The “41 for Freedom” refers to United States Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarines that comprise the following classes: George Washington class, Ethan Allen class, Lafayette class, James Madison class, and Benjamin Franklin class. These five classes of ballistic missile submarines were limited by the 1972 SALT I Treaty which limited the number of submarine-launched ballistic missiles to 656 missiles, thus totaled forty-one subs, hence the nickname “41 for Freedom”.[3]
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The “41 for Freedom” nuclear-powered submarines were armed with long-range SLBMs to create a deterrent force against the threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The United States Navy created a new hull classification symbol for this type of submarine, the SSBN. The first of the "41 for Freedom" submarines was the USS George Washington (SSBN-598) commissioned on 30 December 1959. The last submarine commissioned for the "41 for Freedom" submarines was the USS Will Rogers (SSBN-659) which was formally decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 April 1993, though she was not the last FBM submarine decommissioned.
In July 1992, USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642) was converted to a SEAL special warfare platform and was outfitted with a drydeck shelter/swimmer delivery platform. Kamehameha was decommissioned on 2 April 2002, the last ship of the original "41 for Freedom" and the oldest submarine in the United States Navy. Almost 37 years old, she held the record for the longest service lifetime of any nuclear powered submarine.
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From the Federation of American Scientists:
United States Navy
