Barbel class submarine
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 USS Blueback (SS-581) in Portland, Oregon |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi New York Shipbuilding, Camden, New Jersey |
| Preceded by: | Skate-class attack submarine |
| Succeeded by: | Skipjack-class fast attack submarine |
| Completed: | Barbel, Blueback, Bonefish |
| Retired: | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Fast Attack Submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,750 tons (1,778 t) light [1] 2,146 tons (2,180 t) full 2,637 tons (2,679 t) submerged [1] 402 tons (408 t) dead |
| Length: | 219 ft 6 in (66.9 m) overall [1] |
| Beam: | 29 ft (8.8 m) [1] |
| Draft: | 25 ft (7.6 m) max [1] |
| Propulsion: | Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, total 4,800 bhp (3.6 MW) 2 × General Electric electric motors, total 3,150 bhp (2.3 MW) one screw [1] |
| Speed: | 12 knots (22 km/h) surfaced 25 knots (46 km/h) submerged [1] |
| Endurance: | 30 minutes at full speed 102 hours at 3 knots |
| Test depth: | 712 ft (217 m) operating 1,050 ft (320 m) collapse |
| Complement: | 8 officers, 69 men |
| Armament: | 6 × 21 in (533 mm) [1] bow torpedo tubes, 18 torpedoes |
The Barbel class of submarines, the last diesel-electric propelled submarines built by the United States Navy, incorporated numerous, radical engineering improvements over previous classes. They were the first production warships built with the teardrop-shape hull first tested on Albacore (SS-569), and the first to use an "attack center" within the hull rather than a conning tower in the sail.
In mid-2004, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) allocated NT$412.1 billion to buy eight diesel-electric submarines for the Republic of China Navy. Most countries that build submarines for export, such as Germany, cannot deal with Taiwan without harming their relations with the People's Republic of China, so many analysts expect the United States to either sell the plans for the Barbel class, or to actually build an update version of the Barbel-class.
[edit] General characteristics
- Displacement: 1745 tons light, 2316 tons full, 2644 tons submerged
- Length: 66.5 m (218 ft 1 in)
- Beam: 8.8 m (29 ft)
- Draft: 8.9 m (29 ft 3 in)
- Armament: six 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (bow), 18 torpedo capacity including 6 loaded
- Propulsion: three Fairbanks-Morse 38d(8 1/8)×10 3150 shp (2.3 MW) diesel engines, two General Electric 4800 shp (3.6 MW) motors
- Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h) surfaced, 12 knots (22 km/h) snorkeling, 21 knots (39 km/h) on battery
- Endurance: 0.5 hour at full speed, 102.0 hours at 3 knots (6 km/h)
- Range: 19,000 miles (31,000 km) without refueling
- Depth: 712 ft (217 m)
- Complement: 85 officers and men
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