US Naval Vessel Register - List of SSBN BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINE (NUCLEAR-POWERED) Class vessels.

Annapolis, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995.

Gardiner, Robert and Chumbley, Stephen (editors).

California Center for Military History (dead link ) Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. ^ a b c d e f g h Friedman, Norman (1994).^ a b c d e f g h i 'SSBN-616 Lafayette-Class FBM Submarines' from the FAS Archived at the Wayback Machine.Converted to Moored Training Ship (MTS-626) with missile compartment removed. Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1997ĭecommissioned 30 August 1990. Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1998ĭecommissioned 5 November 1990. Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1994ĭecommissioned 1 September 1994. Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1995ĭecommissioned 3 November 1986. Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.ĭecommissioned 25 September 1990. Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1996 Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1999ĭecommissioned 24 March 1989. Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1994ĭecommissioned 31 August 1989. Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1992ĭecommissioned 23 February 1993. Submarines of the Lafayette class: Name and hull numberĭecommissioned 12 August 1991. She is stationed at Nuclear Power Training Unit Charleston, South Carolina, along with USS La Jolla (MTS-701) and USS San Francisco (MTS-711).

One ( Daniel Webster) remains out of commission but converted to a Moored Training Ship (MTS-626) with the missile compartment removed. The Lafayettes were decommissioned between 19, due to a combination of SALT II treaty limitations as the Ohio class SSBNs entered service, age, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Here is a rare 1964 16mm Silent Film of USS Daniel Webster testing the unique 'Funny Fins' diving planes off Cape Canaveral. During a mid-1970s overhaul these unusual planes were removed and standard fairwater planes were installed. While successful, the 'mini-sail' required to contain the operating mechanism reduced hydrodynamic efficiency and lowered her overall speed. This configuration, unique to US submarines, was an attempt to reduce the effect of porpoising. ĭaniel Webster was originally built with diving planes mounted on a 'mini-sail' near the bow, leading to her nickname 'Old Funny Fins'. The Lafayettes and their successors were equipped with a hovering system to manage trim more effectively when firing missiles this increased the missile rate of fire from one per minute to four per minute. Unlike twelve of the similar James Madison and Benjamin Franklin classes, none of the Lafayette-class submarines were refitted with Trident I (C4) missiles. In the mid-1970s all were upgraded to carry the Poseidon C3 missile their missile tubes were slightly larger than the Ethan Allen and George Washington classes and Poseidon was designed to take advantage of this. The first eight submarines initially deployed with the Polaris A-2 missile, later being refitted with the longer ranged Polaris A-3, with USS Daniel Webster (SSBN-626) having the A-3 missile from the start. The James Madison and Benjamin Franklin classes are combined with the Lafayettes in some references. This class, together with the George Washington, Ethan Allen, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes, composed the ' 41 for Freedom,' the Navy's primary contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s. The Lafayette class of submarine was an evolutionary development from the Ethan Allen class of fleet ballistic missile submarine, slightly larger and generally improved. Two crews of 14 officers and 126 enlisted ġ6 Polaris A2/A3 or Poseidon C3 missiles, 4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes Nuclear-powered Ballistic Missile Submarine Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.

Lafayette-class submarine USS Woodrow Wilson

Nuclear submarine drawing