The USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), the lead ship of her class, was laid down in 1959, launched in 1960, and commissioned in 1961. She was the first submarine explicitly designed for ballistic missile launch. Initially outfitted with Polaris A-2 SLBMs and Mark 16 Mod 6 torpedoes, the submarine was later upgraded to Polaris A-3 and A-3T missiles, maintaining high-pressure air ejection launch systems throughout her career. Her fire control systems were upgraded to the Mark 80 series in 1965, and over her service life, she also saw the integration of Mark 37 and Mark 48 torpedoes. In 1962, the ship conducted the Frigate Bird test, launching a nuclear-armed Polaris missile that detonated at 11,000 feet over the South Pacific—the only complete operational test of an American strategic missile. In 1980, as part of SALT II treaty requirements, her missile tubes were disabled, and she was redesignated as an attack submarine (SSN-608). The USS Ethan Allen was decommissioned in 1983 and stricken from the Register in 1983. Many Navy jobs posed a risk for asbestos exposure by direct work with asbestos-containing materials. If you served in the fire, pump, and engine rooms and developed an asbestos-related cancer, you may qualify for compensation from the asbestos trust funds and the VA.
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