List of submarine classes of the United States Navy

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use dmy dates Submarines of the United States Navy are built in classes, using a single design for a number of boats. Minor variations occur as improvements are incorporated into the design, so later boats of a class may be more capable than earlier. Also, boats are modified, sometimes extensively, while in service, creating departures from the class standard. However, in general, all boats of a class are noticeably similar.

Experimental use: an example is , which used an unprecedented hull design. In this list such single boat "classes" are marked with "(unique)".

Pre–World War I

Pre–World War I

Class name	No.	Laid down	Last comm.	Notes
	1	1861	1862	First submarine in the U.S. Navy. Purpose was to protect wooden ships against ironclads.
	1	1896	1900	5 others were made; only entered the U.S. Navy as it was the first officially commissioned submarine purchased on 11 April 1900.
	7	1900	1903	Later renamed A class in November 1911, when Navy stopped naming submarines. Essentially enlarged, more powerful Holland.
Viper	3	1905	1907	Last in series of Holland-like submarines. Later renamed to B class.
Octopus	5	1905	1910	Designed by Lawrence York Spear. Later renamed to C class.
Narwhal	3	1908	1910	Later renamed to D class. Designed to survive flooding in one compartment.
E	2	1909	1912	First US Navy diesel-powered submarine. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape.
F	4	1909	1913	In 1920, the class was designated SS-20–SS-23.
G	4	1909	1914	Used gasoline engine. set the submerged depth record in 1915, . was given the number 19½ because SS- numbers were given after her decommissioning; she was between SS-19 & SS-20.
H	9	1911	1918	3 originally ordered by U.S. Navy. 17 ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy, 11 delivered. Other 6 bought by U.S. Navy. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape.
K	8	1912	1912	Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. , , , were the first U.S. submarines to see action in World War I.
L	11	1914	1918	The first US submarines with a deck gun. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. Designed for coastal defense.
	1	1914	1918	Double-hull design. Twenty percent larger than the K class. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. Considered failure by the submarine community.
N	7	1915	1918	Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. Used for coastal patrol.
O	16	1916	1918	Each cost $550,000. First submarines with reliable diesel engines. Every man had his own berth and locker. Known as "pig boats", or "boats", due to foul living quarters and unusual hull shape. O-11 through O-16 (built by Lake Torpedo Boat Company) also known as the "modified O-class". Modified boats proved to be disappointing and were scrapped in 1930; Lake went out of business in 1925.
	3	1916	1922	Later renamed T class. Designed for at , but performed at . Prototype "fleet submarines"—submarines fast enough () to travel with battleships. Twice the size of any concurrent or past U.S. submarine. A poor tandem engine design caused the boats to be decommissioned by 1923 and scrapped in 1930.

World War I

World War I

Class name	No.	Laid down	Last comm.	Notes
R	20	1917	1918	Larger conning tower to serve as commanding officer's battle station. Fired Mark 10 torpedoes and traveled at .
R-21	7	1917	1919	Designed by Simon Lake. Generally similar to R class, but smaller and reverted to 18-inch torpedo tubes. Scrapped in 1930; Lake went out of business in 1925.
S	51	1917	1922	The S class is subdivided into four groups of different designs.

Interwar

Interwar

Class name	No.	First ship laid down	Last ship commissioned	Notes
Barracuda	3	and 20 October 1921	22 May 1926
	1	1 May 1925	2 April 1928	Unique submarine; mine-laying submarine
	2	10 May 1927	1 July 1930
	1	14 June 1930	1 June 1932	Unique submarine
	2	7 October 1931	8 June 1934
Porpoise	10	24 October 1933	12 June 1937
	6	15 April 1936	30 June 1938
	10	12 May 1937	1 December 1939
	12	16 January 1939	30 June 1941
	2	6 October 1939	1 August 1941
	77	11 September 1940	21 April 1944	USS Drum was only boat actually commissioned before US Entry to WWII

World War II

World War II

Class name	No.	First ship laid down	Last ship commissioned	Notes
	120	31 March 1942	1 September 1948	62 cancelled
	29	, , , and 8 February 1944	10 February 1951	51 cancelled

Cold War

Diesel-Electric Submarines (SSs, SSKs, and SSGs)

Class Name						No.		First boat laid down						Last boat commissioned								Notes																																			Silhouette/Image
Barracuda						3		1 July 1949						11 January 1952																																											File:USS Bass (SSK-2).jpg
						6		18 April 1949						21 November 1952																																											File:Gudgeon (SS-567) - Tang class.jpg
						2		1 July 1954						30 August 1958								Regulus missile submarines																																			File:USS Growler (SSG-577) (30721200025).jpg
						1		10 November 1954						20 October 1956								Unique submarine																																			File:USS Darter (SS-576).jpg
						3		18 May 1956						15 October 1959								First production submarines with teardrop hull. U.S. Navy's last conventionally-powered submarines																																			File:USS Barbel;0858005.jpg

Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSNs)

Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes	Silhouette/Image
Nautilus	1	14 June 1952	30 September 1954	First nuclear submarine; hull design enlarged from fleet boat	File:USS Nautilus SSN-571 -underway.jpg
Seawolf	1	7 December 1953	30 March 1957	Unique submarine; liquid metal cooled (sodium) S2G reactor (replaced with a pressurized-water reactor in 1959)	File:SSN575.svg
	4	21 July 1955	5 December 1959		File:SSN578.svg
	6	29 May 1956	24 October 1961	First nuclear submarine class with teardrop hull form. USS Scorpion lost at sea 1968.	File:SSN585.svg
Thresher/Permit	14	28 May 1958	25 January 1968	First class with bow sonar sphere. Known as Thresher class until the loss of the in 1963	File:USS Thresher (SSN-593).jpg
	1	26 May 1958	9 November 1960	Unique submarine; turbo-electric transmission	File:SSN597.svg
	37	10 August 1963	16 August 1975	Redesign of Thresher/Permit class using lessons learned from loss of Thresher.	File:SSN637.svg
	1	17 January 1966	12 July 1969	Unique submarine; natural circulation S5G reactor	File:SSN671.svg
	1	5 June 1971	21 December 1974	Unique submarine; turbo-electric transmission	File:USS Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN-685).jpg
	62	8 January 1972	13 September 1996		File:SSN688.svg
	3	25 October 1989	19 February 2005	Planned successor of Los Angeles class. High costs caused only three to be built.	File:USS Seawolf (SSN-21) (21274044216).jpg

Nuclear Cruise Missile Submarines (SSGNs)

Note: Several boats were converted into cruise missile submarines after construction; the USS Halibut was the only purpose built SSGN of the US Navy

Class Name					No.		First boat laid down							Last boat commissioned									Notes																											Picture/Silhouette
					1		11 April 1957							4 January 1960									Unique submarine; Regulus missile submarine																											File:USS Halibut SSGN-587.jpg

Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs)

Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes	Picture/Silhouette
	5	1 November 1957	11 March 1961		File:SSBN598.svg
	5	14 September 1959	4 January 1963	Ethan Allen was the only SSBN to fire live missile and detonate nuclear warhead at test range proving theory.	File:USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608).jpg
	9	17 January 1961	09 April 1964		File:USS Lafayette SSBN-616.jpg
	10	6 February 1962	19 December 1964		File:USS Daniel Boone SSBN-629.jpg
	12	25 May 1963	1 April 1967	Redesigned using lessons learned from loss of Thresher.	File:USS Benjamin Franklin (SSBN-640).gif
	18	10 April 1976	6 September 1997		File:SSBN726 Ohio.svg

Deep-submergence vehicles (DSVs)

Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes	Picture/Silhouette
Trieste class	2	Trieste (DSV-0) 1958	Trieste II (DSV-1) 1969	The Trieste was the first submarine which reached the Challenger Deep by Swiss Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh in 1960.	File:Bathyscaphe Trieste.jpg
Alvin class	4	Alvin (DSV-2) 5 June 1964	Nemo (DSV-5) 1970		File:ALVIN submersible.jpg
NR-1	1	10 June 1967	27 October 1969		File:NR-1 986.jpg

Miscellaneous Submarines (SSTs, SSRs, AGSSs & SSRNs)

Class Name	No.	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes
	1	15 March 1952	6 December 1953	Unique submarine; teardrop hull form; no weapons
	2	USS T-1, later 1 April 1952	USS T-2, later 20 November 1953	Training and experimental submarines
	2	8 December 1953	25 August 1956	Radar picket
	1	29 May 1956	10 November 1959	Unique submarine; Radar picket; Twin S4G Nuclear Reactors
	1	9 November 1962	17 August 1968	Unique submarine; research and development for deep diving technologies; last operational U.S. Navy diesel-electric submarine; Decommissioned 15 January 2007

Post–Cold War

Post–Cold War

Class name	Number of boats	First boat laid down	Last boat commissioned	Notes
	24 (of 66 planned)	2 September 1999	April 5, 2025	Attack submarine.
	12 (planned)	(planned)		Ballistic missile submarine

See also

• Submarines in the United States Navy
• List of submarines of the United States Navy
  • List of Gato class submarines
  • List of Balao class submarines
  • List of Tench class submarines
  • List of Sturgeon class submarines
  • List of Los Angeles class submarines
• List of most successful American submarines in World War II
• Allied submarines in the Pacific War
• List of submarines of the Second World War
• List of ship classes of the Second World War
• List of United States Navy ships

References

• Public Domain This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

External links

• youtube.com USS Holland
• youtube.com Submarine #1