USS Patrick Henry ( SSBN - 599 ) USS " Patrick Henry " ( SSBN - 599 ) , named for the American Revolutionary War figure Patrick Henry ( 1736 – 1799 ) , was a nuclear - powered fleet ballistic missile submarine of the United States Navy . She was later converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN - 599 . Commissioned . " Patrick Henry " s keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation , in Groton , Connecticut , on 26 May 1958 . She was launched on 22 September 1959 , sponsored by Mrs . Leslie E . Arends and was commissioned on 9 April 1960 , with Commander Harold E . Shear in command of the Blue crew and Commander Robert L . J . Long commanding the Gold crew . Manned alternately by two crews , Blue and Gold , like all US Navy ballistic missile submarine s , to maximize her submerged operations , " Patrick Henry " underwent shakedown with the Blue crew until 16 September 1960 , when the Gold crew took over . The second fleet ballistic missile ( FBM ) submarine , she commenced her first deterrent patrol in December 1960 with her Blue Crew on board . When she surfaced off Holy Loch , Scotland , on 8 March 1961 , she had set a record for her type , cruising submerged 66 days and 22 hours . " Patrick Henry " was the first ballistic missile submarine to enter Holy Loch , and the first to go alongside the submarine tender for replenishment and routine repair . " Patrick Henry " conducted 17 deterrent patrols from Holy Loch until December 1964 when she returned to Electric Boat . For 18 months she received complete and extensive overhaul and repair operations , including refueling of the S5W reactor plant and modifications to permit the handling of the Polaris A - 3 missiles . After shakedown in mid - 1966 off Puerto Rico and Cape Canaveral , Florida , " Patrick Henry " departed Charleston , South Carolina , in December for her eighteenth patrol , equipped with A - 3 Polaris missiles and assigned to Submarine Squadron 14 . On 1 March 1968 , " Patrick Henry " completed her 22nd patrol at Holy Loch . During the early 1970s , " Patrick Henry " s home port was Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . In 1976 , " Patrick Henry " moved to Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo , California , for refueling . Demonstration and shakedown operations , 1978 . In the spring of 1978 , the " Patrick Henry " underwent demonstration and shakedown operations ( DASO ) . The purpose of the DASO was to ensure that the submarine ' s crew could safely meet the stringent requirements for handling , maintaining and operating her strategic weapons system . It also confirmed that the submarine ’ s crew was able to target and launch her submarine - launched ballistic missile s ( SLBM ) correctly and certified that the crew and submarine were ready for operational patrol . Additionally , system performance data was collected about the weapons system and submarine while in an operational environment , which evaluates the readiness and performance of the weapon system . After transiting the Panama Canal , the Blue Crew successfully fired an A - 3 Polaris missile off the coast of Cape Kennedy in July 1978 , and the Gold Crew completed a successful missile firing several weeks later . The Gold Crew brought the " Patrick Henry " back through the Panama Canal and transited to Pearl Harbor . She remained with the Pacific Fleet into the 1980s . Conversion to attack submarine , 1982 . In 1982 " Patrick Henry " and many of her sister ships had their ballistic missile tubes disabled and were reclassified as attack submarine s ( SSNs ) . " Patrick Henry " was redesignated SSN - 599 . Decommissioning and disposal . " Patrick Henry " was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 May 1984 . She was disposed of through the Ship - Submarine recycling program at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , ceasing to exist on 21 August 1997 .