USSSkipjack
Class overview
Builders	General Dynamics Electric Boat Mare Island Naval Shipyard Ingalls Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Skate class
Succeeded by	Permit class USS Halibut
Built	1956–1961
In commission	1959–1990
Completed	6
Lost	1
Retired	5
General characteristics
Type	Nuclear-powered fastattack submarine
Displacement	Surfaced: 3,075long tons (3,124 t) Submerged: 3,513 long tons (3,569 t)[1]
Length	251 ft 8 in (76.71 m)
Beam	31 ft 7.75 in (9.6457 m)
Propulsion	1S5W reactor,gearedsteam turbines (15,000 shp (11,000 kW)),1 shaft[1]
Speed	15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) submerged[2]
Range	unlimited except by food.
Test depth	700 ft (210 m)[1]
Complement	93
Armament	6 ×21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes (bow) 24 ×Mark 37 torpedoes,Mark 14 torpedoes,Mark 16 torpedoes,Mark 45 ASTOR nuclear torpedoes, and/orMark 48 torpedoes.

TheSkipjack class was a class of sixUnited States Navynuclear submarines (SSNs) that entered service from 1959 to 1961. This class was named after its lead boat,USS Skipjack. The new class introduced theteardrop hull and the S5W reactor to U.S. nuclear submarines.^[1][2] TheSkipjacks were the fastest U.S. nuclear submarines until theLos Angeles-class submarines, the first of which entered service in 1974.

TheSkipjacks' design (projectSCB 154)^[3] was based on theUSSAlbacore's high-speed hull design. The hull and innovative internal arrangement were similar to the diesel-poweredBarbel class that were built concurrently. The design of theSkipjacks was very different from theSkate-class submarines that preceded theSkipjacks. Unlike theSkates, this new design was maximized for underwater speed by fully streamlining the hull like a blimp. This required a single screw aft of the rudders and stern planes. Adoption of a single screw was a matter of considerable debate and analysis within the Navy, as two shafts offered redundancy and improved maneuverability.^[4] The so-called "body-of-revolution hull" reduced her surface sea-keeping, but was essential for underwater performance. Also likeAlbacore, theSkipjacks usedHY-80 high-strength steel, with ayield strength of 80,000 psi (550 MPa), although this was not initially used to increase the diving depth relative to other US submarines. HY-80 remained the standard submarine steel through theLos Angeles class.^[5]

AnotherBarbel-like innovation was the combination of the conning tower, control room, and attack center in one space. This was continued in all subsequent US nuclear submarines. Combining the functions in one space was facilitated by the adoption of "push-button" ballast control, another feature ofAlbacore.^[4] Previous designs had routed the trim system piping through the control room, where the valves were manually operated. The "push-button" system used hydraulic operators on each valve, remotely electrically operated (actually via toggle switches) from the control room. This greatly conserved control room space and reduced the time required to conduct trim operations. The overall layout made coordination of the weapons and ship control systems easier during combat operations.^{[citation needed]}

Much of the overall internal arrangement was continued in the subsequentThresher- andSturgeon-class submarines. TheSkipjacks' five compartments were called the Torpedo Room, Operations Compartment, Reactor Compartment, Auxiliary Machinery Space (AMS), and Engine Room. With the addition of a missile compartment, the arrangement of thefirst 41 US nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) was similar. The design was primarily single-hull, with a double hull around the torpedo room and AMS for ballast tanks. The design was improved on theThreshers, the one-offTullibee, and subsequent attack submarines by relocating the torpedo room into the operations compartment via angled midships torpedo tubes to make room for a large sonar sphere in the bow. TheGeorge Washington class, the first SSBNs, were derived from theSkipjacks, withUSS George Washington (SSBN-598) rebuilt from the incomplete firstScorpion. The hull ofScorpion was laid down twice, as the original hull was redesigned to become theGeorge Washington. Also, the material for buildingScamp was diverted into buildingTheodore Roosevelt, which delayedScamp's progress.^{[citation needed]}

The bow planes were moved to the massive sail to cut down on flow-induced noise near the bow sonar arrays. They were known as sail planes (fairwater planes). TheSkipjacks were the first class built with sail planes; they were later backfitted on theBarbels. This design feature would be repeated on all U.S. nuclear submarines until the improvedLos Angeles-class submarine, the first of which was launched in 1988. The small "turtleback" behind the sail was the exhaust piping of the auxiliary diesel generator.^{[citation needed]}

TheSkipjacks also introduced theS5W reactor to U.S. nuclear submarines. It was known as ASFR (Advanced Submarine Fleet Reactor) during development.^[6] The S5W was used on 98 U.S. nuclear submarines of 8 classes and the first British nuclear submarine,HMS Dreadnought, making it the most-used US Navy reactor design to date.^{[citation needed]}

The design of the prototype HMSDreadnought is closely related to theSkipjack class. The entire aft section of HMSDreadnought was identical to theSkipjack class as the hull was built around the reactor and could not be changed, but since the fore section was based on earlier British studies into nuclear submarine design, great care had to be taken to marry the two designs' alignment.^[7]

Skipjack was authorized in the FY 1956 new construction program and commissioned in April 1959. Each hull cost around $40 million.Skipjack was certified as the "world's fastest submarine" after initial sea trials in March 1959, although the actual speed attained was classified. TheSkipjacks remained the fastest US nuclear-powered submarines until the first of theLos Angeles class entered service in 1974. This was due to the increased size of theThresher andSturgeon classes, which retainedSkipjack's S5W power plant, plus the introduction of theskewback screw, which was quiet but mechanically inefficient.^[8] TheSkipjacks saw service during theVietnam War and most of theCold War. TheSkipjack-class submarines were withdrawn from service in the late 1980s and early 1990s except forScorpion, which sank on 22 May 1968 southwest of theAzores while returning from aMediterranean deployment, with all 99 crewmembers lost.^[9]

The gap in the hull-number sequence was taken by the two one-of-a-kind submarinesUSS Triton (SSRN-586) andUSS Halibut (SSGN-587).

During the 1960s theRoyal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) had the desire to built nuclear submarines.^[10] One of the options the RNLN considered in 1966 was acquiring knowledge from the United States Navy (USN) to built submarines based on theSkipjack class.^[11] The idea was that the technology of theSkipjack class dated back to 1956 and if submarines based on this technology were to be built in the Netherlands they would enter service in 1973, making them no longer top secret technology that the USN would be reluctant to share.^[11] Nonetheless, the USN believed that construction and maintenance of fourSkipjack class submarines would be too costly for the RNLN and suggested other alternatives.^[12]

• List of submarines of the United States Navy
• List of submarine classes of the United States Navy
• List of lost United States submarines

• Schoonoord, D.C.L. (2012).Pugno pro patria: de Koninklijke Marine tijdens de Koude Oorlog (in Dutch). Franeker: Van Wijnen.ISBN 978-90-5194-455-6.
• Raven, G.J.A., ed. (1988).De kroon op het anker: 175 jaar Koninklijke Marine (in Dutch). Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw.ISBN 90-6707-200-1.

• Gardiner, Robert and Chumbley, Stephen,Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995, London: Conway Maritime Press, 1995.ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• Hutchinson, Robert,Jane's Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day, Harper Paperbacks, 2005.ISBN 0-06081-900-6.
• Polmar, Norman (2004).Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001. Dulles: Brassey's.ISBN 978-1-57488-594-1.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSkipjack class submarines.

• NavSource SSN photo gallery index
• On Eternal Patrol USSScorpion page

• Submarine classes
• Skipjack-class submarines
• Cold War submarines of the United States
• Vietnam War submarines of the United States

• CS1 Dutch-language sources (nl)
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• Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019
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