First Lady will christen sub in NN [Laura Bush christens USS Texas July 31]

Newport News, VA Daily Press ^ | July 20, 2004 | Peter DuJardin

[El Gato]

USS or SSN?

Both. She will be the USS Texas, but her hull ID is SSN-775, indicating her type and hull number.

[El Gato]

What's with the funky hull blisters and fin arrangement? And that bow mounted sonar looks like it is designed for shallow water work. Is that a lateral thruster mounted midships? I don't know if the mission for this boat is going to be the traditional hunter/killer role.

We could tell you, but then we'd have to shoot you. :) Seriously though, current thinking is that the shallow waters of littoral areas are where the action will be in the near future. What they will be hunting will be SSKs (diesel electrics or Air Independent Propulsion) boats of 2nd and 3rd world navies. Like the Soviet Kilos, as sold to or manufactured by several countries, or various German, Dutch, Swedish and Italian products. (Japanese too, but IIRC they don't sell them to anyone but their own Navy).

[El Gato]

I would like to know why the diving planes are no longer on the sail.........? (aka Conning tower)

That's a design choice. Prior to the Los Angeles class (IIRC) they were not there either.

[tarawa]

What I find interesting is the conversion of SSBNs into SSGNs (cruise missiles rather than ICBMs). An Ohio-Class SSGN is going to be able to lauch a heckuva lot of Tomahawks.

[El Gato]

The boats I was on were 'boomers' named after dead presidents. They were the biggest submersibles we had in those days. The Russians had bigger, but even my boats seemed almost as big as the Missouri when she tied up across the pier one time. The Texas would dwarf those boats, and I suspect even the Missouri..

Actually the Virginia class is much smaller than the Ohios and Typhoons, about the same size as the Los Angeles class and your old "Dead Presidents" boats. Although not all were Presidents, one was the Robert E. Lee SSBN 600. Imagine trying to name a boat that today!.

length x beam
Missouri 394 x 72 feet.
Theodore Roosevelt 382 X 33 feet
Ohio 560 x 42 feet
Los Angeles 360 x 33 feet
SeaWolf 353 x 35 feet
Virginia 377 x 32 feet

[El Gato]

Missouri 394 x 72 feet.

Ooops, wrong Missouri, those numbers are for BB-11, laid down around 1900. The Missouri were the Japanese surrender instrument was signed was laid down in 1941, the last US Battleship.

Missouri (BB-63) 887 X 108 feet.

[stevie_d_64]

Thats classified...But common knowledge as far as what they are...Their capabilities and how they are implemented is whats classified...

I can tell you that they are lateral sonar arrays...Thats all...Boats like this do not have lateral thrusters to aid in restrictive manuevering like up against a tender or pier...

This is still an impressive platform to do things you and I will never see or hear about though...

I was part of the surface navy...A.K.A. skimmers...But the thing with us was if we heard one reveil its position, (like some sort of engine plant noise or other transient source of noise) as many of us could if possible came down on one of these like stink on smelly stuff...We never let go...

But these new ones are even better...And I am glad we have them in our own inventory...And not some other countries "order of battle"...

Later,
Steve

[TexConfederate1861]

Yes they were...I was on the USS Sunfish SSN-649. It had them.
They were there even before GATO Class subs.

[They'reGone2000]

"May all who board her be forever blessed and may all who encounter her on the seas remember, 'Don't mess with Texas,'" she said at the ceremony at the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard.