NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE KINGS BAY
East Coast home of the silent strategic deterrent.
OVERVIEW
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is the U.S. Navy's East Coast home of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine fleet, occupying about 16,000 acres along the Crooked River and Cumberland Sound in Camden County, Georgia, just north of the Florida border. Six Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) carrying Trident II D5 strategic missiles are homeported at the installation, supported by approximately 9,000 active-duty Sailors and 21,000 family members and civilians.
Submarine Group 10 commands the East Coast SSBN force from Kings Bay, with subordinate Submarine Squadrons 16 and 20 directly responsible for the Trident submarine readiness cycle. The Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic, located on the Kings Bay waterfront, handles Trident II missiles and is one of the most highly secured facilities in the Department of Defense. The Trident Refit Facility Kings Bay performs major industrial maintenance on Ohio-class boats during the periodic refit between strategic deterrent patrols, while the Trident Training Facility provides simulator-based training for SSBN crews. Kings Bay also operates one of the largest covered drydocks in the world — the Magnetic Silencing Facility — used for the periodic deperming of submarines to reduce magnetic signature.
KEY FACTS
- Strategic MissionEast Coast home of the Ohio-class SSBN fleet
- Submarines HomeportedSix Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs)
- Strategic WeaponsStrategic Weapons Facility Atlantic — Trident II missile handling
- Refit FacilityTrident Refit Facility Kings Bay — major SSBN industrial maintenance
- Largest DrydockMagnetic Silencing Facility — one of the largest covered drydocks in the world
HISTORY
The land that became Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay first entered military service in 1958, when the U.S. Army acquired it as the Kings Bay Military Ocean Terminal — an emergency ammunition handling and shipping facility intended to back up the Army's Sunny Point terminal in North Carolina. The site offered deep, sheltered water access to the Atlantic via the St. Marys River and Cumberland Sound, and the Army developed pier facilities, magazines, and rail connections through the 1960s and early 1970s. The terminal was used only intermittently, however, and by the mid-1970s the Army had placed it in caretaker status.
The Navy's interest in Kings Bay grew out of the broader strategic decision in the 1970s to base the new Ohio-class fleet ballistic missile submarines at two coastal locations — one on the Pacific Coast at Bangor, Washington, and one on the Atlantic Coast. After the loss of access to forward submarine bases at Holy Loch, Scotland, and Rota, Spain became increasingly likely under U.S. force restructuring, the Navy required a continental U.S. East Coast Trident base capable of supporting the longer Trident II missile and the Ohio-class submarine. Kings Bay was selected for its deep water, remote location, and existing federal land ownership, and the property was transferred from the Army to the Navy in 1978.
Through the 1980s, the Navy invested billions of dollars in transforming the modest Army terminal into a full-spectrum strategic submarine base. Construction included the Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic — a heavily secured weapons handling complex; the Trident Refit Facility — a major industrial complex with covered drydocks and shore-power facilities; and the Trident Training Facility, which houses immersive simulators of Trident submarine systems. The first East Coast Ohio-class submarine, USS Tennessee (SSBN-734), arrived at Kings Bay in 1989, and through the early 1990s the base reached its full complement of ten East Coast SSBNs.
The post–Cold War strategic environment reduced the Trident force structure, and the conversion of four Ohio-class submarines to the SSGN guided-missile configuration in the 2000s further reshaped the fleet. Today, Kings Bay homeports six Ohio-class SSBNs — the operational backbone of the U.S. nuclear triad's sea-based leg — and continues to support the readiness of the Atlantic Fleet's strategic deterrent force. Plans for the Columbia-class SSBN, the Ohio's successor, anticipate Kings Bay continuing in the same role into the second half of the 21st century.
MAJOR COMMANDS & TENANT UNITS
- Submarine Group 10
- Submarine Squadron 16 (SSBN)
- Submarine Squadron 20 (SSBN)
- Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic
- Trident Refit Facility Kings Bay
- Trident Training Facility Kings Bay
- Naval Submarine Support Center Kings Bay
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY
NOTABLE EVENTS
- 1958Army Ammunition TerminalLand originally acquired by the U.S. Army as the Kings Bay Military Ocean Terminal, an emergency ammunition handling site.
- 1978Navy AcquisitionSite transferred to the Navy as the planned East Coast Trident submarine base.
- 1989First Trident SSBN ArrivesUSS Tennessee (SSBN-734) arrived at Kings Bay as the first East Coast Ohio-class submarine.