USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
Submerged 4280 tons standard
102.9 m
8.4 m
6.7 m
13 officers, 92 sailors
A nuclear reactor S2Wa, 15,000 hp
20 knots
6533 -mm torpedo tubes
The USS Seawolf (SSN -575 ) was the second nuclear submarine of the United States Navy. She was commissioned in 1957 as a platform for a liquid metal cooled reactor in service and spent the first half of their working lives mainly with exercises and test drives. Later it was converted for the conduct of special operations. In 1987, the Seawolf was decommissioned and dismantled in 1997.
As was tradition at that time, the submarine was named after a sea creature, after Anarhichas lupus (English Seawolf ) from the family of sea wolves.
- 2.1 Planning and construction
- 2.2 Erprobungs submarine
- 2.3 Special Operations
Technology
Hull
The Seawolf was 102.9 meters long and 8.4 meters wide, it superseded dipped around 4280 tons standard. Her hull was strong on the design of the USS Nautilus (SSN -571 ), the first atomic submarine, the Navy, inspired and corresponded not the hydrodynamically optimized hull shape that resembles a drop as with the USS Albacore ( AGSS -569 ) has been introduced. Instead, the hull in appearance nor the World War - boats was similar, with a similar destroyer V-hull and a real deck. Externally the biggest difference to the Nautilus, apart from the extension by approximately five meters, the tower, which is shaped larger here and graduated. The hydroplanes were folding mounted at the bow.
After the equipment for submarine special operations of the fuselage had several additions, including so-called " fish ", where cameras and gripping tools could be lowered to the seabed.
Drive
Technically, the biggest change from the Nautilus was elected reactor type. Instead of a conventional pressurized water reactor, the S2G was installed. This abbreviation stands for Submarine (S) second generation ( 2) and the manufacturer, General Electric (G). The S2G was a liquid metal cooled reactor, which began as sodium coolant. This was smaller, quieter and more powerful than its counterpart on the pressurized water Nautilus. Three of these reactors have been ordered. One for use on Seawolf, as a land-based training reactor and a spare. However, the technique could, among other things, due to safety considerations and due to constant technical problems with the superheaters, never take off. As early as 1960, the Seawolf therefore ran with a pressurized water reactor of the type S2Wa Westinghouse. The radioactive reactor department, which had been removed from the Seawolf, was sealed by the Navy in a stainless steel container that was dumped 1959 120 kilometers off the coast of Maryland in three kilometers deep water.
This S2Wa, one made of spare parts of S2W version of the reactor used in Nautilus, equipped the boat with a capacity of around 15,000 hp, which looked over geared turbines on two shafts. Thus, the Seawolf speeds of around 20 knots submerged reached. This reactor also made in later years, more and more problems and was towards available shortly after the exchange S5W how they were used from the boats of the Skipjack class, much louder. Therefore, and due to the hull shape, the Seawolf was the loudest submarine in the U.S. fleet.
Armament and Electronics
Although the Seawolf was designed as a prototype, but it was fully operational. This included six forward-facing torpedo tubes with diameter 21 Zoll/53, 3 cm for the emission of torpedoes. The Seawolf used as a sonar, BQS -4, which could both actively and passively detect other vessels. It was installed in the bow, and sent and received on an outstanding sound from the deck " Sonar wings."
History
Planning and construction
The Seawolf was given in 1952 as the second nuclear submarine of the United States Navy in order. This was in the recently established at Kiel Nautilus, also received a similar hull like this, but a different type of reactor, which was first installed on Seawolf. Both submarines were mainly testing the new, atomic drive technology, but were fully operational.
On September 7 In 1953 the keel laying of the submarine, was the Electric Boat Shipyard from the General Dynamics Corporation. On July 21, 1955, the construction was completed, the boat was launched. Godmother for the boat was Elizabeth Cole, wife of William Sterling Cole, a deputy of the House and later Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Before she could beat the champagne bottle against the bow of the boat in front of 20,000 visitors, the Seawolf, slide down the ramp began. Only at the last moment it hit the bottle the hull and shattered. Already at the first full- power testing cycles, cracks occurred in the pipe system of the steam generator as well as problems with the super-heaters, caused by a leak in the steam generator, through which the coolant liquid was an alloy of sodium and potassium escape. This delayed the commissioning of the boat and limited the power of the entire drive system. It was only on 30 March 1957, the Seawolf was officially adopted in the service of the U.S. Navy. The building cost a total of around 53 million U.S. dollars.
Erprobungs submarine
In the first half of their period of service, the Seawolf performed many testing and test drives, which should show the efficiency of the new drive system. On April 2, the Seawolf began her first journey that took them for about a month in the waters off Bermuda. Until August led them through two more training runs off Key West, on September 3, began the first major installation. By 23 September, the Seawolf participated in a NATO exercise in the North Atlantic, while the back put the U- boat over 6000 miles. In November, followed by further exercises in the Caribbean, then to February, a first shipyard overhaul. After the boat has been launched in February 1958 to form water again, it took part in the following months in exercises along the U.S. East Coast.
On August 7, 1958, the submarine surfaced for a demonstration ride under and stayed for two months under water, where it lay back 13,700 miles. For this performance, the crew, the Navy Unit Commendation was awarded. Following the Seawolf was docked in their shipyard at Electric Boat. In the following two years, the reactor against a conventional pressurized water reactor was replaced.
On October 25, 1960, the Seawolf began first drive the new reactor. As of January 25, 1961, the Seawolf was used to locate the abducted by pirates, Portuguese Passierschiff Santa Maria and to keep in touch. Before Brazil's coast, the Seawolf felt on the ship and watched it a few days until the pirates were in Recife, whereupon the Seawolf returned to local waters. From there, they conducted a two-month mission with Oceanographic background to Portsmouth. In the following three and a half years, the Seawolf was to exercises in local waters, interrupted in April 1963 to search for the sunken USS Thresher (SSN -593 ).
In April 1964, the Seawolf a larger installation began again. Together with the carrier USS Enterprise ( CVN -65) and the nuclear cruisers USS Long Beach ( CGN- 9) and USS Bainbridge (CGN- 25) was the submarine, the Nuclear Task Force One, the first all nuclear-powered ships Fighter Group of the history. After the departure of the three Seawolf surface units began with a Weltumkreisung in Operation Sea Orbit. The following year, the Seawolf remained in home waters and docked on 5 May 1965 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where the nuclear fuel is renewed and the U- boat was certified to SUBSAFE. In September 1966 it was allowed back in the water. After a year of testing the boat went back to the fleet, where they carried out further testing and trial runs. After the necessary replacement of a propeller in the Charleston Naval Shipyard in October 1967 led them out further tests in the Bahamas.
In January 1968, the Seawolf was preparing in the Gulf of Maine before a planned NATO exercise in the Mediterranean. At high speed, but they ran against an undersea mountain and damaged her stern strong. The necessary repairs to put the boat in March 1969 out of action; instead of the ailing USS Seawolf Scorpion (SSN -589 ) was sent, which sank on the return from this trip. In 1968, the Seawolf was classified as second-line submarine, no longer used at the front. This was due to the relatively poor state, and especially the high noise level of the boat. Until the late summer of 1969 followed the repair turn test and test drives, the last three months of the year spent the Seawolf in the Mediterranean.
Special Operations
The end of 1970 the boat was eventually moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific. On the way, as the boat was south of Cuba, the drive failed, the Seawolf appeared to maneuver on. The destroyer USS Blandy (DD -943 ) took the U- boat in tow. Once the problem has been fixed in the engine room turned off the Blandy, the Seawolf ran under its own power at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay. Later, the Seawolf reached as planned then the Pacific. There she was overhauled in early 1971 in the Mare Iceland Naval Shipyard and equipped for special operations. By mid- 1973, the boat was in the yard and was then stationed in Bangor, Washington. She was chosen in spite of their poor condition, because the Navy wanted to withdraw any of their newer submarines from front-line service, for the old Seawolf loud anyway, however, had no real use more. She was next to the USS Halibut (SSGN-587), the second boat for special operations.
End of 1974, the Seawolf, equipped with special cameras that were lowered to the seabed, sent to the accident site of the Soviet submarine K -129. The clandestine salvage of the boat by the Hughes Glomar Explorer Azorian project, operated by the CIA, was middle of the year largely failed, now the U.S. wanted to find out whether a second attempt might be worthwhile. The non geborgenenen wreckage but were scattered over a wide area, a renewed rescue attempt impossible. In the following years the Seawolf renewed repeatedly listening devices on submarine communications cables, the Soviet Navy in the Okhotsk Sea, which had been placed there in 1972 by the Halibut. The Seawolf exchanged tapes and brought the recordings back for evaluation in the United States. Despite her poor condition and although the fleet with the USS Parche (SSN -683 ) had received a new submarine for special operations, the Seawolf was 1978 again overhauled and equipped with new nuclear fuel, for which the Navy expended 80 million U.S. dollars.
After the Seawolf in 1980 went back, broke up a test drive a fire in the engine room of the boat forced to surface and opening the hatches. Then the submarine had for another year in dry dock. The next drive took the boat turn into the Sea of Okhotsk where to start successfully equipped the monitor system with a new band material and the old one was taken on board. The boat was damaged in this operation, but reached on their own home waters and was again brought into dry dock to repair the damage. A short time later, the eavesdropping operation by the person sitting in the NSA spy Ronald Pelton was betrayed.
After this happened, the Seawolf was from 1984 only used to locate about missile fragments in the open sea and to recover if necessary. An insert close to Soviet waters, especially the still performed tapping of undersea cables in the Barents Sea, was ruled out due to the bad condition and noisy drive system. In 1987, the Seawolf was eventually canceled after 30 years on active duty. She was taken to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and remained there moored until the disintegration in 1997.