Benjamin Franklin-class submarine
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Benjamin Franklin class |
| Builders: | |
| Operators: |
 United States Navy
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| Preceded by: | James Madison class |
| Succeeded by: | Ohio class |
| Built: | 1963–1967 |
| In commission: | 1965–2002 |
| Completed: | 12 |
| Retired: | 12 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine |
| Displacement: |
Surfaced: 7,325 long tons (7,443 t) Submerged: 8,251 long tons (8,383 t) |
| Length: | 425 ft (130 m) |
| Beam: | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft: | 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Test depth: | 1,300 feet (400 m) |
| Complement: | Two crews of 14 officers and 126 enlisted |
| Armament: |
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Surfaced: 7,325 long tons (7,443 t)
The Benjamin Franklin-class submarine was a group of US ballistic missile submarines that were in Navy service from the 1960s–2000s. The class was an evolutionary development from the earlier James Madison class of fleet ballistic missile submarine. Having quieter machinery and other improvements, it is considered a separate class. A subset of this class is the re-engineered 640 class starting with USS George C. Marshall (SSBN-654) The primary difference was that they were built under the new SUBSAFE rules after the loss of the USS Thresher, earlier boats of the class had to be retrofitted to meet SUBSAFE requirements. The Benjamin Franklin class, together with the George Washington, Ethan Allen, Lafayette, and James Madison classes, composed the "41 for Freedom" that was the Navy's primary contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s. This class and the James Madison class are combined with the Lafayettes in some references.
The Benjamin Franklin-class submarines were built with the Polaris A-3 ballistic missile, and in the early 1970s were converted to carry the Poseidon C-3 missile. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, six boats were further modified to carry the Trident I (C-4) missile, along with six James Madison-class boats. These were Benjamin Franklin, Simon Bolivar, George Bancroft, Henry L. Stimson, Francis Scott Key, and Mariano G. Vallejo.
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