Sturgeon-class submarine

USS Sturgeon
Class overview
NameSturgeon class
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byThresher/Permit class
Succeeded byLos Angeles class
SubclassesLong-hull variant (9 boats)
Built1963–1975
In commission1967–2004
Completed37 (+1 modified variant for experimental research)
Retired37 (+1)
General characteristics
TypeNuclear-powered attack submarine
Displacement
  • 3,640 long tons (3,698 t) surfaced
  • 4,640 long tons (4,714 t) submerged[1]
Length
  • Short hull: 292 ft 3 in (89.08 m)
  • Long hull: 302 ft 3 in (92.13 m)
Beam31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft24 ft 5 in (7.44 m)[1]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) surfaced
  • 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) submerged
RangeUnlimited, except by food supplies
Test depth1,320 ft (400 m)[2]
Complement107
Armament

The Sturgeon class (known colloquially in naval circles as the 637 class) was a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) in service with the United States Navy from the 1960s until 2004. They were the "workhorses" of the Navy's attack submarine fleet throughout much of the Cold War. The boats were phased out in the 1990s and early 21st century, as their successors, the Los Angeles, followed by the Seawolf and Virginia-class boats, entered service.

  1. ^ a b c Friedman, pp 144–149, 243
  2. ^ Tyler, Patrick (1986). Running Critical. New York: Harper and Row. p. 58.