James Madison-class submarine

{{Short description|United States Navy class of fleet ballistic missile submarines}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox ship begin}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=USS John C. Calhoun (SSBN-630).jpg

|Ship caption= USS John C. Calhoun (SSBN-630) entering Holy Loch, Scotland on completion of the thousandth Polaris nuclear deterrent patrol, 18 May 1972.

|image alt=Angled view of gray submarine in river steaming towards camera. Personnel wearing high-visibility apparel are standing atop the submarine, while a tugboat spraying water is visible at the submarine's starboard side.

}}

{{Infobox ship class overview

|Builders=*General Dynamics Electric Boat

|Operators= {{naval|United States}}

|Class before={{sclass|Lafayette|submarine|4}}

|Class after={{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|4}}

|Subclasses=

|Built range=1962–1964

|In commission range=1964–1995

|Total ships building=

|Total ships planned=

|Total ships completed=10

|Total ships cancelled=

|Total ships active=

|Total ships laid up=

|Total ships lost=

|Total ships retired=10

|Total ships preserved=1 (as training vessel)

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=

|Ship type=Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine

|Ship displacement=Surfaced: {{convert|7325|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}}

Submerged: {{convert|8251|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}}{{cite book | last = Friedman | first = Norman | title = U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History | publisher = United States Naval Institute | year = 1994 | location = Annapolis, Maryland | pages = 199–203, 244 | isbn = 1-55750-260-9 }}

|Ship length= {{convert|425|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship beam= {{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship draft= {{convert|28|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship propulsion=*1 × S5W PWR

  • 2 geared steam turbines ({{convert|15000|shp|abbr=on}}),
  • 1 shaft

|Ship speed=*{{convert|16|kn|km/h}} surfaced

  • {{convert|21|kn|km/h}} submerged

|Ship range=

|Ship endurance=

|Ship test depth={{convert|1300|ft|m}}

|Ship complement=Two crews of 14 officers and 126 enlisted

|Ship sensors=

|Ship EW=

|Ship armament=16 Polaris A3 or Poseidon C3 or Trident I C4 missiles, 4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes

|Ship notes=

}}

The James Madison class of submarine was an evolutionary development from the {{sclass|Lafayette|submarine|4}} of fleet ballistic missile submarine. They were identical to the Lafayettes except for being initially designed to carry the Polaris A-3 missile instead of the earlier A-2. This class, together with the {{sclass|George Washington|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|Ethan Allen|submarine|5}}, Lafayette, and {{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|5}} classes, composed the "41 for Freedom" that was the Navy's primary contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s. This class and the Benjamin Franklin class are combined with the Lafayettes in some references.

Design

In the early 1970s all were modified for the Poseidon C-3 missile. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, six boats were further modified to carry the Trident I C-4 missile, along with six Benjamin Franklin-class boats. These were James Madison, Daniel Boone, John C. Calhoun, Von Steuben, Casimir Pulaski, and Stonewall Jackson.Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p.612.

Fate

The James Madisons were decommissioned between 1986 and 1995 due to a combination of SALT II treaty limitations as the {{sclass|Ohio|submarine|0}} SSBNs entered service, age, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Boats in class

Submarines of the James Madison class:{{cite web|url=http://www.submarinehistory.com/FleetBallisticMissileSubmarines.html |title=FleetBallisticMissileSubmarines |access-date=2012-10-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728105611/http://www.submarinehistory.com/FleetBallisticMissileSubmarines.html |archive-date=28 July 2012 }} California Center for Military History (dead link 2015-05-09) (Submarines marked with * indicate Trident I C-4 ballistic missile conversions.)

class="wikitable"

! Name

! Hull number

! Builder

! Laid down

! Launched

! Commissioned

! Decommissioned

! Fate

{{USS|James Madison|SSBN-627|2}}*

|SSBN-627

|Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.

|5 March 1962

|15 March 1963

|28 July 1964

|20 November 1992

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1997

{{USS|Tecumseh|SSBN-628|2}}

|SSBN-628

|General Dynamics Electric Boat

|1 June 1962

|22 June 1963

|29 May 1964

|23 July 1993

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1994

{{USS|Daniel Boone|SSBN-629|2}}*

|SSBN-629

|Mare Island Naval Shipyard

|6 February 1962

|22 June 1963

|23 April 1964

|18 February 1994

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1994

{{USS|John C. Calhoun|SSBN-630|2}}*

|SSBN-630

|Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.

|4 June 1962

|22 June 1963

|15 September 1964

|28 March 1994

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1994

{{USS|Ulysses S. Grant|SSBN-631|2}}

|SSBN-631

|General Dynamics Electric Boat

|18 August 1962

|2 November 1963

|17 July 1964

|12 June 1992

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1992

{{USS|Von Steuben|SSBN-632|2}}*

|SSBN-632

|Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.

|4 September 1962

|18 October 1963

|30 September 1964

|26 February 1994

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 2001

{{USS|Casimir Pulaski|SSBN-633|2}}*

|SSBN-633

|General Dynamics Electric Boat

|12 January 1963

|1 February 1964

|14 August 1964

|7 March 1994

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1994

{{USS|Stonewall Jackson|SSBN-634|2}}*

|SSBN-634

|Mare Island Naval Shipyard

|4 July 1962

|30 November 1963

|26 August 1964

|9 February 1995

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 1995

{{USS|Sam Rayburn|SSBN-635|2}}

|SSBN-635

|Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.

|3 December 1962

|20 December 1963

|2 December 1964

|31 July 1989

|Converted to Moored Training Ship (MTS-635) with missile compartment removed.

{{USS|Nathanael Greene|SSBN-636|2}}

|SSBN-636

|Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

|21 May 1962

|12 May 1964

|19 December 1964

|15 December 1986

|Disposed of through Ship-Submarine Recycling Program, 2000

See also

References

{{reflist}}

  • Gardiner, Robert and Chumbley, Stephen (editors). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, US: Naval Institute Press, 1995. {{ISBN|1-55750-132-7}}.
  • Polmar, Norman. The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet: Twelfth Edition. London:Arms and Armour Press, 1981. {{ISBN|0-85368-397-2}}.
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20140822091054/http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/s_SSBN.htm US Naval Vessel Register – List of SSBN BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINE (NUCLEAR-POWERED) Class vessels]
  • {{DANFS}}