United States Barracuda-class submarine (1951)

For other ships with the same name, see Barracuda-class submarine.
Class overview
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byTench class
Succeeded byTang class
Built1949–1951
In commission1951–1959
Completed3
Scrapped3
General characteristics
TypeDiesel-electric hunter-killer submarine
Displacement
  • 765 long tons (777 t) surfaced
  • 1,160 long tons (1,180 t) submerged[1]
Length196 ft 1 in (59.77 m) overall
Beam24 ft 7 in (7.49 m)
Draft14 ft 5 in (4.39 m) mean
Propulsion
Speed
  • 13 knots (24 km/h) surfaced
  • 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h) submerged
Range9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km)[2]
Test depth400 ft (120 m)
Complement37 officers and men
Armament4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (bow)

The Barracuda-class submarines (originally the K-1-class submarines) were the product of Project Kayo, a research and development effort begun immediately after World War II by the United States Navy to "solve the problem of using submarines to attack and destroy enemy submarines." They originally had the hull classification symbol SSK, for "hunter-killer submarine".

These submarines were originally named K-1 through K-3, with hull numbers SSK-1 through SSK-3. They were renamed Barracuda, Bass, and Bonita in December 1955. In 1959 Barracuda was redesignated SST-3 (SST for training submarine), and in 1964 her main sonar was removed. A final redesignation twist was SS-T3 in 1973; for some reason the Navy wished to list her as an attack submarine.[3] Bass was decommissioned in 1957 and redesignated SS-551 in 1959. Bonita was decommissioned in 1958 and redesignated SS-552 in 1959.

  1. ^ a b Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 75–82, 241–242. ISBN 1-55750-260-9.
  2. ^ Friedman, p. 77
  3. ^ Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991), Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, p. 284, ISBN 0-313-26202-0