![]() ![]() Right from the start, its highly advanced passive sonars enabled these hunters to locate and shadow their submerged and surface prey like a bloodhound on an acoustic scent. If accurate, this also makes the Los Angeles Class one of the fastest attack subs of its time.Įach iteration of the Los Angeles Class was equipped with a more advanced computerized passive sonar system than the prior version. Though its actual maximum speed is classified, a top speed of 37 knots has been credibly reported. Department of Defense, the top speed of a Los Angeles Class sub is over 25 knots. Subsequent upgraded versions of the sub have been reported to be ten times quieter than the first. When the first of these ships were commissioned in 1976, they were the quietest attack boats ever developed and so advanced that many Los Angeles Class submarines remain in service today. Its purpose was to be the bruiser in the bar fight that could deliver single-punch knockout blows. At over 500 feet in length and displacing over 16,000 tons, the Oscar Class was the opposite of a fast-attack sub. A single 350-kiloton nuclear explosion generates a quarter-mile-wide fireball that would totally destroy any warship within it and potentially critically damage anything floating above the waterline within a blast radius of several miles. The Oscar Class submarine posed a serious threat to US Navy carrier battle groups as well as coastal targets. A salvo of these missiles could be fired while submerged, skim the waves hundreds of miles, and strike a target with little to no advanced warning. These were not torpedo tube-launched weapons, as each missile was contained in its own vertical launch tube, which made near simultaneous firing of all 24 missiles possible. These missiles could be armed with either conventional high explosives or 350-kiloton nuclear warheads. ![]() Despite this tragedy, most of the remaining Permit Class subs went on to serve through the end of the Cold War.Īlong with other formidable weapon systems, the Oscar Class carried two dozen SS-N-19 cruise missiles, which have a range of 388 miles. In 1963, after three years of service, the USN Thresher was lost with every soul onboard during a supposedly routine dive test. However, early on, the Permit Class suffered a terrible loss. By the late 1960s, they also carried nuclear UUM-44 short-range anti-submarine missiles. They carried a complement of non-nuclear weapons, including advanced high-speed torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. At periscope depth, the sail of the sub was too close to the surface, which led to accidental broaching - a major problem for a stealthy hunter.įor a time, Permit Class subs were the undisputed lone wolf predators of the seas. This trimming turned out to be a questionable compromise. The sail - also called a conning tower - was a prime source of water resistance that seemed like an excellent candidate for trimming. To squeeze maximum efficiency out of its reactor and every turn of its propeller, the Permit Class had the smallest sail ever fitted on a US nuclear submarine. Here are the best of each of these types, ranked. Other subs, which carried anti-submarine weapons and sensitive detection systems, were stealthy and fast hunters of those merchants of death. ![]() Some of them carried ballistic nuclear missiles that could, at close range, reach their targets in as little as ten minutes with zero hope of interception. The players in these undersea war games were many different classes of submarines. The term for these military engagements was anti-submarine warfare (ASW). The deployment of boomers and their nemesis, fast attack submarines, began a cat-and-mouse war game that changed naval warfare and made the world a far more dangerous place. In 1959, nuclear ballistic missile submarines, later nicknamed boomers, gave us that invincible first-strike capability. The idea of reducing the Earth to a nuclear wasteland was horrifying and galvanized the world, but without an invincible first-strike capability, the specter of a nuclear wasteland was thankfully less likely. ![]()
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