Washington " was the first fleet ballistic missile submarine ( SSBN in U . S . naval terminology ) and she and all of the other Polaris submarines carried 16 missiles . Forty more SSBNs were launched in 1960 to 1966 . Work on its W47 nuclear warhead began in 1957 at the facility that is now called the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by a team headed by Edward Teller and Harold Brown . The Navy accepted delivery of the first 16 warheads in July 1960 . On May 6 , 1962 , a Polaris A - 2 missile with a live W47 warhead was tested in the " Frigate Bird " test of Operation Dominic by the USS Ethan Allen ( SSBN - 608 ) in the central Pacific Ocean , the only American test of a live strategic nuclear missile . The two stages were both steered by thrust vectoring . Inertial navigation guided the missile to about a 900 m ( 3 , 000 foot ) CEP , insufficient for use against hardened targets . They were mostly useful for attacking dispersed military surface targets ( airfields or radar sites ) , clearing a pathway for heavy bombers , although in the general public perception Polaris was a strategic second - strike retaliatory weapon . Strategic role . The Polaris A - 1 missile was developed to complement the limited number of medium - range systems deployed throughout Europe . As those systems lacked the range to attack major Soviet targets , Polaris was developed to increase the level of nuclear deterrence . At this time there was little threat of counterforce strikes , as few systems had the accuracy to destroy missile systems . The primary advantages of ballistic missile submarines was their ability to launch submerged , which offered improved survivability for the submarine while also ( like their Regulus predecessors ) keeping shorter ranged systems within range . The USN had forward - basing arrangements for its Atlantic - based Polaris fleet with both the United Kingdom and Spain permitting the use of bases at the Holy Loch in Scotland ( established in 1961 ) and at Naval Station Rota ( Polaris base established 1964 ) in the Bay of Cadiz . The forward deployment bases were much closer to patrol areas than U . S . East Coast bases , avoiding the necessity for lengthy transit times . In the Pacific , a Polaris base was also established at Guam in 1964 . This forward - basing arrangement was continued when Poseidon replaced Polaris , starting in 1972 , in what by then were the 31 Atlantic Fleet SSBN s . The 10 older SSBNs that could not use Poseidon were assigned to the Pacific Fleet in the 1970s . Polaris was not accurate enough to destroy hardened targets but would have been effective against dispersed surface targets , such as airfields , radar and SAM sites , as well as military and industrial centers of strategic importance . The military authorities , however , regarded Polaris as but one part of a nuclear triad including ICBM s and bombers , each with its own function . The task allotted to Polaris of ' taking out ' peripheral defenses was well - suited to its characteristics and limitations . The forward deployment strategy required some infrastructure . To allow quick establishment of bases and to minimize the impact on the host country , each base was centered around a submarine tender and a floating drydock , with minimal facilities on shore , mostly family support for the tender ' s crew . The first Polaris submarine tender was the USS Proteus ( AS - 19 ) , a World War II tender that was refitted in 1959 - 60 with the insertion of a midships missile storage compartment and handling crane . " Proteus " established each of the three forward deployment bases . Four additional Polaris tenders ( USS Hunley ( AS - 31 ) , USS Holland ( AS - 32 ) , USS Simon Lake ( AS - 33 ) , and USS Canopus ( AS - 34 ) ) were commissioned 1962 - 65 . A two - crew concept was established for SSBNs , combined with forward deployment maximize the time each submarine would spend on patrol . The crews were named Blue and Gold after the US Naval Academy colors . The crews were deployed for 105 days and at their home bases for 95 days , with a 3 - day turnover period on each end of the deployed period . Crews were flown from their home bases to and from the forward deployment bases . After taking over the boat , the crew would perform a 30 - day refit assisted by the tender , followed by a 70 - day deterrent patrol . Sometimes a port visit would be arranged in the middle of the patrol . The home bases for Atlantic Fleet crews were Groton , Connecticut and Charleston , South Carolina . Pacific Fleet crews were based at Naval Base Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . Two Polaris missile depots were established in the United States , Polaris Missile Facility Atlantic ( POMFLANT ) at Charleston , South Carolina in 1960 and later Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific ( SWFPAC ) at Bangor , Washington . To transport missiles and other supplies from the missile depots to the forward deployment bases , several cargo ships were converted to carry missiles and were designated as T - AKs , operated by the Military Sealift Command with a mostly - civilian crew . The advent of the Trident I missile , refitted to 12 Atlantic Fleet SSBNs starting in 1979 and with a much greater range than Polaris or Poseidon , meant that SSBNs could be based in the United States . The 18 Ohio - class submarine s , slated to replace the 41 older SSBNs , also started commissioning in 1981 , initially carrying 24 Trident I missiles but later refitted with the much larger and more capable Trident II missile . In the late 1970s it was decided that Pacific Fleet Ohio - class SSBNs would be based at Bangor , WA , collocated with SWFPAC , and that the refitted Trident I SSBNs and additional Ohio - class SSBNs would be based at a new facility in King ' s Bay , Georgia . Also , a new missile depot , Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic ( SWFLANT ) , was constructed at King ' s Bay to replace POMFLANT . The SSBN facility at Rota was closed in 1979 as King ' s Bay began refitting submarines . As the USS Ohio ( SSBN - 726 ) commenced sea trials in 1980 , the 10 remaining Polaris submarines in the Pacific Fleet were disarmed and reclassified as SSNs to avoid exceeding SALT II treaty limits . The SSBN base at Guam was closed at this time . By 1992 , the Soviet Union had collapsed , 12 Ohio - class SSBNs had been commissioned , and the START I treaty had gone into effect , so Holy Loch was closed and the remaining 31 original SSBNs disarmed . Most of these were decommissioned and later scrapped in the Ship - Submarine Recycling Program , but a few were converted to other roles . Two remain in service but decommissioned as nuclear power training vessels attached to Naval Nuclear Power School at Charleston , SC , the USS Daniel Webster ( SSBN - 626 ) and the USS Sam Rayburn ( SSBN - 635 ) . Later versions . The later versions ( the A - 2 , A - 3 , and B - 3 ) were larger , weighed more , and had longer ranges than the A - 1 . The range increase was most important : The A - 2 range was 1 , 500 nautical miles ( 2 , 779 km ) , the A - 3 2 , 500 nautical miles ( 4 , 631 km ) , and the B - 3 2 , 000 nautical miles ( 3 , 705 km ) . The A - 3 featured multiple re - entry vehicles ( MRV s ) which spread the warheads about a common target , and the B - 3 was to have penetration aids to counter Soviet Anti - Ballistic Missile defenses . The B - 3 missile evolved into the C - 3 Poseidon missile , which abandoned the decoy concept in favor of using the C3 ' s greater throw - weight for larger numbers ( 10 - 14 ) of new hardened high - re - entry - speed reentry vehicle s that could overwhelm Soviet defences by sheer weight of numbers , and its high speed after re - entry . The abandoned decoy system for the B - 3 ( Antelope ) was known to the UK where it was adopted and evolved into Super Antelope , KH . 793 and later re - labeled Chevaline . British Polaris . From the early days of the Polaris program , American Senators and naval officers suggested that the United Kingdom might use Polaris . In 1957 Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke and First Sea Lord Louis Mountbatten began corresponding on the project . After the cancellations of the Blue Streak and Skybolt missiles in the 1960s , under the 1962 Nassau Agreement that emerged from meetings between Harold Macmillan and John F . Kennedy , the United States would supply Britain with Polaris missiles , launch tubes , ReBs , and the fire - control system s . Britain would make its own warheads and initially proposed to build five ballistic missile submarines , later reduced to four by the incoming Labour government of Harold Wilson , with 16 missiles to be carried on each boat . The Polaris Sales Agreement was signed on April 6 , 1963 . In return , the British agreed to assign control over their Polaris missile targeting to the SACEUR ( Supreme Allied Commander , Europe ) , with the provision that in a national emergency when unsupported by the NATO allies , the targeting , permission to fire , and firing of those Polaris missiles would reside with the British national authorities . Nevertheless , the consent of the British Prime Minister is and has been always required for the use of British nuclear weapons , including the Polaris and Trident missiles . The operational control of the Polaris submarines was assigned to another NATO Supreme Commander , the SACLANT ( Supreme Allied Commander , Atlantic ) , who is based near Norfolk , Virginia , although the SACLANT routinely delegated control of the missiles to his deputy commander in the Eastern Atlantic area , COMEASTLANT , who was always a British admiral . Polaris was the largest project in the Royal Navy ' s peacetime history . Although in 1964 the new Labour government considered cancelling Polaris and turning the submarines into conventionally armed hunter - killers , it continued the program as Polaris gave Britain a global nuclear capacity — perhaps east of Suez — at a cost £150 million less than that of the V bomber force . By adopting many American methodologies and components Polaris was finished on time and within budget . On 15 February 1968 , , the lead ship of her class , became the first British vessel to fire a Polaris . All Royal Navy SSBN s have been based at Faslane , only a few miles from Holy Loch . Although one submarine of the four was always in a shipyard undergoing a refit , recent declassifications of archived files disclose that the Royal Navy deployed four boatloads of reentry vehicles and warheads , plus spare warheads for the Polaris A3T , retaining a limited ability to re - arm and put to sea the submarine that was in refit . When replaced by the Chevaline warhead , the sum total of deployed RVs and warheads was reduced to three boatloads . Chevaline . The original U . S . Navy Polaris had not been designed to penetrate Anti - ballistic missile ( ABM ) defenses , but the Royal Navy had to ensure that its small Polaris force operating alone , and often with only one submarine on deterrent patrol , could penetrate the ABM screen around Moscow . The result was a programme called " Chevaline " that added multiple decoys , chaff , and other defensive countermeasure s . Its existence was only revealed in 1980 , partly because of the cost overruns of the project , which had almost quadrupled the original estimate given when the project was finally approved in January 1975 . The system became operational in mid - 1982 on the HMS " Renown " , and the last British SSBN submarine was equipped with it in mid - 1987 . Withdrawn from service in 1996 . Replacement . The British did not ask to extend the Polaris Sales Agreement to cover the Polaris successor Poseidon due to its cost . The Ministry of Defence upgraded its nuclear missiles to the longer - ranged Trident missile after much political wrangling within the Callaghan Labour Party government over its cost and whether it was necessary . The outgoing Prime Minister James Callaghan made his government ' s papers on Trident available to Margaret Thatcher ' s new incoming Conservative Party government , which took the decision to acquire the Trident C4 missile . A subsequent decision to upgrade the missile purchase to the even larger , longer - ranged Trident D5 missile was possibly taken to ensure that there was missile commonality between the U . S . Navy and the Royal Navy , which was considerably important when the Royal Navy Trident submarines were also to use the missile - submarine repair and maintenance naval base at Kings Bay , Georgia . [ Even though the U . S . Navy initially deployed the Trident C4 missile in the original set of its " Ohio " - class submarines , it was always planned to upgrade all of these submarines to the larger and longer - ranged Trident D5 missile — and that eventually , all of the C4 missiles would be eliminated from the U . S . Navy . This change - over has been completely carried out , and no Trident C4 missiles remain in service . ] The Polaris missile remained in Royal Navy service long after it had been completely retired and scrapped by the U . S . Navy in 1980 - 81 . Consequently many spare parts and repair facilities for the Polaris that were located in the U . S . ceased to be available . ( Such as at the Lockheed Corporation , which had moved on first to the Poseidon and then to the two versions of the Trident missile . ) Italy . During its reconstruction program in 1957 - 1961 , the Italian cruiser " Giuseppe Garibaldi " was fitted for launch of four Polaris missiles , with launchers located in the aft part of the ship . The successful tests held in 1961 - 1962 , induced the United States to study a NATO Multilateral Nuclear Force ( MLF ) , based on 25 international surface vessels from the US , United Kingdom , France , Italy , and West Germany , equipped with 200 Polaris nuclear missiles , enabling European allies to participate in the management of the NATO nuclear deterrent . The MLF plan , as well as the Italian Polaris Program , were abandoned , both for political reasons ( in consequence of the Cuban Missile Crisis ) and the initial operational availability of the first SSBN George Washington , which demonstrated the possibility to launch effectively SLBMs , solution preferred to surface - launched missiles . Italy developed a new domestic version of the missile , the SLBM - designated Alfa . The program was cancelled in the 1975 after Italy ratified the Nuclear Non - Proliferation Treaty with the last positive launch of the third prototype on 1976 . Two Italian Navy " Andrea Doria " class cruisers , commissioned in 1963 - 1964 , were " fitted for but not with " the launch of two Polaris missiles per ship . All four launchers were built but not shipped and were stored to La Spezia naval facility . An Italian Navy " Vittorio Veneto " cruiser , launched in 1969 , was also " fitted for but not with " the launch of four Polaris missiles . During update works in 1980 - 1983 , these facilities were removed and used for other weapons and systems . References . Notes Bibliography Further reading