Editing 41 for Freedom (section)

{{Short description|US Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=yes}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Woodrow Wilson sub.jpg
|Ship caption={{USS|Woodrow Wilson|SSBN-624|6}}, a ''Lafayette''-class submarine that formed part of the "41 for Freedom" force
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=
|Operators= {{navy|United States}}
|Class before=[[Regulus missile submarines]]
|Class after={{sclass|Ohio|submarine|4}}
|Name=*Five classes:
**{{sclass|George Washington|submarine|5}}
**{{sclass|Ethan Allen|submarine|5}}
**{{sclass|Lafayette|submarine|5}}
**{{sclass|James Madison|submarine|5}}
**{{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|5}}
|Built range=1 November 1958 to 20 March 1965
|In commission range=
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=41
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=0
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=0
|Total ships retired=39
|Total ships preserved=2
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|381|-|425|ft|abbr=on}} (depending on class)<ref name="Janes 71-72">Jane's Fighting Ships, 1971–72</ref>
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m}}<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|31|ft|m}}<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|20|kn}}<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=In excess of {{convert|400|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship complement=14 officers, 140 enlisted<ref name="Janes 71-72" />
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
*4 × {{convert|21|in|mm|0|adj=on}} bow [[torpedo tube]]s
*16 × SLBMs depending upon class and vessel:<ref>Jane's Fighting Ships, 1985–86</ref>
**[[UGM-27 Polaris]] A1, A2, or A3
**[[UGM-73 Poseidon]] C3
**[[Trident missile#Trident I .28C4.29 UGM-96A|UGM-96A Trident]] I C4
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''41 for Freedom''' refers to the [[US Navy]] [[Fleet Ballistic Missile]] (FBM) submarines from the {{sclass|George Washington|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|Ethan Allen|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|Lafayette|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|James Madison|submarine|5}}, and {{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|4}}es. All of these submarines were commissioned 1959–1967, as the goal was to create a credible, survivable sea-based [[deterrence theory|deterrent]] as quickly as possible. These submarines were nicknamed "41 for Freedom" once the goal of 41 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) was established in the early 1960s. The 1972 [[SALT I Treaty]] limited the number of American [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]] tubes to 656, based on the total missile tubes of the forty-one submarines, in line with the treaty's goal of limiting strategic nuclear weapons to the number already existing.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/subs/const/anatomy/boomers/index.html
|title=Nuclear-powered Ballistic Missile Submarines
|year=2000
|work=Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War 
|publisher=[[National Museum of American History]]
|access-date=2012-01-30
}}</ref>