Submarine Flotilla Six assumed additional duty as Commander of that Squadron until its Squadron Commander arrived on 16 November 1964. On the first of August 1964, Submarine Squadron 18 was activated with headquarters in Charleston. Because test firings for all new and post overhaul SSBNs were and still are conducted from the Atlantic Ocean near Port Canaveral, Florida, virtually every SSBN came under Submarine Flotilla/Group Six operational command while conducting these demonstration and shakedown operations (DASO) test firings. During the remainder of 1964, 12 more new FBM submarines, including the SSBN 627 Class, reported to Submarine Flotilla Six for predeployment training. In January 1964, Submarine Flotilla Six shifted administrative headquarters to the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Training Center in Charleston. As the year 1963 ended, USS LAFAYETTE (SSBN 616) was loading missiles in preparation for her first patrol. During 1963, five new FBM submarines of the Lafayette Class were commissioned and assigned to Submarine Flotilla Six in preparation for future transfer to Submarine Squadron 16. These duties included the stateside off-crew training, personnel detailing, logistics and pre-deployment operations for the FBM submarines scheduled for the newly formed Submarines Squadrons 16 and 18. On the first of April 1962, Submarine Flotilla Two was redesignated as Submarine Flotilla Six then in February 1963, Submarine Flotilla Six assumed additional duties in support of the FBM submarine program. Over the next several years, additional submarines, especially SSBNs, were added to Submarine Flotilla Two’s growing responsibilities. A new era of strategic deterrence began on 15 November 1960, when USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598) departed Charleston for the first operational SSBN deterrent patrol, carrying 16 tactical Polaris A-1 missiles, each with a 1200 nautical mile range. In August 1960, Submarine Flotilla Two moved to Charleston when headquarters were shifted to USS HOWARD W. The mission of the Polaris Missile Facility was to provide missile maintenance and replenishment for the new fleet ballistic missile (FBM) submarines then coming into service. On 29 March 1960, Submarine Flotilla Two’s responsibilities expanded to include the newly commissioned Polaris Missile Facility, Atlantic (POMFLANT) at the Naval Weapons Annex, Charleston. Submarine Flotilla Two initially included the surface and submarine units of Submarine Squadron Four in Charleston, Submarine Squadron Six in Norfolk, and Submarine Squadron 12 in Key West. With headquarters on the submarine tender USS ORION (AS 18) in Norfolk, Submarine Flotilla Two was tasked with responsibility for submarine operations on the South Atlantic seaboard of the United States stretching from Key West, Florida northward to approximately Annapolis, Maryland, including the Gulf of Mexico. Submarine Group Six was originally established as Submarine Flotilla Two at Norfolk, Virginia on 1 March 1960 under the command of Captain J.W. Navy, with the operational responsibility for five submarine squadrons and more than 50 nuclear powered submarines, including both fleet ballistic missile, fast attack and one of the last diesel submarines in the U.S. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Submarine Group Six was the largest submarine group in the U.S. Navy and the nation, Submarine Group Six was deactivated on 3 September 1994 in ceremonies in Charleston, South Carolina. After more than 34 years of service to the U.S.
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