Barbel-class submarine

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The launch of USS Blueback in 1959
Class overview
Name	Barbel class
Builders	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi New York Shipbuilding, Camden, New Jersey
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	USS Darter
Built	1956–1959
In commission	1959–1990
Completed	3
Retired	3
Preserved	1
General characteristics
Type	Attack submarine
Displacement	1,750 long tons (1,780 t) light[1] 2,146 long tons (2,180 t) full 2,637 long tons (2,679 t) submerged[1] 402 DWT
Length	219 ft 2 in (66.80 m) overall[1]
Beam	29 ft (8.8 m)[1]
Draft	29 ft (8.8 m) max[1]
Propulsion	3 × Fairbanks-Morse Diesel engines (total 3,150 shp (2,350 kW)), 2 × General Electric electric motors (total 4,700 shp (3,500 kW)), 4 × 126-cell GUPPY IA batteries,[2] one shaft
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced, 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) snorkeling, 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) submerged[2]
Range	14,000 nautical miles (26,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[2]
Endurance	90 minutes at full speed submerged, 102 hours at 3 knots (5.6 km/h) submerged
Test depth	700 ft (210 m)[2]
Complement	8 officers, 69 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	BQS-4 active sonar BQR-2 passive sonar MK 101 fire control system
Armament	6 × 21-inch (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes, 22 torpedoes[2]

The Barbel-class submarines, the last diesel-electric propelled attack 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 the experimental USS Albacore, and the first to combine the control room, attack center, and conning tower in the same space in the hull. They were of double hull design with 1.5-inch thick HY80 steel. This class of submarine became part of the United States Navy's fleet in 1959 and was taken out of service 1988–1990, leaving the Navy with an entirely nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

The Barbel class' design is considered to be very effective.^[3] The Zwaardvis-class submarines of the Netherlands and the Hai Lung class of the Republic of China (designed and built in the Netherlands) were closely derived from the Barbel class design. The Japanese Uzushio class and its successors were also influenced by the Barbel class.