List_of_United_States_submarine_classes

List of submarine classes of the United States Navy

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Submarines of the United States Navy are built in classes, using a single design for a number of boats. Minor variations occur as improvements are incorporated into the design, so later boats of a class may be more capable than earlier. Also, boats are modified, sometimes extensively, while in service, creating departures from the class standard. However, in general, all boats of a class are noticeably similar.

Experimental use: an example is USS Albacore (AGSS-569), which used an unprecedented hull design. In this list such single boat "classes" are marked with "(unique)".

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Class name	No.	Laid down	Last comm.	Notes
Alligator^[1]	1	1861	1862	First submarine in the U.S. Navy. Purpose was to protect wooden ships against ironclads.
Holland^[2]^[3]	1	1896	1900	5 others were made; only Holland (SS-1) entered the U.S. Navy as it was the first officially commissioned submarine purchased on 11 April 1900.
Plunger^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]	7	1900	1903	Later renamed A class in November 1911, when Navy stopped naming submarines. Essentially enlarged, more powerful Holland.
B^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]	3	1905	1907	Last in series of Holland-like submarines. Originally known as Viper class.
C^[12]	5	1905	1910	Designed by Lawrence York Spear. Originally known as the Octopus class.
D^[13]	3	1908	1910	Originally known as the Narwhal class. Designed to survive flooding in one compartment.
E^[14]	2	1909	1912	First US Navy diesel-powered submarine. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape.
F^[15]	4	1909	1913	In 1920, the class was designated SS-20–SS-23.
G^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]	4	1909	1914	Used gasoline engine. G-1 (SS-19½) set the submerged depth record in 1915, 256 feet (78 m). G-1 (SS-19½) was given the number 19½ because SS- numbers were given after her decommissioning; she was between SS-19 & SS-20.
H^[20]^[21]	9	1911	1918	3 originally ordered by U.S. Navy. 17 ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy, 11 delivered. Other 6 bought by U.S. Navy. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape.
K^[22]^[23]	8	1912	1912	Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. K-1 (SS-32), K-2 (SS-33), K-5 (SS-36), K-6 (SS-37) were the first U.S. submarines to see action in World War I.
L^[24]	11	1914	1918	The first US submarines with a deck gun. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. Designed for coastal defense.
M-1^[25]	1	1914	1918	Double-hull design. Twenty percent larger than the K class. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. Considered failure by the submarine community.
N^[26]	7	1915	1918	Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. Used for coastal patrol.
O^[27]^[28]	16	1916	1918	Each cost $550,000. First submarines with reliable diesel engines. Every man had his own berth and locker. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. O-11 through O-16 (built by Lake Torpedo Boat Company) also known as the "modified O-class". Modified boats proved to be disappointing and were scrapped in 1930; Lake went out of business in 1925.
AA-1^[29]	3	1916	1922	Later renamed T class. Designed for 5,540 miles (8,920 km) at 14 knots (7.2 m/s), but performed 3,000 miles (4,800 km) at 11 knots (5.7 m/s). Prototype "fleet submarines"—submarines fast enough (21 knots (11 m/s)) to travel with battleships. Twice the size of any concurrent or past U.S. submarine. A poor tandem engine design caused the boats to be decommissioned by 1923 and scrapped in 1930.

Class name	No.	Laid down	Last comm.	Notes
R^[30]^[31]	20	1917	1918	Larger conning tower to serve as commanding officer's battle station. Fired Mark 10 torpedoes and traveled 5,000 miles (8,000 km) at 10 knots (5.1 m/s).
R-21^[32]	7	1917	1919	Designed by Simon Lake. Generally similar to R class, but smaller and reverted to 18-inch torpedo tubes. Scrapped in 1930; Lake went out of business in 1925.
S	51	1917	1922	The S class is subdivided into four groups of different designs.

Class name	No.	First ship laid down	Last ship commissioned	Notes
Barracuda	3	USS Barracuda (SS-163) and USS Bass (SS-164) 20 October 1921	USS Bonita (SS-165) 22 May 1926
Argonaut	1	1 May 1925	2 April 1928	Unique submarine; mine-laying submarine
Narwhal	2	USS Narwhal (SS-167) 10 May 1927	USS Nautilus (SS-168) 1 July 1930
Dolphin	1	14 June 1930	1 June 1932	Unique submarine
Cachalot	2	USS Cachalot (SS-170) 7 October 1931	USS Cuttlefish (SS-171) 8 June 1934
Porpoise	10	USS Porpoise (SS-172) 24 October 1933	USS Pompano (SS-181) 12 June 1937
Salmon	6	USS Salmon (SS-182) 15 April 1936	USS Skipjack (SS-184) 30 June 1938
Sargo	10	USS Sargo (SS-188) 12 May 1937	USS Seawolf (SS-197) 1 December 1939
Tambor	12	USS Tambor (SS-198) 16 January 1939	USS Grayback (SS-208) 30 June 1941
Mackerel	2	USS Mackerel (SS-204) 6 October 1939	USS Marlin (SS-205) 1 August 1941
Gato	77	USS Drum (SS-228) 11 September 1940	USS Croaker (SS-246) 21 April 1944	USS Drum was only boat actually commissioned before US Entry to WWII

Class name	No.	First ship laid down	Last ship commissioned	Notes
Balao	120	USS Devilfish (SS-292) 31 March 1942	USS Tiru (SS-416) 1 September 1948	62 cancelled
Tench	29	USS Amberjack (SS-522), USS Grampus (SS-523), USS Pickerel (SS-524), and USS Grenadier (SS-525) 8 February 1944	USS Grenadier (SS-525) 10 February 1951	51 cancelled

Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes
Barracuda	3	USS Barracuda (SSK-1) 1 July 1949	USS Bonita (SSK-3) 11 January 1952
Tang	6	USS Tang (SS-563) 18 April 1949	USS Gudgeon (SS-567) 21 November 1952
Grayback	2	USS Grayback (SSG-574) 1 July 1954	USS Growler (SSG-577) 30 August 1958	Regulus missile submarines
Darter	1	10 November 1954	20 October 1956	Unique submarine
Barbel	3	USS Barbel (SS-580) 18 May 1956	USS Blueback (SS-581) 15 October 1959	First production submarines with teardrop hull. U.S. Navy's last conventionally-powered submarines

List_of_United_States_submarine_classes

List of submarine classes of the United States Navy

Pre–World War I

World War I

Interwar

World War II

Cold War

Diesel-Electric Submarines (SSs, SSKs, and SSGs)

Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSNs)

Nuclear Cruise Missile Submarines (SSGNs)

Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs)

Deep-submergence vehicles (DSVs)

Miscellaneous Submarines (SSTs, SSRs, AGSSs & SSRNs)

Post–Cold War

See also

External links

References

External links

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Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes
Nautilus	1	14 June 1952	30 September 1954	First nuclear submarine; hull design enlarged from fleet boat
Seawolf	1	7 December 1953	30 March 1957	Unique submarine; liquid metal cooled (sodium) S2G reactor (replaced with a pressurized-water reactor in 1959)
Skate	4	USS Skate (SSN-578) 21 July 1955	USS Seadragon (SSN-584) 5 December 1959
Skipjack	6	USS Skipjack (SSN-585) 29 May 1956	USS Snook (SSN-592) 24 October 1961	First nuclear submarine class with teardrop hull form. USS Scorpion lost at sea 1968.
Thresher/Permit	14	USS Thresher (SSN-593) 28 May 1958	USS Gato (SSN-615) 25 January 1968	First class with bow sonar sphere. Known as Thresher class until the loss of the USS Thresher (SSN-593) in 1963
Tullibee	1	26 May 1958	9 November 1960	Unique submarine; turbo-electric transmission
Sturgeon	37	USS Sturgeon (SSN-637) 10 August 1963	USS Richard B. Russell (SSN-687) 16 August 1975	Redesign of Thresher/Permit class using lessons learned from loss of Thresher.
Narwhal	1	17 January 1966	12 July 1969	Unique submarine; natural circulation S5G reactor
Glenard P. Lipscomb	1	5 June 1971	21 December 1974	Unique submarine; turbo-electric transmission
Los Angeles	62	USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) 8 January 1972	USS Cheyenne (SSN-773) 13 September 1996
Seawolf	3	USS Seawolf (SSN-21) 25 October 1989	USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) 19 February 2005	Planned successor of Los Angeles class. High costs caused only three to be built.

Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes
George Washington	5	USS George Washington (SSBN-598) 1 November 1957	USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602) 11 March 1961
Ethan Allen	5	USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) 14 September 1959	USS Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618) 4 January 1963	Ethan Allen was the only SSBN to fire live missile and detonate nuclear warhead at test range proving theory.
Lafayette	9	USS Lafayette (SSBN-616) 17 January 1961	USS Daniel Webster (SSBN-626) 09 April 1964
James Madison	10	USS Daniel Boone (SSBN-629) 6 February 1962	USS Nathanael Greene (SSBN-636) 19 December 1964
Benjamin Franklin	12	USS Benjamin Franklin (SSBN-640) 25 May 1963	USS Will Rogers (SSBN-659) 1 April 1967	Redesigned using lessons learned from loss of Thresher.
Ohio	18	USS Ohio (SSBN-726) 10 April 1976	USS Louisiana (SSBN-743) 6 September 1997

Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes
Trieste class	2	Trieste (DSV-0) 1958	Trieste II (DSV-1) 1969	The Trieste was the first submarine which reached the Challenger Deep by Swiss Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh in 1960.
Alvin class	4	Alvin (DSV-2) 5 June 1964	Nemo (DSV-5) 1970
NR-1	1	10 June 1967	27 October 1969

Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes
Albacore	1	15 March 1952	6 December 1953	Unique submarine; teardrop hull form; no weapons
T-1	2	USS T-1, later USS Mackerel (SST-1) 1 April 1952	USS T-2, later USS Marlin (SST-2) 20 November 1953	Training and experimental submarines
Sailfish	2	USS Sailfish (SSR-572) 8 December 1953	USS Salmon (SSR-573) 25 August 1956	Radar picket
Triton	1	29 May 1956	10 November 1959	Unique submarine; Radar picket; Twin S4G Nuclear Reactors
Dolphin	1	9 November 1962	17 August 1968	Unique submarine; research and development for deep diving technologies; last operational U.S. Navy diesel-electric submarine; Decommissioned 15 January 2007

Class name	Number of boats	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes
Virginia	48 (planned)	USS Virginia (SSN-774) 2 September 1999	USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-795) October 14, 2023	Attack submarine. 22 commissioned as of June 2022^[update].
Columbia	12 (planned)	USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826) (planned)		Ballistic missile submarine