USS James K. Polk (SSBN-645), a Benjamin Franklin class fleet ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for James K. Polk (1795–1849), the eleventh President of the United States (1845–1849). She was later converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-645.
USS James K. Polk (SSBN-645), probably while on sea trials in the spring of 1966.
James K. Polk sometime in the mid- or late 1990s after conversion to an attack submarine and redesignation as SSN-645. The Dry Deck Shelters were installed on her deck during her 1992–1994 conversion are visible.
The sail on display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
A dry deck shelter (DDS) is a removable module that can be attached to a submarine to allow divers easy exit and entrance while the boat is submerged. The host submarine must be specially modified to accommodate the DDS, with the appropriate mating hatch configuration, electrical connections, and piping for ventilation, divers' air, and draining water. The DDS can be used to deploy a SEAL Delivery Vehicle submersible, Navy divers, or Combat Rubber Raiding Craft (CRRC).
USS Dallas (SSN-700) departs Souda Bay harbor with dry deck shelter attached in 2004.
A pair of rigid-hulled inflatable boats operate alongside USS Archerfish during a 1993 exercise. Archerfish has a dry deck shelter attached to its deck.
A SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) is loaded aboard the Dry Deck Shelter on the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Dallas
