Lafayette Class Submarines

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The Lafayette Class Submarines

In April of 1963, the lead ship of the Lafayette class, the U.S.S. Lafayette (SSBN-616), was commissioned and started its 28 years of service in the United States Navy. The “SSBN” is an abbreviation for--ship submersible ballistic nuclear. The Lafayette class was comprised of 19 subs that were derived from a fleet of ballistic missile submarines called, the Ethan Allen class of ships. The new Lafayette class subs were built to be larger and superior to the Ethan Allen class that preceded it. The Lafayette class of subs was one of several classes that belonged to a special group of 41 submarines that served during the Cold War as deterrent ships. They were dubbed the “41 for Freedom”.

The Lafayette class ships were powered with S5W nuclear reactors, were 425 feet in length, had an underwater speed of 22 to 25 knots and a water surface speed of 16 to 20 knots.
When the Lafayette class was originally produced, the ships were armed with 16 Poseidon nuclear missiles and four 21" Torpedo tubes that fired nuclear torpedoes.

A program to increase the effectiveness of SSBN ships by shortening their “offline time” was initiated in 1974. It was called the SSBN Extended Refit Program, also known as ERP. The program was put in place to conduct smaller-scale overhauls (that would only take a ship offline for 60 days) at the 4 and 7 ½ year marks to avoid the original major overhaul “offline time” of two years. Major overhauls would not have to be done until the ships had been in service for 10 years, rather than the original 7 ½ years time limit. The Lafayette class ship, the U.S.S. James Madison (SSBN-627), was the first SSBN sub to enter the Extended Refit Program in 1974.

The Lafayette class fleet

The following 19 ships were produced as part of the Lafayette class submarines.

SSBN-616 U.S.S. Lafayette – ordered: Jul. 1960, commissioned: Apr. 1963, decommissioned: Aug. 1991
SSBN-617 U.S.S. Alexander Hamilton– ordered: Jul. 1960, commissioned: Jun. 1963, decommissioned: Feb. 1993
SSBN-619 U.S.S. Andrew Jackson– ordered: Jul. 1960, commissioned: Jul. 1963, decommissioned: Aug. 1989
SSBN-620 U.S.S. John Adams– ordered: Jul. 1960, commissioned: May 1964, decommissioned: Mar. 1989
SSBN-622 U.S.S. James Monroe – ordered: Feb. 1961, commissioned: Dec. 1963, decommissioned: Sept. 1990
SSBN-623 U.S.S. Nathan Hale– ordered: Feb. 1961, commissioned: Nov. 1963, decommissioned: Jan. 1987
SSBN-624 U.S.S. Woodrow Wilson– ordered: Feb. 1961, commissioned: Dec. 1963, decommissioned: Sept. 1994
SSBN-625 U.S.S. Henry Clay– ordered: Feb. 1961, commissioned: Feb. 1964, decommissioned: Nov. 1990
SSBN-626 U.S.S. Daniel Webster– ordered: Feb. 1961, commissioned: Apr. 1964, decommissioned: Aug. 1990
SSBN-627 U.S.S. James Madison – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: Jul. 1964, decommissioned: Nov. 1992
SSBN-628 U.S.S. Tecumseh – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: May 1964, decommissioned: Jul. 1993
SSBN-629 U.S.S. Daniel Boone – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: Apr. 1964, decommissioned: Feb. 1994
SSBN-630 U.S.S. John C Calhoun – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: Sept. 1964, decommissioned: Mar. 1994
SSBN-631 U.S.S. Ulysses S Grant – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: Jul. 1964, decommissioned: Jun. 1992
SSBN-632 U.S.S. Von Steuben – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: Sept. 1964, decommissioned: Feb. 1994
SSBN-633 U.S.S. Casimir Pulaski – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: Aug. 1964, decommissioned: Mar. 1994
SSBN-634 U.S.S. Stonewall Jackson – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: Aug. 1964, decommissioned: Feb. 1995
SSBN-635 U.S.S. Sam Rayburn – ordered: Jul. 1961, commissioned: Dec. 1964, decommissioned: Jul. 1989
SSBN-636 U.S.S. Nathaniel Green – ordered: Jul 1961, commissioned: Dec. 1964, decommissioned: Jan. 1987

Characteristics of the Lafayette class submarine ships

Builders: General Dynamics Electric Boat
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Operators: United States Navy
Preceded by: Ethan Allen-class submarine
Succeeded by: James Madison-class submarine
Built: 1960–1964
In commission: 1963–1994
Completed: 9
Preserved: 1

General characteristics
Type: Ballistic missile submarine
Displacement: 7,250 long tons (7,370 t) surfaced
8,250 long tons (8,380 t) submerged
Length: 425 ft (130 m)
Beam: 33 ft (10 m)
Draft: 31 ft 6 in (9.6 m)
Propulsion: 1 × S5W reactor
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h) surfaced
25 knots (46 km/h) submerged
Complement: Two crews of 13 officers and 130 enlisted
Armament: • 4 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes for Mark 48 torpedoes
• 16 × vertical tubes for Polaris or Poseidon ballistic missiles

End of the Lafayette class ship era

In 1974, authorization was given to produce the new Ohio class of subs; however, they would not be online until 1979 so the Navy decided to upgrade the Lafayette class. In 1979, the Ohio class ships were online and had the capability to launch Trident missiles. This new ship class ushered in the end of the Lafayette class ship era.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_class_submarine
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-616.htm
http://www.fact-index.com/l/la/lafayette_class_submarine.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/327690/Lafayette
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/ssbn-616.htm

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