View source for USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602)

{{short description|George Washington class fleet ballistic missile submarine}}
{{other ships|USS Abraham Lincoln}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602)two.jpg
|Ship caption= ''Abraham Lincoln'' travelling on the surface
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag}}
|Ship namesake=[[Abraham Lincoln]] 
|Ship ordered=30 July 1958<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship builder=[[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]]<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship laid down=1 November 1958
|Ship launched=14 May 1960
|Ship sponsor=[[Mary Lincoln Beckwith|Mary L. Beckwith]]
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=11 March 1961<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship decommissioned=28 February 1981<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship struck=1 December 1982
|Ship fate=Recycled via [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program|Submarine recycling]] 10 May 1994
|Ship badge=[[File:USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602) crest.png|150px]]
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship class= {{sclass|George Washington|submarine}}
|Ship displacement=*5,400 tons light<ref Name=FAS/>
*5,959–6,019 tons surfaced<ref Name=FAS/>
*6,709–6,888 approx. tons submerged<ref Name=FAS>[http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-598.htm "SSBN-598 George Washington-Class FBM Submarines" from the FAS]</ref>
|Ship length={{convert|381.6|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship draft={{convert|29|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=*1 [[S5W]] [[Pressurized water reactor|PWR]]<ref Name=FAS/>
*2 geared [[turbines]] at {{convert|15000|shp|lk=in|abbr=on}}<ref Name=FAS/>
*1 Screw<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20|kn|km/h}} surfaced<ref Name=FAS/>
*+{{convert|25|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship range=unlimited except by food supplies
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth={{convert|700|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship complement=Two crews (Blue/Gold) each consisting of 12 officers and 100 enlisted
|Ship crew=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*16 [[Polaris missile|Polaris A1/A3 missiles]]<ref Name=FAS/>
*6 × {{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} [[torpedo tube]]s<ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Abraham Lincoln'' (SSBN-602)''', a {{sclass|George Washington|submarine|0}} [[fleet ballistic missile submarine]], was the second ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for [[Abraham Lincoln]], the 16th President of the United States (1861–1865), the first being {{USS|President Lincoln|1907}}.

Her [[keel]] was [[Keel laying|laid down]] by the [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]] of [[Kittery, Maine]], on 1 November 1958.  She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 14 May 1960 sponsored by [[Mary Lincoln Beckwith|Mary L. Beckwith]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Emerson |first1=Jason |title=Lincoln's Descendant Disliked Her Famous Heritage |url=https://jasonemerson.com/lincolns-great-granddaughter-disliked-her-famous-heritage/ |website=JasonEmerson.com (Lincoln Historian) |access-date=9 November 2022 |date=April 14, 2021 |quote=On May 14, 1960, the new ballistic-missile, nuclear-powered submarine ''Abraham Lincoln'' was launched from Portsmouth, N.H. Mary Lincoln Beckwith, dressed uncharacteristically in a blue and white polka dot dress, white gloves, white hat, and a pearl necklace, broke a bottle of champagne on the bow and christened the ship. How impressed she was by the occasion is found in her diary, in which she recorded that night: “Cloudy a.m. Sun out p.m. Broke bottle on boat. So home to bed.”  "Mary Lincoln Beckwith died July 10, 1975 in Rutland, Vt., from colon cancer at the age of seventy-seven. She never married or had any children."}}</ref> (great-granddaughter of President Abraham Lincoln), and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 8 March 1961 with [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] Leonard Erb commanding the Blue Crew and Commander Donald M. Miller commanding the Gold Crew.

==Atlantic operations==
''Abraham Lincoln'' got underway on 20 March 1961 for [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] and weapons testing at [[Cape Canaveral, Florida]], and returned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 1 June for post-shakedown repairs.  See [[USS Thresher (SSN-593)#Cause]] for more on silver brazing joint failures. She left Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 17 July 1961 to return briefly to Cape Canaveral for further testing and then proceeded to [[Charleston, South Carolina]], for a final loadout. ''Abraham Lincoln'' subsequently got underway on 28 August 1961 as a unit of [[Submarine Squadron 14|SUBRON 14]]. She arrived at [[Holy Loch]], Scotland, in October 1961. She underwent a refit alongside [[submarine tender]] {{USS|Proteus|AS-19|6}} during November 1961 and, upon its completion, commenced her first deterrent patrol.

[[File:USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602) in USS AFDB-7.jpg|300px|thumb|left|''Abraham Lincoln'' undergoing repairs in [[floating drydock]] {{ship||Los Alamos|AFDB-7|2}} at [[Holy Loch]], Scotland, on 19 March 1963.]]''Abraham Lincoln'' operated out of Holy Loch for the next four years. She alternated periods of upkeep at Holy Loch alongside ''Proteus'' or submarine tender {{USS|Hunley|AS-31|6}} with deterrent patrols from that port.

A highlight of this period occurred during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] of October 1962.  ''Abraham Lincoln'' was in the middle of a scheduled four-week upkeep period when she received orders to deploy. She departed in short order and successfully carried out a 65-day patrol.

On 13 October 1965, ''Abraham Lincoln'' arrived at [[Groton, Connecticut]], and entered the [[Electric Boat]] shipyard there on 25 October 1965 to begin an [[overhaul and refueling]].

This work was completed on 3 June 1967, and ''Abraham Lincoln'' returned to her base at Holy Loch and resumed her schedule of deterrent patrols. She continued the pattern of alternating patrols with periods of upkeep alongside either submarine tender {{USS|Simon Lake|AS-33|6}} or submarine tender {{USS|Canopus|AS-34|6}} through 1972.

In early March 1972, ''Abraham Lincoln'' departed for the United States and arrived at [[Naval Submarine Base New London]] at Groton, Connecticut, on 25 April 1972. She held two [[dependents' cruise]]s before getting underway on 19 May for the [[United States West Coast]] to join the [[United States Pacific Fleet]]. ''Abraham Lincoln'' made a brief visit to [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], transited the [[Panama Canal]] on 1 June, sailed to [[Naval Base Kitsap|Bangor, Washington]], to offload her missiles, then pushed on to San Francisco. On 25 June 1972, ''Abraham Lincoln'' entered the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] at [[Vallejo, California]], to commence overhaul and refueling.

==Pacific operations==
The extensive overhaul was completed in December 1973. After shakedown in the areas around [[Puget Sound]] and San Diego ''Abraham Lincoln'' transited the [[Panama Canal]] on 1 June 1974. She held tests and local operations at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]] and [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. She retransitted the Panama Canal on 26 July 1974 and proceeded to her new [[home port]], [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii, where she arrived on 10 September 1974 to become part of CINCPAC Fleet and Squadron 15. She then continued on to her advanced base at [[Guam]], arriving on 18 October 1974. She then began deterrent patrols in the [[Mariana Islands]] from Guam, which she carried out until 1978. She also participated in numerous tests and exercises. During this period, ''Abraham Lincoln'' became the first ballistic missile submarine to have conducted 50 strategic deterrent patrols, completing her 50th in 1978.

==Deactivation, decommissioning, and disposal==
''Abraham Lincoln'' completed her last patrol in October 1979 and arrived at [[Bangor, Washington]], on 30 October 1979 to commence offloading her missiles before beginning inactivation overhaul. Preparations for her retirement continued through 1980 and into 1981.

''Abraham Lincoln'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 28 February 1981 and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 1 December 1982.  She was disposed of through the [[Ship and Submarine Recycling Program]] on 10 May 1994 at the [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]].

Part of the sail from ''Abraham Lincoln'' was used to replace the damaged sail on {{USS|George Washington|SSBN-598|6}} after its collision with ''Nissho Maru''. This sail is on display at the [[Submarine Force Library and Museum]], near Groton.

==References==
{{Commons category|USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602)}}
{{Reflist}}

{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/abraham-lincoln-ssbn-602-i.html}}
 
{{George Washington class submarine|state=expanded}}
{{Abraham Lincoln}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a1/abraham_lincoln-i.htm}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham Lincoln (Ssbn-602)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Kittery, Maine]]
[[Category:George Washington-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials to Abraham Lincoln in the United States|Lincoln]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:1962 in military history]]