Ohio-class submarine

Ohio-class submarine
Ohio-class SSBN profile
USS Ohio, during her commissioning ceremony in 1981.
Class overview
NameOhio class
BuildersGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat[3]
Operators United States Navy[3]
Preceded byBenjamin Franklin class
Succeeded byColumbia class[4]
Cost$2 billion (late 1990s)[1] ($3.53 billion in 2023 dollars[2])
Built1976–1997
In commission1981–present
Planned24
Completed18
Cancelled6
Active18
General characteristics
TypeSSBN/SSGN (hull design SCB-304)[9]
Displacement
  • 16,764 tonnes (16,499 long tons) surfaced[3][1]
  • 18,750 tonnes (18,450 long tons) submerged[3]
Length560 ft (170 m)[3]
Beam42 ft (13 m)[3]
Draft35.5 ft (10.8 m) maximum[6]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced[3]
  • 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) submerged (official)[3]
  • 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) submerged (reported)[3]
RangeLimited only by food supplies
Test depth+800 ft (240 m)[7]
Complement15 officers, 140 enlisted[3][1]
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament4 × 21 inch (533 mm) Mark 48 torpedo tubes (Forward Compartment 4th level)
General characteristics (SSBN-726 to SSBN-733 from construction to refueling)
Armament20[a] × Trident I C4 SLBM with up to 8 MIRVed 100 ktTNT W76 nuclear warheads each, range 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi)
General characteristics (SSBN-734 and subsequent hulls upon construction, SSBN-730 to SSBN-733 since refueling)
Armament20[a] × Trident II D5 SLBM with up to 12 MIRVed W76 or W88 (475 ktTNT) nuclear warheads each, range 6,100 nmi (11,300 km; 7,000 mi)
General characteristics (SSGN conversion)
Armament22 tubes, each with 7 Tomahawk cruise missiles, totaling 154

The Ohio class of nuclear-powered submarines includes the United States Navy's 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and its four cruise missile submarines (SSGNs). Each displacing 18,750 tons submerged, the Ohio-class boats are the largest submarines ever built for the U.S. Navy. They are also the third-largest submarines ever built, behind the Russian Navy's Soviet era 48,000-ton Typhoon class, the last of which was retired in 2023,[b][11] and 24,000-ton Borei class.[12] Capable of carrying 24 Trident II missiles apiece, the Ohio class are equipped with just as many missiles as, if not more than, either the Borei class (16) or the deactivated Typhoon class (20).

Like their predecessors the Benjamin Franklin and Lafayette-class,[13] the Ohio-class SSBNs are part of the United States' nuclear-deterrent triad, along with U.S. Air Force strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.[14] The 14 SSBNs together carry about half of U.S. active strategic thermonuclear warheads. Although the Trident missiles have no preset targets when the submarines go on patrol,[15]: 392  they can be given targets quickly, from the United States Strategic Command based in Nebraska,[16] using secure and constant radio communications links, including very low frequency systems.

All the Ohio-class submarines, except for USS Henry M. Jackson, are named for U.S. states, which U.S. Navy tradition had previously reserved for battleships and later cruisers. The Ohio class is to be gradually replaced by the Columbia class beginning in 2031.

  1. ^ a b c Frost, Peter. "Newport News contract awarded". Daily Press. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  2. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 30 November 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Ohio-class SSGN-726 Overview". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  4. ^ "New U.S. Navy Nuclear Sub Class to Be Named for D.C." 28 July 2016. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Part II.6 Trident". Appendices: Commission on the Organization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy. Vol. IV: Appendix K: Adequacy of Current Organization: Defense and Arms Control. U.S. Government Printing Office. June 1975. pp. 177–179. Retrieved 14 January 2023. The projected boat would have a 30,000 ton displacement and would be powered by two 30,000 shp reactors... ...both the submarine and the missile grew incrementally in size to their current dimensions — the missile by six inches in diameter and four to five feet in length; the submarine by 5,000 shp in reactor output...
  6. ^ a b c Adcock, Al (1993). U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarines. Carrolltown, Texas: Squadron Signal. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-89747-293-7.
  7. ^ "How deep can a submarine dive?". navalpost.com. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Adcock, Al (1993). U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarines. Carrolltown, Texas: Squadron Signal. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-89747-293-7.
  9. ^ Adcock, Al. (1993). U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarines. Carrolltown, Texas: Squadron Signal. pp. 4, 40. ISBN 978-0-89747-293-7.
  10. ^ Cole, Brendan (6 February 2023). "Russia loses world's largest nuclear submarine". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  11. ^ "941 Typhoon". Federation of American Scientists. Fas.org. 25 August 2000. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  12. ^ "935 Borei". Federation of American Scientists. Fas.org. 13 July 2000. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  13. ^ Chant 2005, p. 33.
  14. ^ Chinworth 2006, p. 2.
  15. ^ Croddy, Eric A.; Wirtz, James J., eds. (2005). Weapons of Mass Destruction: Nuclear weapons. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-490-5.
  16. ^ Genat & Genat 1997, p. 39.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).


© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search