USS Kamehameha SSBN 642

USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642) was a Benjamin Franklin-class fleet ballistic missile submarine commissioned into the United States Navy in 1965. Named after the famed Hawaiian king, she conducted numerous strategic deterrent patrols during the Cold War armed with Polaris and later Poseidon ballistic missiles. In 1992, Kamehameha was converted to a SEAL delivery and special operations platform, redesignated as SSN-642, and continued to serve in this capacity until her decommissioning in 2002. Over her 37 years of service, she became one of the longest-serving submarines in U.S. Navy history.