Los Angeles-class Nuclear Attack Submarine

The Los Angeles-class, sometimes called the LA-class or the 688-class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines that forms the backbone of the U.S. Navy's submarine force, with 68 submarines of this class being completed. As of late 2012, fifty-one of the class are still in commission and seventeen retired from service, mostly due to their mid-life reactor refuellings being cancelled. A further four boats were proposed by the Navy, but later cancelled. The US also offered the Los Angeles-class to Canada in the late 1980s as a competitor to the British Trafalgar and French Rubis-class

The Los Angeles-class contains more nuclear submarines than any other class in the world. The class was preceded by the Sturgeon-class and followed by the Seawolf and Virginia-classes. Except for USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709), all submarines of this class are named after American cities and a few towns (e.g. Key West, Florida and Greeneville, Tennessee). 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)).

The final twenty-three boats of the Los Angeles-class were designed and built to be quieter than their predecessors and also to carry more-advanced sensor and weapons systems. These advanced boats were also designed for operating beneath the polar ice cap. Their diving planes were placed at their bows rather than on their sails, and they have stronger sails for penetrating thick ice.

Specifications

 * Type: Nuclear powered Fast Attack Submarine
 * Service Period: 1976-Present
 * Characteristics
 * Length: 362 feet (110.34 meters)
 * Beam: 33 feet (10.06 meters)
 * Draught: 31 feet (9.45 meters)
 * Displacement (Surfaced): 6,082 tonnes (5,986 long tons)
 * Displacement (Submerged): 6,927 tonnes (6,818 long tons)
 * Crew: 129
 * Endurance: 90 days
 * Propulsion: 1 GE PWR S6G nuclear reactor, 2 turbines 35,000 hp (26 MW), 1 auxiliary motor 325 hp (242 kW), 1 shaft
 * Speed: 37 knots (68.53 km/h)
 * Test Depth: 950 feet (289.56 meters)
 * Sensor Suite:
 * AN/BPS-15 Radar
 * AN/BQS-15 detecting and ranging SONAR
 * AN/BRD-7 radio direction finder
 * AN/WLR-8V ESM receiver x 2
 * AN/WLR-9 acoustic receiver for detection of active search SONAR and acoustic homing torpedoes
 * Countermeasures
 * AN/WLR-10 countermeasures set
 * Armament:
 * 4 x 533mm torpedo tubes (fires Mk.46 ADCAP heavyweight torpedoes)
 * 1 x 12-cell Mk.36/Mk.45 VLS (fires UGM-84 Harpoon AShMs or UGM-109 TLAMs)
 * Mk 67 mobile, or Mk 60 Captor mines

Flight I

 * USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Baton Rouge (SSN-689) - Disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Philadelphia (SSN-690) Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Memphis (SSN-691) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Omaha (SSN-692) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Cincinnati (SSN-693) - Stricken, museum ship in Cincinnati, Ohio
 * USS Groton (SSN-694) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Birmingham (SSN-695) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS New York City (SSN-696) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Indianapolis (SSN-697) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Bremerton (SSN-698)
 * USS Jacksonville (SSN-699)
 * USS Dallas (SSN-700)
 * USS La Jolla (SSN-701)
 * USS Phoenix (SSN-702) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Boston (SSN-703) - Disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Baltimore (SSN-704) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN-705)
 * USS Albuquerque (SSN-706)
 * USS Portsmouth (SSN-707) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (SSN-708) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Hymen G. Rickover (SSN-709) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS Augusta (SSN-710) - Stricken, to be disposed of by submarine recycling
 * USS San Francisco (SSN-711)
 * USS Atlanta (SSN-712)
 * USS Houston (SSN-713)
 * USS Norfolk (SSN-714)
 * USS Buffalo (SSN-715
 * USS Salt Lake City (SSN-716)
 * USS Olympia (SSN-717)
 * USS Honolulu (SSN-718)

Flight II

 * USS Providence (SSN-719)
 * USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720)
 * USS Chicago (SSN-721)
 * USS Key West (SSN-722)
 * USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723)
 * USS Louisville (SSN-724)
 * USS Helena (SSN-725)
 * USS Brookfield (SSN-744)
 * USS Grand Island (SSN-745)
 * USS Bath (SSN-746)
 * USS Richmond Hill (SSN-747)
 * USS Council Bluffs (SSN-748)
 * USS Watertown (SSN-749)
 * USS Newport News (SSN-750)

Flight III

 * USS San Juan (SSN-751)
 * USS Pasadena (SSN-752)
 * USS Albany (SSN-753)
 * USS Topeka (SSN-754)
 * USS Miami (SSN-755)
 * USS Scranton (SSN-756)
 * USS Alexandria (SSN-757)
 * USS Asheville (SSN-758)
 * USS Jefferson City (SN-759)
 * USS Annapolis (SSN-760)
 * USS Springfield (SSN-761)
 * USS Columbus (SSN-762)
 * USS Santa Fe (SSN-763)
 * USS Boise (SSN-764)
 * USS Montpelier (SSN-765)
 * USS Charlotte (SSN-766)
 * USS Hampton (SSN-767)
 * USS Hartford (SSN-768)
 * USS Toledo (SSN-769)
 * USS Tucson (SSN-770)
 * USS Columbia (SSN-771)
 * USS Greenville (SSN-772)
 * USS Cheyenne (SSN-773)