halves (bow and stern) of the ship were pulled together and welded in place for use as a training ship. Sam Rayburn was decommissioned on 31 July 1989 and reclassified a moored training ship (MTS) with hull number MTS-635. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 July 1989, she arrived at the Naval Nuclear Prototype Training Unit at Goose Creek, South Carolina, in August 1989 after achieving initial criticality in her new role on 29 July 1989. Her modifications included special mooring arrangements, including Water Brake, a mechanism to absorb power generated by her main propulsion shaft. She operated as a moored training ship from 1989-2021. MTS-635 departed the Naval Nuclear Prototype Training Unit Charleston on 1 April 2021 via a tow vessel and escort, arriving at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth Virginia on 3 April 2021 to await defueling and eventual dismantling. The Naval Nuclear Prototype Training Unit at Goose Creek, South Carolina will continue to train students with replacement converted training ships; the (SSN-701) and the . References External links – Includes maps, sketches, a list of ships of the Texas Navy, and a chronology. Also includes photographs of 20th-century U.S. Navy ships named after Texans or Texas locations, including photographs of Sam Rayburn. Ships built in Newport News, Virginia James Madison-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy 1963 ships