WILL ROGERS SSBN 659

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.

Benjamin Franklin Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Keel Laid March 20 1965 - Launched July 21 1966 USS WILL ROGERS SSBN-659 Commissioned April 1 1967 - Decommissioned April 12 1993 Struck from Naval Register April 12 1993 Disposed of through NPSSRP August 12 1994

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 Will Rogers SSBN-659 Covers Page 1     (1965-93)

 

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

 

USPO Slogan Machine Cancel "Borough Sta." Groton, CT

1966-07-21

N/A

Launching, cachet by the Dynamic Philatelic Society. Autographed by the sponsor, Mrs. Hubert H. (Muriel) Humphrey.

 

USPO Slogan Machine Cancel "SUBMARINE BASE STA." Groton, CT

1967-04-11 to 1967-04-11

Note:

 

USPS 4-bar "Submarine Base Sta." Groton, CT

1982-04-01 to 1982-04-01

N/A

15th Anniversary, cachet by Robert D. Rawlins, sponsored by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Locy Types 2(n) & 9-1(nu) USS Fulton AS-11

1987-07-17 to 1987-07-17

N/A

Change of Command, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Locy Type 2(n) USS Fulton AS-11

1988-10-20 to 1988-10-20

N/A

Change of Command, cachet by Robert D. Rawlins, sponsored by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

USPS Type 9 "Naval Base Branch" Bremerton WA

1992-10-17 to 1992-10-17

N/A

Scrapping program is started for the USS Alexander Hamilton SSBN-617, USS Henry L. Stimson SSBN-655, USS George Washington Carver SSBN-656 and USS Will Rogers SSBN-659 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard Bremerton WA
Cover by Tom Armstrong

 

USPS Type 9 "Naval Base Branch" Bremerton WA

1992-11-04 to 1992-11-04

N/A

USS Will Rogers SSBN-659 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard Bremerton WA. Cover is postmarked from the USS Carl Vinson CVN-70 (Official meter), USS California CGN-36 T-2, USS Texas CGN-39 T-2.
Cover by Tom Armstrong

 

USPS Type 9 "Naval Base Branch" Bremerton WA

1993-04-01 to 1993-04-01

N/A

USS Will Rogers SSBN-659 celebrates her 26th Anninversary at the Puget Sound Navy Yard Bremerton WA.
Cover by Tom Armstrong

 

USPS Type 9 "Naval Base Branch" Bremerton WA

1993-04-12 to 1993-04-12

N/A

USS Will Rogers SSBN-659 is Decommissioned at the Puget Sound Navy Yard Bremerton WA.
The cover is autographed by the Commanding Officer.
Cover by Tom Armstrong

 

Official PB Meter USS Carl Vinson CVN-70

1993-04-12 to 1993-04-12

N/A

USS Will Rogers SSBN-659 is Decommissioned at the Puget Sound Navy Yard Bremerton WA. Also postmarked at "Naval Base Branch", Bremerton WA
Cover by Tom Armstrong

 

Official PB Meter USS Carl Vinson CVN-70

1993-04-12 to 1993-04-12

N/A

Back of the previous cover. USS Will Rogers SSBN-659 Official Ship Cachet, Puget Sound Navy Yard marking in green, a "Will Rogers Memorial" meter strip from Claremore OK and another USS Carl Vinson meter strip complete the cover.
Cover by Tom Armstrong

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers (November 4 1879 – August 15 1935)
Rogers was a Cherokee-American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor. Known as Oklahoma's favorite son, Rogers was born to a prominent Indian Territory family and learned to ride horses and use a lariat so well that he was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for throwing three ropes at once—one around the neck of a horse, another around the horse's rider, and a third around all four legs of the horse. He ultimately traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies (50 silent films and 21 "talkies"), wrote more than 4,000 nationally-syndicated newspaper columns, and became a world-famous figure. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was adored by the American people, and was the top-paid movie star in Hollywood at the time. On an around-the-world trip with aviator Wiley Post, Rogers died when their small airplane crashed near Barrow, Alaska Territory in 1935

 

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