Seawolf (SSN-575) Class
The second nuclear-powered submarine, USS Seawolf (SSN-575), which served from the early 1950s through 1987, was unique, and so can be considered the lead boat of the "Seawolf (SSN-575) class". Since she had no sister ships, however, there is no distinction between information about that boat and that "class", and references to Seawolf-class submarines may be safely assumed to refer to the three boats listed below, members of the Seawolf (SSN-21) class.
Seawolf (SSN-21) Class
The Seawolf-class attack submarines (SSN) are quieter than the previous Los Angeles class, faster, have more torpedo tubes, and carry more weapons. They use the more advanced AN/BSY-2 combat system, which includes a new larger spherical sonar array, a wide aperture array (WAA), and a new towed-array sonar. Originally intended as a fleet of 29 submarines to be built over a ten-year period, the end of the Cold War and budget constraints dropped that number to three and led to the design of the Virginia class submarine.
General Characteristics
For all boats:
- Builders: Electric Boat
- Beam: 40 feet (12 m)
- Draft: 35 feet (11 m)
- Speed: 35 knots (65 km/h) dived, 20 knots (37 km/h) "silent"
- Propulsion: S6W reactor manufactured by General Electric
- Depth: 610 m
- Armament: eight 30 inch (762 mm) torpedo tubes, 50 torpedoes and missiles, or 100 mines
For SSN-21, SSN-22:
- Displacement: 8060 tons dived, 7700 tons surfaced
- Length: 350 feet (107 m)
- Complement: 134, including 14 officers
For SSN-23:
- Displacement: 12,158 tons dived, 10,460 tons surfaced
- Length: 453 feet (138 m)
- Complement: 134, including 14 officers, 50 SOF
Ships
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