Editing Lafayette-class submarine

{{Short description|United States Navy class of fleet ballistic missile submarines}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= [[File:Woodrow Wilson sub.jpg|center|300px|USS Woodrow Wilson]]
|Ship caption=''Lafayette''-class submarine USS ''Woodrow Wilson''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Lafayette'' class
|Builders=*[[General Dynamics Electric Boat]]<ref Name=FAS/>
*[[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]]<ref Name=FAS/>
*[[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]]<ref Name=FAS/>
*[[Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]]<ref Name=FAS>[https://fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/navy/submarines/ssbn616_lafayette.html "SSBN-616 Lafayette-Class FBM Submarines" from the FAS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023233739/http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/navy/submarines/ssbn616_lafayette.html |date=2012-10-23 }}</ref>
|Operators={{naval|United States}}
|Class before= {{sclass|Ethan Allen|submarine|4}}
|Class after= {{sclass|James Madison|submarine|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1961–1964 <ref Name=FAS/>
|In service range=
|In commission range=1963–1994 <ref Name=FAS/>
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=9
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=9
|Total ships preserved=1 (as training vessel)
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Nuclear submarine|Nuclear-powered]] [[ballistic missile submarine]]
|Ship displacement=Surfaced: {{convert|7325|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}}
Submerged: {{convert|8251|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1">{{cite book | last = Friedman | first = Norman | title = U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]] | year = 1994 | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]] | pages = 199–203, 244 | isbn = 1-55750-260-9 }}</ref>
|Ship length=  {{convert|425|ft|m|abbr=on}} <ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship beam= {{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}} <ref Name=FAS/>
|Ship draft= {{convert|28|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship propulsion=*1 × [[S5W]] [[Pressurized water reactor|PWR]]<ref Name=FAS/>
*2 geared [[steam turbine]]s ({{convert|15000|shp|abbr=on}}),
*1 shaft<ref name="FriedmanSubs1"/>
|Ship speed=*{{convert|16|kn|km/h}} surfaced
*{{convert|21|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1"/>
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth={{convert|1300|ft|m}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1"/>
|Ship complement=Two crews of 14 officers and 126 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=16 [[Polaris missile|Polaris A2/A3]] or [[UGM-73 Poseidon|Poseidon C3 missile]]s, 4 × [[American 21-inch torpedo|21-inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s, 12 [[torpedo]]es<ref name="FriedmanSubs1"/>
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''Lafayette'' class''' of submarine was an evolutionary development from the {{sclass|Ethan Allen|submarine|4}} of [[fleet ballistic missile submarine]], slightly larger and generally improved.  This class, together with the {{sclass|George Washington|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|Ethan Allen|submarine|5}}, {{sclass|James Madison|submarine|5}}, and {{sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|5}} classes, composed the "[[41 for Freedom]]," the Navy's primary contribution to the [[nuclear deterrent]] force through the late 1980s. The ''James Madison'' and ''Benjamin Franklin'' classes are combined with the ''Lafayette''s in some references.

==Design==
The first eight submarines initially deployed with the [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris A-2]] missile, later being refitted with the longer ranged Polaris A-3, with {{USS|Daniel Webster|SSBN-626|6}} having the A-3 missile from the start.<ref name="Polmar p21">Polmar 1981, p.21.</ref> In the mid-1970s all were upgraded to carry the [[UGM-73 Poseidon|Poseidon C3 missile]]; their missile tubes were slightly larger than the ''Ethan Allen'' and ''George Washington'' classes and Poseidon was designed to take advantage of this.<ref name="FriedmanSubs1"/> Unlike twelve of the similar ''James Madison'' and ''Benjamin Franklin'' classes, none of the ''Lafayette''-class submarines were refitted with [[UGM-96 Trident I|Trident I (C4)]] missiles.

The ''Lafayette''s and their successors were equipped with a hovering system to manage trim more effectively when firing missiles; this increased the missile rate of fire from one per minute to four per minute.<ref name="FriedmanSubs1"/>

''Daniel Webster'' was originally built with [[diving plane]]s mounted on a "mini-sail" near the [[Bow (ship)|bow]], leading to her nickname "Old Funny Fins". This configuration, unique to US submarines, was an attempt to reduce the effect of porpoising. While successful, the "mini-sail" required to contain the operating mechanism reduced hydrodynamic efficiency and lowered her overall speed. During a mid-1970s overhaul these unusual planes were removed and standard [[fairwater plane]]s were installed.<ref>[http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08626.htm ''Daniel Webster'' at NavSource.org]</ref> Here is a rare [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq-LImFhKw8 1964 16mm Silent Film] of USS Daniel Webster testing the unique "Funny Fins" diving planes off Cape Canaveral.

==Fate==
The ''Lafayette''s were decommissioned between 1986 and 1992, due to a combination of [[SALT II]] treaty limitations as the {{sclass|Ohio|submarine|4}} SSBNs entered service, age, and the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]]. One (''Daniel Webster'') remains out of commission but converted to a Moored Training Ship (MTS-626) with the missile compartment removed. She is stationed at [[Nuclear Power School|Nuclear Power Training Unit Charleston]], [[South Carolina]], along with {{USS|La Jolla}} and {{USS|San Francisco|SSN-711|6}}.

== Boats in class==
Submarines of the ''Lafayette'' class:<ref name="Conways p612">Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p.612.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.submarinehistory.com/FleetBallisticMissileSubmarines.html |title=FleetBallisticMissileSubmarines |access-date=2012-10-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728105611/http://www.submarinehistory.com/FleetBallisticMissileSubmarines.html |archive-date=2012-07-28 }} California Center for Military History (dead link 2015-05-05)</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Hull number
! Name
! Builder
! Laid down
! Launched 
! Commissioned
! Decommissioned
! Fate
|-
| SSBN-616
|{{USS|Lafayette|SSBN-616|2}}
|rowspan="2" align="center" |[[General Dynamics Electric Boat]]
|17 January 1961
|8 May 1962
|23 April 1963
|12 August 1991
|Disposed of through [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]], 1992
|-
| SSBN-617
|{{USS|Alexander Hamilton|SSBN-617|2}}
|26 June 1961
|18 August 1962
|27 June 1963
|23 February 1993
|Disposed of through [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]], 1994
|-
| SSBN-619
|{{USS|Andrew Jackson|SSBN-619|2}}
|[[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]]
|26 April 1961
|15 September 1962
|3 July 1963
|31 August 1989
|Disposed of through [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]], 1999
|-
| SSBN-620
|{{USS|John Adams|SSBN-620|2}}
|[[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]]
|19 May 1961
|12 January 1963
|12 May 1964
|24 March 1989
|Disposed of through [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]], 1996
|-
| SSBN-622
|{{USS|James Monroe|SSBN-622|2}}
|[[Newport News Shipbuilding|Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.]]
|31 July 1961
|4 August 1962
|7 December 1963
|25 September 1990
|Disposed of through [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]], 1995
|-
| SSBN-623
|{{USS|Nathan Hale|SSBN-623|2}}
|[[General Dynamics Electric Boat]]
|2 October 1961
|12 January 1963
|23 November 1963
|3 November 1986
|Disposed of through [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]], 1994
|-
| SSBN-624
|{{USS|Woodrow Wilson|SSBN-624|2}}
|[[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]]
|13 September 1961
|22 February 1963
|27 December 1963
|1 September 1994
|Disposed of through [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]], 1998
|-
| SSBN-625
|{{USS|Henry Clay|SSBN-625|2}}
|[[Newport News Shipbuilding|Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.]]
|23 October 1961
|30 November 1962
|20 February 1964
|5 November 1990
|Disposed of through [[Ship-Submarine Recycling Program]], 1997
|-
|| SSBN-626
|{{USS|Daniel Webster|SSBN-626|2}}
|[[General Dynamics Electric Boat]]
|28 December 1961
|27 April 1963
|9 April 1964
|30 August 1990
|Converted to Moored Training Ship (MTS-626) with missile compartment removed.
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of submarines of the United States Navy]]
* [[List of submarine classes of the United States Navy]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Commons category|Lafayette class submarines|''Lafayette'' class submarines}}
*Gardiner, Robert and Chumbley, Stephen (editors). ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995''. Annapolis, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1995. {{ISBN|1-55750-132-7}}.
*Polmar, Norman. ''The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet: Twelfth Edition''. London:Arms and Armour Press, 1981. {{ISBN|0-85368-397-2}}.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140822091054/http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/s_SSBN.htm US Naval Vessel Register - List of SSBN BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINE (NUCLEAR-POWERED) Class vessels]
*{{DANFS}}

{{Lafayette class submarine}}
{{US submarine classes after 1945}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafayette Class Submarine}}
[[Category:Submarine classes]]
[[Category:Lafayette-class submarines| ]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States| Lafayette class]]