USS Narwhal (SSN-671)
|
|
| period of service |
|
|---|---|
| Ordered: | July 28, 1964 |
| Keel laying: | 17th January 1966 |
| Launch: | September 9, 1967 |
| Commissioning: | July 12, 1969 |
| Decommissioning: | July 1, 1999 |
| Fate: | 2008 still available |
| Technical specifications | |
| Displacement: | 5350 ts submerged |
| Length: | 95.7 m |
| Width: | 10 m |
| Draft: | 9.4 m |
| Drive: | An S5G reactor |
| Crew: | 12 officers and 95 men |
The USS Narwhal (SSN-671) was a nuclear-powered submarine of the United States Navy . She was the 100th nuclear submarine in the USA and a test ship for reactor technology, but following the doctrine of the Navy, it was fully operational and regularly laid. It was named after the narwhal .
technology
The Narwhal did not belong to any ship class, but was specially built to test a new type of reactor. The design is basically based on that of the Sturgeon class . The Narwhal is, however, due to the reactor with over 95 meters length and 5350 tn.l. Displacement a little longer and heavier than this.
The Narwhal reactor was of the type S5G , so it was dimensioned for submarines ( S ), belonged to the fifth reactor core generation ( 5 ) and was manufactured by General Electric ( G ). The special feature of this type was the first-time use of natural convection to transport the reactor coolant through the circuit. Since this enabled the circulation pumps to be switched off at low and medium speeds, this type produced less noise that could be heard by enemy boats. The S5G remained a prototype, apart from the Narwhal only the Idaho National Laboratory operated another such reactor. However, it led to the development of the S8G , which was used on the Ohio-class boats.
The rest of the equipment of the boat did not differ much from that of the Sturgeons : It also had four torpedo tubes in the bow, from which it could fire Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes or UUM-44 Subroc as well as UGM-84 Harpoon and UGM-109 Tomahawk . The sonar systems were also the same: The BQQ-2 was installed, later upgraded to the BQQ-5 .
At an unknown point in time after 1990, a structure known as a turtleback was installed on the aft deck of the Narwhal . Its purpose is not officially known. Speculations see it as a hangar for an underwater vehicle that could be used in espionage operations. A simpler explanation would be to try out a new towed sonar, the TB-23 model with a BQQ-5D sonar head being an option.
history
The Narwhal was commissioned in mid-1964 and laid down at Electric Boat in early 1966 . The boat was launched in September 1967 and was officially commissioned in July 1969. The shipyard cost for the boat was $ 47.8 million.
The submarine remained in active service with the US Navy for around 30 years and received several awards, including a Navy Unit Commendation , three Meritorious Unit Commendations and five Battle E s for excellent readiness for action.
At the beginning of 1999, the boat was deactivated at Newport News Shipbuilding , and on July 1, the Narwhal was officially decommissioned. Originally, the boat should be scrapped from 2001 in the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . A considered refurbishment as a museum ship failed due to the financing.
Web links
- Narwhal on globalsecurity.org (Engl.)
- Narwhal on navsource.org (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ^ Globalsecurity.org: SSN-671 Narwhal
- ^ Stefan Terzibaschitsch : Seemacht USA , Bechtermünz-Verlag, ISBN 3-86047-576-2 , page 505