George Washington class submarine
.jpg)
George Washington at sea.
|
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |
 United States Navy
|
| Succeeded by: | Ethan Allen class submarine |
| Built: | 1958–1961 |
| In commission: | 1959–1985 |
| Completed: | 5 |
| Retired: | 5 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | SSBN |
| Displacement: |
Surfaced: 5,959 long tons (6,055 t) Submerged: 6,709 long tons (6,817 t) |
| Length: | 381.6 ft (116.3 m) |
| Beam: | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: |
|
| Range: | unlimited except by food supplies |
| Test depth: | 700 ft (210 m) |
| Capacity: | 112 (Crew Only) |
| Complement: | Two crews (Blue/Gold) each consisting of 12 officers and 100 men. |
| Armament: |
|
Surfaced: 5,959 long tons (6,055 t)
The George Washington class was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines deployed by the United States Navy. The George Washington, along with the later Ethan Allen, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes comprised the "41 for Freedom" group of submarines that represented the Navy's main contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s.
In 1957, the US Navy began using submarines in the nuclear deterrent role, when a pair of World War II vintage diesel-electric boats, USS Tunny and USS Barbero, converted to be able to carry a pair of Regulus cruise missiles, began operating deterrent patrols. These two were soon joined by a pair of purpose built diesel boats, and a nuclear powered boat, USS Halibut. However, the use of Regulus in the deterrent role showed a number of limitations; as a cruise missile, it was vulnerable to interception by fighter aircraft, it was limited to subsonic speed, and had a range of less than 1000km, while the largest of the Regulus armed boats could carry a maximum of five missiles. Additionally, the submarine had to surface to launch a missile, and the missile was guided by a radio signal transmitted from either ship, aircraft or ground station. To over come these limitations, the Navy turned to ballistic missiles.
...
Wikipedia