List of Sturgeon-class submarines



Named after the lead boat, the Sturgeon class of nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) served with the United States Navy from the late 1960s to the mid-2000s. With a submerged displacement of 4,780 tons, it was replaced by the 6,920-ton Los Angeles-class submarine in 1976. The Sturgeon class was designed with digital combat systems and more quieting features than its predecessor, the Thresher/Permit-class submarine. As SSNs, Sturgeon-class submarines were designed to primarily perform anti-submarine warfare operations. Seven different primary contractors constructed the 37 boats of the class, making it the second-most numerous nuclear-powered warship class in the world after the 62-boat Los Angeles class.

In the late 1950s, the U.S. Navy identified the need to reengineer the Thresher/Permit class, the boats of which were then being constructed. In pursuit of high-speed operations, many design aspects were sacrificed. To address such deficiences, the Sturgeon class was created. This class differed from its predecessor by having enlarged and relocated sails to accommodate additional external sensors besides the single periscope. Its hull was lengthened from about 278 ft to about 292 ft; this, coupled with the larger sail, restricted the class's speed by 2 kn compared to the Thresher/Permit class. Internally, the class's layout was rearranged to improve habitability and to admit more weapons as compared to its predecessor. Among the range of armaments used by the class are the Mark 48 torpedo, the Harpoon anti-ship missile, and the Tomahawk cruise missile.

Starting with USS Archerfish (SSN-678), the hull was lengthened by 10 ft (3 m) to allow a larger living and working space compared to previous boats of the class. Nine boats incorporated such extensions. Other modifications included the addition of Dry Deck Shelter—a submersible module attached to the submarine—to six boats to enable covert insertion and extraction of U.S. Navy SEALs.

Boats
In October 1961, General Dynamics Electric Boat was awarded the contract to construct the lead boat of the class, USS Sturgeon (SSN-637). Laid down in August 1963, the boat was launched in February 1966 before being commissioned in March 1966. Electric Boat would be the largest builder of the class, responsible for twelve boats in total. It was followed by Newport News Shipbuilding (with nine boats), Ingalls Shipbuilding (seven boats), San Francisco Naval Shipyard/Mare Island Naval Shipyard (five boats), General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (two boats each). The final boat of the class, USS Richard B. Russell (SSN-687), was commissioned in August 1975.

Originally designed for 20-year operational lives, boats of the Sturgeon class had this lengthened to 30 years, with a further planned three-year extension. However, many boats were retired prior to the limit to avoid costly nuclear refueling. The first to be decommissioned, in August 1994, was USS Sturgeon; the last, USS Parche (SSN-683), was decommissioned in July 2005. By then, the Los Angeles-, Seawolf-, and Virginia-class SSNs have entered service.


 * Keys
 * {{legend|#FF8C00|Boats in orange(†) were built by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut.}}
 * {{legend|#FFFF00|Boats in yellow(#) were built by Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.}}
 * {{legend|#7CFC00|Boats in lawn green(‡) were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi.}}
 * {{legend|#00FFFF|Boats in aqua were built by San Francisco Naval Shipyard/Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California.}}
 * {{legend|#F4A460|Boats in sandy brown were built by General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division in Quincy, Massachusetts.}}
 * {{legend|#FF0000|Boats in red were built by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.}}