Sturgeon-class submarine

The Sturgeon class (known colloquially in naval circles as the 637 class) was a class of thirty-seven nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) in service with the United States Navy from the 1960s until 2004. They were the "workhorses" of the Navy's attack submarine fleet throughout much of the Cold War. The boats were phased out in the 1990s and early 21st century, as their successors, the , followed by the and -class boats, entered service.

Design

thumb|left|Control room

The Sturgeons were essentially lengthened and improved variants of the Thresher/Permit class that directly preceded them. The five-compartment arrangement of the Permits was retained, including the bow compartment, operations compartment, reactor compartment, auxiliary machinery room no. 2, and the engine room. The extra length was in the operations compartment, including longer torpedo racks to accommodate additional Mark 37 torpedoes, the most advanced in service at the time of the class's design in the late 1950s. The class was redesigned to SUBSAFE requirements concurrently with the construction of the first units, with seawater, main ballast, and other systems modified for improved safety. The GRP domes improved the bow sonar sphere performance; though for intelligence gathering missions, the towed-array sonar was normally used as it was much more sensitive.

Noise reduction

Several Sturgeon boats and related submarines were modifications of the original designs to test ways to reduce noise.

was outfitted with Raytheon Harmonic Power Conditioners which eliminated an electrical bus noise problem that was inherent in the class. This was done by harmonic conditioning of the power system. This successful feature was later outfitted on the entire class.
and among others were outfitted with SHT (Special Hull Treatment) during a non-refueling overhaul, which reduced noise and the submarine sonar profile.
, a one-ship class, was completed using a turbo-electric system for main propulsion rather than a reduction gear drive from the steam turbines. The massive motor and associated generators required her to be lengthened to . The Lipscombs trial of turbo-electric propulsion was not considered successful due to lower speed - top speed was , 5 knots slower than the Thresher/Permits - and a lack of reliability, and she was decommissioned in 1989.

Variants

Beginning with , units of this class had a longer hull, giving them more living and working space than previous submarines. received an additional hull extension containing cable tapping equipment that brought her total length to . A number of the long hull Sturgeon-class SSNs, including Parche, L. Mendel Rivers, and Richard B. Russell were involved in top-secret reconnaissance missions, including cable tap operations in the Barents and Okhotsk seas. Parche received nine Presidential Unit Citations for successful missions.

A total of seven boats were modified to carry the SEAL Dry Deck Shelter (DDS). The DDS is a submersible launch hangar with a lockout chamber attached to the ship's midships weapons shipping hatch, facilitating the use of SEAL Delivery Vehicles. DDS-equipped boats were tasked with the covert insertion of special forces.

Boats in class

From Register of Ships of the US Navy, 1775-1990.

Short hull

Long hull

(DDS)
(DDS)
(ex-Redfish) (DDS)
(DDS)
(DDS)
(R&D)
(DDS)
(DDS)

Derivatives

One other Navy vessel was based on the Sturgeon hull, but was modified for experimental reasons:

References

Citations

Sources

External links

fas.org: Sturgeon class
Bellona Report
Photo galleries of US nuclear attack submarines at NavSource
Michigan War Studies Review - book reviews, literature surveys, original essays, and commentary in the field of military studies