Lafayette-class submarine

Basic information

Type:

Submarine

Operators:

United States Navy

Country of build:

United States

Builder:

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) Mare Island Naval Shipyard General Dynamics Electric Boat

Completed:

Retired:

Preserved:

In service:

1963 – 1994 (31 year)

Ship measurements

Displacement:

7,443 t

Submerged displacement:

8,383 t

Length:

130 m

Beam:

10 m

Machine

Propulsion:

1 * S5W PWR nuclear reactor
2 * geared steam turbines (15,000 shp (11,000 kW))
1 * shaft

Speed:

20 knots

Submerged speed:

25 knots

Test depth:

400 m

Personnel

Complement:

143

Combat assets

Electronics:

BQS-4 sonar
BQR-7 passive detecting-ranging sonar
BQR-19 navigation
BQR-15 Signal Processing and Display (SPAD) towed array
SINS Mk2 ship's inertial navigation system

Armament:

16 * Polaris A2/A3 or Poseidon C3 missiles
4 * 21 inch (533 mm) Mark 65 torpedo tubes with Mark 113 firecontrol system (12 * Mark 48 torpedoes)

The Lafayette class of submarine was an evolutionary development from the Ethan Allen class of fleet ballistic missile submarine, slightly larger and generally improved. This class, together with the George Washington, Ethan Allen, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes, composed the «41 for Freedom,» the Navy's primary contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s. The James Madison and Benjamin Franklin classes are combined with the Lafayettes in some references.