GEORGE WASHINGTON SSBN 598

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

George Washington Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Keel Laid 1 November 1958 as SCORPION SSN-589 Renamed and redesignated SSBN-598 Launched 9 June 1959 USS GEORGE WASHINGTON SSBN-598 Commissioned 30 December 30 1959 USS GEORGE WASHINGTON SSN-598 Redesignated SSN after missiles unloaded 1983 - Decommissioned January 24 1985 Struck from Naval Register January 24 1985 Disposed of through NPSSRP and completed on 30 September 1998

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS George Washington SSBN-598 Covers Page 1    (1959-1973)
2. USS George Washington SSBN-598 Covers Page 2    (1974-2011)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Image

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Ships Marking

 

Locy Type SL

1963-04-11

Ships cachet. Contributed by Tom Kean.

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USPS Pictorial Postmarks

 

USPS Pictorial "Commissioning Station" Groton, CT

1999-12-30

40th Anniversary of Commissioning, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "50th Anniversary of / Commissioning Station" Groton CT

2009-12-30

50th Anniversary of Commissioning, cachet by Michael Hebert

 

USPS Pictorial "USCS Station" Secaucus NJ

2010-05-28

50th Anniversary of Historic Deployments, cachet by Greg Ciesielski, sponsored by the Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "50th Anniversary of / 1st Polaris Firing Station" Cape Canaveral FL

2010-07-20

50th Anniversary of 1st Polaris Firing, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "50th Anniversary of / 1st Deterrent Patrol Station" Charleston SC

2010-11-15

50th Anniversary of 1st Deterrent Patrol, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "50th Anniversary Station" Kings Bay GA

2011-01-21

50th Anniversary of Completion of 1st SSBN Patrol, cachet by Tom Armstrong

 

USPS Pictorial "50th Anniversary Station" Charleston SC

2011-01-21

50th Anniversary of Completion of 1st SSBN Patrol, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Pictorial "50th Anniversary Station" Silverdale WA

2011-01-21

50th Anniversary of Completion of 1st SSBN Patrol, cachet by Tom Armstrong

 

Other Information

USS GEORGE WASHINGTON SSBN-598 earned the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon in 1960.

NAMESAKE - George Washington was born 22 February 1732 in Westmoreland County, Va. He was commissioned in the Virginia Militia in 1753, rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel the next year, and fought brilliantly in the French and Indian War.
Entering the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1759, Washington was an early advocate of independence. In 1775 he was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, and demonstrated a profound appreciation of sea power as well as great military genius. After years of hardship and arduous struggle, he finally won a decisive victory at Yorktown.
In directing Allied movements during this campaign, one of the great strategic operations of our history, Washington brilliantly employed the French Navy to cut off Lord Cornwallis from help by sea. He had sought a decisive combined operation like this for years, for he wrote "In any operations, and under all circumstances a decisive Naval superiority is to be considered as a fundamental principle and the focus upon which every hope of success must ultimately depend. The Treaty of Paris recognized American independence 20 January 1783.
After attending the Annapolis Convention of 1786 and presiding over the Continental Convention of 1787, Washington was unanimously elected first President under the new Constitution and inaugurated 30 April 1789. His two terms in office laid the foundations for strong government under the Constitution. Returning to his home at Mount Vernon in 1797, Washington was recalled briefly to command the American army when war with France threatened in 1798. He died at Mount Vernon 14 December 1799.

There have been four ships of the US Navy that have borne the name GEORGE WASHINGTON - USS George Washington (1798); USS George Washington ID-3018;
USS George Washington SSBN-598 and USS George Washington CVN-73.

The ships sponsor is Mrs. Robert B. Anderson.

 

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