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First
Trident Launch submitted by Bill Kaczmarek MT2- Gold crew 78 - 80
The
Key was chosen to execute the first submerged launch of a Trident missile back
in 1978-1979 and we steamed from our home port of Charleston, SC to Cape
Canaveral, FL loaded with ballast in our missile tubes. When we got there,
we outfitted the boat with a telemetry mast and then loaded two
trident D-1 test missiles with the idea of
doing two shots.
When the boat was finally rigged, we proceeded
out to the test range where we launched the first bird. About three
seconds into the launch, the status reports stopped being read and after a few
more minutes we found out that the missile failed and was destroyed as it hit
the ocean about a mile away from us. I remember the ship rocking as the
shock wave hit us and the collision alarm going off. It was at his point
that I also met Vice Admiral Carr, head-on. When the collision alarm
sounded, I came around the port side upper level corner of the missile
compartment to secure the W/T door at about flank speed and ran smack dab into
him as he was approaching the corner. Those stars on his collar looked
huge and I thought I'd get in trouble for running over an Admiral but he was
scrambling to get out of my way and told me to carry on.
After the unsuccessful launch attempt, we
returned to port and turned around the fired tube. We then found ourselves
in the position of not having a mission to execute and a whole patrol cycle to
do it, so COMSUBLANT sent us to Annapolis to show the middies what a real live
submarine looked like and try to recruit some of them for the pirating life.
This picture shows the middies coming
aboard. I actually met a kid from my home town who was a midshipman (I
knew his father) at the time. It was during this in port time at Annapolis
that Senator Moynihan came on
board and I remember shaking his hand when he was touring through Launcher and
the Missile compartment.
This picture shows the underwater
video cameras in position over the tubes that we were to fire. If you
watch some of the submarine shows on the Discovery or History Channels once and
a while, you can make out the Keys' missile hatches as they're opened for the
launch. Ours weren't painted like billiard balls so they're pretty
distinctive.
The
Key went on to successfully launch the first Trident missile from a submerged
submarine and then became the first submarine to be completely outfitted with
the new missile and proceed on patrol.
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