Submarine Technology Through the Years 3

	The USS Skate was the lead ship of the first production class of four nuclear propelled submarines and was the first submarine to surface at the North Pole. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Triton was the first submarine ever built with two reactor plants. In addition, until the commissioning of the Ohio Class Ballistic Missile Submarines, the Triton was the longest submarine ever built by the U.S. Navy. In 1960, Triton became the first ship to circumnavigate the globe while submerged. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Halibut, the first submarine designed and built for the specific purpose of serving as a platform to fire guided missiles. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Skipjack was the first nuclear-powered submarine built with the Albacore hull design. It also was the first nuclear submarine with a single propulsion shaft and screw. Another first was mounting bow planes on the sail which reduced flow noise at the bow-mounted sonar. Deep-diving and high speed capabilities were the result of HY-80 construction and a new reactor design, the S5W. This reactor became the U.S. Navy’s standard until the Los Angeles class joined the fleet in the mid-1970’s. (Hi-Res)
	In 1956 Admiral Arleigh Burke, then CNO, requested that the Committee on Undersea Warfare of the National Academy of Sciences study the effect of advanced technology on submarine warfare. The result of this study, dubbed "Project Nobska" was an increased emphasis on deeper-diving, ultraquiet designs utilizing long-range sonar. The USS Tullibee incorporated three design changes based on Project Nobska. First, it incorporated the first bow-mounted spherical sonar array. This required the second innovation, amidships, angled torpedo tubes. Thirdly, Tullibee was propelled by a very quiet turboelectric power plant. (Hi-Res)
	The Permit class was also based on Project Nobska’s recommendations. Hull streamlining, reduction in sail dimensions by approximately 50 percent, quieting of the S5W reactor plant and an increase in test depth all lead to a dramatic advance in submarine operational capabilities and stealth. The lead ship of this class, the USS Thresher (SSN 593), was lost at sea during post-overhaul trials. Lessons learned from this tragedy resulted in major design and shipboard operational improvements which still influence the submarine force. Pictured here is USS Tinosa (SSN606). (Hi-Res)
	The USS George Washington (SSBN 598) was the world’s first nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine. Arguably, it can be considered the submarine that has most influenced world events in the 20th Century. With its entry into service in December 1959 the United States instantly gained the most powerful deterrent force imaginable, a stealth platform with enormous nuclear firepower. (Hi-Res)
	The Sturgeon class was an extension and improvement on the Permit design. This class of 37 submarines became the workhorse of the fleet from the mid-1960’s through the 1980’s when the Los Angeles class entered the fleet in large numbers. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Narwhal (SSN 671) was built as the prototype platform for an ultra-quiet natural circulation reactor design. This allows for operation with the large water circulating pumps, a major source of radiated noise, secured. It is similar to the Sturgeon design in other respects. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN 685) was the U.S. Navy’s second prototype design using a turbo-electric power plant similar to the Tullibee. While this design is quieter, it is heavier and larger than conventional drive trains. Those disadvantages, along with reliability issues led to the decision not to utilize this design on a wide scale. (Hi-Res)
	The Los Angeles class currently serves as the "backbone" of the submarine fleet and is likely to remain so well into the 21st Century. These submarines are faster, quieter and far more capable than any of their predecessors. Later ships in the class have incorporated design improvements especially in sonar and electronics areas as well as the addition of external cruise missile launch tubes. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Ohio (SSBN 726) is the lead ship of the current fleet of eighteen ballistic missile submarines. This class incorporated tremendous improvements in noise quieting, ease of maintenance and performance over earlier designs. In addition, this class introduced a more accurate and longer range missile that eliminated the need for these submarines to be homeported overseas. (Hi-Res)
	Commissioned on July 19, 1997, the USS Seawolf (SSN 21) is the latest submarine to enter the fleet, and the first completely new design in approximately thirty years. It is the fastest, quietest and most heavily armed submarine in the world. The Seawolf class can carry up to 50 torpedoes/missiles, or 100 mines. Armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Seawolf can target about 75 percent of the earth’s land mass for strike missions and can target surface ships at long range. The Seawolf is significantly quieter and faster than any Los Angeles class submarine, and has twice as many torpedoes tubes and a 30 percent increase in weapons magazine size. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Virginia (SSN 774) will be the lead ship in the newest class of fast attack submarines. The Navy team responsible for the Virginia class, previously known as the New Attack Submarine (NSSN), has been working closely with the Advanced Research Projects Agency, Navy and national laboratories, and industry to incorporate leading-edge technology into every facet of the design at an affordable price. This technology insertion will provide the Virginia class with the tools necessary to fight in the world’s littorals. Still fully capable of open-ocean ASW, Virginia will also be equipped with weapons, sensors, and some special new equipment that optimize joint operations in shallower coastal regions, including land attack, intelligence gathering, mine reconnaissance and supporting special forces.

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Submarine Technology Through the Years 2

	Another consideration in the early 1920s was the use of a submarine to forward deploy aircraft. Submarine S-1 was the first U.S. submarine fitted out and extensively tested with a small scout plane. (Hi-Res)
	The Cuttlefish was basically an Americanized U-boat. This design incorporated the first complete double hull in a U.S. submarine and had an 11,000 nm range at 19 kts. (Hi-Res)
	The S-class boats were used as the test platforms for a range of sonar designs tested in the 1920s and 1930s. Higher frequencies and small, trainable transducers allowed for narrow beam width and exclusion of natural sea noises and other interference. (Hi-Res)
	The Porpoise (SS-172) class was the first all-electric drive submarine, and the precursor to the World War II fleet submarines. With its new diesel engine, this design had a maximum surface speed of 19 kts. Auxiliary diesels avoided the need to drain the battery while operating surfaced. This reduced battery charging cycles from 150/year to 30/year, greatly extending battery life. (Hi-Res)
	Gato (SS 212) provided the prototype design for the World War II vintage submarine. Construction of this class was accelerated in 1940 due to the escalation of the war in Europe. In order to increase production capability the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin was contracted to build submarines under license from Electric Boat. (Hi-Res)
	The advent of the submarine bathothermograph (SBT) in 1942 provided the submarine force with an important tool for covert patrol operations and attacks. Herring (SS-233), pictured, was an early example of the successful application of the SBT. (Hi-Res)
	Within two years of the end of the war, the U.S. Navy had a functional snorkel mast on an operational, high speed submarine- the Irex (SS 482). (Hi-Res)
	The Tang was the first submarine designed for underwater performance rather than surfaced speed and handling. Key features included removing the deck guns, streamlining the outer hull, replacing the conning tower with a sail, installing new propellers designed for submerged operations, installing more air conditioning and a snorkel mast, and doubling the battery capacity. (Hi-Res)
	In 1951 the submarine force achieved another important milestone. Guavina (SS 362) used an experimental searchlight sonar to distinguish the sound signature of Seacat (SS 399) and the fleet tug Salinian (ATF 161) at ranges of 9-10 nm. (Hi-Res)
	The experimental submarine Albacore (AGSS-569) introduced the distinctive teardrop shape hull, which has influenced all follow-on submarine designs. This design provided for major advances in noise reduction, underwater speed and the use of low carbon (HY-80) as a structural steel. It also tested the first fiberglass sonar dome, installed in 1953. (Hi-Res)
	The first warships built with a teardrop shape hull were the Barbel (SS 580) class. This class was also the first to incorporate a centralized arrangement of ship controls and combat operations, or "attack center". (Hi-Res)
	The USS Nautilus, pictured, represented a watershed for the U.S. Navy’s submarine program. This was the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, a design improvement which allowed for a dramatic increase in range and operational flexibility. The Nautilus is also credited with forcing the shipbuilders to develop an improved quality control program. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Seawolf was the first and only U.S. submarine built with a liquid metal nuclear reactor. The liquid metal (sodium) provided a more efficient power plant, but posed several safety hazards for the ship and crew. (Hi-Res)

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Submarine Technology Through the Years

	David Bushnell’s Turtle, the first American submarine. Built in 1775, its intended purpose was to break the British naval blockade of New York harbor during the American Revolution. With slight positive buoyancy, Turtle normally floated with approximately six inches of exposed surface. Turtle was powered by a hand-driven propeller. The operator would submerge under the target, and using a screw projecting from the top of Turtle, he would attach a clock-detonated explosive charge. This 1875 drawing by Lt. Francis Barber is the most familiar rendering of Turtle. However, it contains several errors, including internal ballast tanks and helical screw propellers. (Hi-Res)
	This more recent drawing of Turtle is based on Bushnell’s own written description, and is more accurate than the 1875 drawing by Lt. Barber. The most notable difference is the propeller; in Barber's drawing it is a helical screw, and here it is shown as a crude propeller. Also note that this drawing does not show ballast tanks. To submerge, the operator simply flooded water into the craft until it was negatively buoyant. This left the operator knee-deep in water. A hand pump was used to remove the water for returning to the surface. Drawing courtesy of John Batchelor. (Hi-Res)
	The Alligator was the first submarine purchased by the U.S. Navy. It contained two crude air purifiers, a chemical based system for producing oxygen and a bellows to force air through lime. (Hi-Res)
	The Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley is credited with the first recorded successful underwater attack, against the USS Housatonic using a torpedo, which was projected from the submarine by a pole. Eight men turned the propeller using a handcrank. Maximum speed was 4 knots. Air was provided by two four-foot pipes, although the hull contained enough air for approximately ½ hour of submerged operations. (Hi-Res)
	The Intelligent Whale, a man-powered submarine purchased by the U.S. Navy in 1870, but never placed into service, featured air purifiers, pressurized air to empty ballast tanks and the ability to release a diver while submerged. The Intelligent Whale is credited with inspiring John Holland to develop his first submarine. (Hi-Res)
	The USS Holland had been purchased at the suggestion of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt in 1898. He saw the potential use of this type of vessel in Havana Harbor during the Spanish-American War. John P. Holland’s company was purchased by his electric battery supplier in 1900. The resulting firm, Electric Boat Company of Groton, CT, grew to become one of Connecticut’s largest employers throughout the 20th Century. (Hi-Res)
	USS Seal, the first U.S. submarine built by Simon Lake. Mr. Lake was the only competitor of John Holland and is credited with the following design aspects of the modern submarine: escape trunk, conning tower, diving planes, control room, and the rotating, retractable periscope. (Hi-Res)
	Coastal and harbor defense was one of the earliest missions of the submarine force. Since early submarines could not transit over long distances they were transported by colliers. The U.S. Navy recognized the need to improve submarine design to allow for long range, high-speed operation while submerged. During the winter of 1909, the U.S. submarine C-1 conducted the first tests of the predecessor to today’s snorkel masts. Called ventilator tubes, this technological innovation provided surface air to the diesel engines while the submarine was at periscope depth. (Hi-Res)
	Simon Lake’s R-6 (S-83) submarine served as a test platfor m for the first U.S. experimental snorkel in 1945. (Hi-Res)
	L-10, one of the Electric Boat L class submarines. This class introduced the first strengthened internal bulkheads in submarines, which allowed the boats to dive to deeper depths. (Hi-Res)
	The L-boats, stationed in the Azores during World War One, introduced air purification to the submarine fleet. Stale air was blown over chemicals, and compressed oxygen was released into the submarine to supplement the interior atmosphere. (Hi-Res)
	World War I illustrated a need to shift the priorities in submarine construction and operation. In order to be effective combatants, submarines required improved stealth capabilities such as rapid submergence (i.e., crash dives) and long submerged endurance at low speeds following a torpedo attack. Existing submarines were all considered too small to incorporate these capabilities. However, such designs like the H-boat pictured here, H-2 (circa 1920), were the only ones that could be built quickly. As a result, these submarines were overloaded with the addition of key elements required for wartime sailing-chariot bridge, torpedo room ventilation, oscillator, and gyrocompass. (Hi-Res)
	Following World War I, a long range, high endurance submarine became a critical need. The first U.S. unit was authorized for construction in 1925. V-4, later renamed Argonaut, was originally intended for a minelaying mission. This submarine had twice the battery volume of earlier designs and included the first 240v electrical system, allowing for smaller onboard electric motors. Argonaut served as a predecessor to the submarine designs utilized during World War II. (Hi-Res)

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