USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Electric Boat division of General Dynamics Corporation, Groton, Connecticut |
| Operators | United States Navy |
| Preceded by | USS Nautilus |
| Succeeded by | |
| Built | 1953 |
| In commission | 1957–1987 |
| History | |
| United States | |
| Awarded | 21 July 1952 |
| Builder | Electric Boat division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut |
| Laid down | 7 September 1953 |
| Launched | 21 July 1955 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. W. Sterling Cole |
| Commissioned | 30 March 1957 |
| Decommissioned | 30 March 1987 |
| Stricken | 10 July 1987 |
| Fate | Disposed of by submarine recycling 30 September 1997 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length |
|
| Beam | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Draft | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Propulsion | S2G, replaced by S2Wa in 1960, geared steam turbines, two shafts, approx. 15,000 shp (11,000 kW) |
| Speed |
|
| Complement | 101 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 6 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
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USS Seawolf (SSN-575) was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seawolf, the second nuclear submarine, and the only US submarine built with a liquid metal cooled (sodium), beryllium-moderated nuclear reactor, the S2G. Her overall design (known as SCB 64A) was a variant of Nautilus, but with numerous detail changes, such as a conning tower, stepped sail, and the BQR-4 passive sonar mounted in the top portion of the bow instead of further below. This sonar arrangement resulted in an unusual bow shape above the water for a U.S. submarine. Originally laid down in 1953, her distinctive reactor was later replaced with a standard pressurized water reactor, the replacement process lasting from 12 December 1958 to 30 September 1960.