SHARKS OF STEEL HBDJ USN SUBMARINE FORCE SSN SSBN DSRV
Mk48 TOMAHAWK TRIDENT ARDM
HARDBOUND BOOK
WITH DUSTJACKET BY YOGI KAUFMAN AND PAUL STILLWELL
PUBLISHED BY NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS IN
1993 (176 PAGES)
COMPANION VOLUME TO THE FOUR-PART DOCUMENTARY TELEVISION
SERIES PRODUCED BY THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL.
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Additional Information from Internet
Encyclopedia
The Los Angeles class (also known as
the 688 class) is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) in
service with the United States Navy. They represent two generations and close
to half a century of the U.S. Navy's attack submarine fleet. As of 2016, 36 of
the class are still in commission and 26 retired from service. Of the 26
retired boats, 14 of them were laid up half way (approximately 1718 years)
through their projected lifespans due to their midlife reactor refuelings being
cancelled. A further four boats were proposed by the Navy, but later cancelled.
The class has more operating nuclear submarines than any other in the world.
All submarines of this class are named after American towns and cities (e.g.,
Key West, Florida, and Greeneville, Tennessee), the exception being USS Hyman
G. Rickover (SSN-709). This system of naming broke a long-standing tradition in
the U.S. Navy of naming attack submarines for creatures of the ocean (e.g., USS
Nautilus (SSN-571)).
In 1982 after building 31 boats, the
class underwent a minor redesign, the following 8 that made up the second
"flight" of subs had 12 new vertical launch tubes that could fire
Tomahawk missiles. The last 23 saw a significant upgrade with the 688i
improvement program. These boats are quieter, with more advanced electronics,
sensors, and noise reduction technology. Externally they can be recognized
quickly as the retractable diving planes are placed at the bow rather than on
the sail.
According to the U.S. Department of
Defense, the top speed of the submarines of the Los Angeles class is over 25
knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), although the actual maximum is classified. Some
published estimates have placed their top speed at 30 to 33 knots (56 to 61
km/h; 35 to 38 mph). In his book Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear
Warship, Tom Clancy estimated the top speed of Los Angeles-class submarines at
about 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph).
The U.S. Navy gives the maximum
operating depth of the Los Angeles class as 650 ft (200 m),while Patrick Tyler,
in his book Running Critical, suggests a maximum operating depth of 950 ft (290
m). Although Tyler cites the 688-class
design committee for this figure, the government has not commented on it. The
maximum diving depth is 1,475 ft (450 m) according to Jane's Fighting Ships,
20042005 Edition, edited by Commodore Stephen Saunders of the Royal Navy.
Los Angeles-class submarines carry
about 25 torpedo tube-launched weapons, as well as Mark 67 and Mark 60 CAPTOR
mines and were designed to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Harpoon
missiles horizontally (from the torpedo tubes). The last 31 boats of this class
also have 12 dedicated vertical launching system (VLS) tubes for launching
Tomahawks.
Over close to forty years the control
suite of the class has changed dramatically. The class was originally equipped
with the Mk 113 mod 10 Fire control system, also known as the Pargo display
program. The Mk 113 runs on a UYK-7 computer.
The Mk 117 FCS, the first "all
digital" fire control system replaced the Mk 113. The Mk 117 transferred
the duties of the analog Mk 75 attack director to the UYK-7, and the digital Mk
81 weapon control consoles, removing the two analog conversions, and allowing
"all digital" control of the digital mk 48 control. The first 688 sub
to be built with the Mk 117 was SSN-700, USS Dallas.
The Mark 1 Combat Control System/All Digital
Attack Center replaced the Mk 117 FCS which it was based on. The Mk 1 CCS was
built by Lockheed Martin, and gave the class the ability to fire Tomahawk
missiles. The CSS internal tracker model provides processing for both towed
array and spherical array trackers. Trackers are signal followers which
generate bearing, arrival angle and frequency reports based on information
received by an acoustic sensor. It incorporated the Gyro Static Navigator into
the system in replacement of the DMINS of the earlier 688 class.
The Mk 1 CCS was replaced by the Mk 2.
The Mk 2 was built by Raytheon. Mk 2 provides Tomahawk Block III vertical
launch capability as well as fleet-requested improvements to Mk 48 ADCAP
torpedo and Towed Array Target Motion Analysis (TMA) operability. The Mk 2 CCS
paired with the AN/BQQ-5E system is referred to as the "QE-2" system.
The CCS MK2 Block 1 A/B system architecture extends the CCS MK2 tactical system
with a network of Tactical Advanced Computers (TAC-3). These TAC-3s are configured
to support the SFMPL, NTCS-A, LINK-11 and ATWCS subsystems.
AN/BQQ-5 sensor suite consists of the
AN/BQS-13 spherical sonar array and AN/UYK-44 computer. The AN/BQQ-5 was
developed from the AN/BQQ-2 sonar system. The BQS 11, 12, and 13 spherical
arrays have 1,241 transducers. Also equipped are a 104 hydrophone hull array
and two towed arrays: the TB-12 (later replaced by the TB-16) and TB-23 or
TB-29, of which there are multiple variants. There are 5 versions of the
AN/BQQ-5 system, sequentially identified by letters A-E.
The 688i (Improved) subclass was
initially equipped with the AN/BSY-1 SUBACS submarine advanced combat system
that used an AN/BQQ-5E sensor system with updated computers and interface
equipment. Development of the AN/BSY-1 and its sister the AN/BSY-2 for the
Seawolf class was widely reported as one of the most problematic programs for
the Navy, its cost and schedule suffering many setbacks.
A series of conformal passive
hydrophones are hard-mounted to each side of the hull, using the AN/BQR-24
internal processor. The system uses FLIT (frequency line integration tracking)
which homes in on precise narrowband frequencies of sound and, using the
Doppler principle, can accurately provide firing solutions against very quiet
submarines. The AN/BQQ-5s hull array doubled the performance of its
predecessors.
Two watertight compartments are used in
the Los Angeles-class submarines. The forward compartment contains crew living
spaces, weapons-handling spaces, and control spaces not critical to recovering
propulsion. The aft compartment contains the bulk of the submarine's
engineering systems, power generation turbines, and water-making equipment.
Some submarines in the class are capable of delivering SEALs through either the
dry deck shelter system or the advanced SEAL delivery system (program canceled
in 2006 and rendered unusable in 2009). A variety of atmospheric control
devices are used to allow the vessel to remain submerged for long periods of
time without ventilating, including an electrolytic oxygen generator, which
produces oxygen for the crew and hydrogen as a byproduct. The hydrogen is
pumped overboard but there is always a risk of fire or explosion from this
process.
While on the surface or at snorkel
depth, the submarine may use the submarine's auxiliary or emergency diesel generator
for power or ventilation (e.g., following a fire). The diesel engine in a 688
class can be quickly started by compressed air during emergencies or to
evacuate noxious (nonvolatile) gases from the boat, although 'ventilation'
requires raising a snorkel mast. During nonemergency situations, design
constraints call for operators to allow the engine to reach normal operating
temperatures before it is capable of producing full power, a process that may
take from 20 to 30 minutes. However, the diesel generator can be immediately
loaded to 100% power output, despite design criteria cautions, at the
discretion of the submarine commander on the recommendation of the submarine's
engineer, if necessity dictates such actions to: (a) restore electrical power
to the submarine, (b) prevent a reactor incident from occurring or escalating,
or (c) to protect the lives of the crew or others as determined necessary by
the commanding officer.
Normally, steam power is generated by
the submarine's nuclear reactor delivering pressurized hot water to the steam
generator, which generates steam to drive the steam-driven turbines and
generators. While the emergency diesel generator is starting up, power can be
provided from the submarine's battery through the ship service motor
generators. Likewise, propulsion is normally delivered through the submarine's
steam-driven main turbines that drive the submarine's propeller through a
reduction gear system. The submarine has no main drive shaft, unlike
conventional diesel electric submarines.
The ship is equipped with a light water
reactor, model GE PWR S6G, generating 35,000 shaft horsepower (26,000 kW),
developed and supplied by General Electric. The auxiliary prop motor by Magnatek
supplies 242 kW. The life of the fuel cells is approximately ten years. Part of
the improved 688 program included the improved Performance Machinery Program
Phase I.
The S6G reactor plant was originally
designed to use the D1G-2 core, similar to the D2G reactor used on the
Bainbridge-class guided missile cruiser, which is rated at 148 MW. All Los
Angeles-class submarines from USS Providence (SSN-719) on were built with a D2W
core rated at 165 MW, as opposed to the 150 MW cores found on older boats. The
D1G-2 cores are being replaced with D2W cores when the boats are refueled.