Barbel-class submarine

The Barbel class of submarines, the last diesel-electric propelled attack submarines built by the United States Navy, incorporated numerous, radical engineering improvements over previous classes. They were the first production warships built with the teardrop-shape hull first tested on Albacore (SS-569), and the first to use an "attack center" within the hull rather than a conning tower in the sail. This class of submarine became part of the United States Navy's fleet in 1958 and was taken out of service between 1988 and 1990, leaving the Navy with an entirely nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

The Barbel class' design is considered to be very effective. The Zwaardvis class submarine of the Netherlands and the Hai Lung class submarine of the Republic of China (built and sold by the Netherlands) were based on the Barbel class design.

General characteristics

 * Displacement: 1,745 tons light, 2,316 tons full, 2,644 tons submerged
 * Length: 66.5 m (218 ft 1 in)
 * Beam: 8.8 m (29 ft)
 * Draft: 8.9 m (29 ft 3 in)
 * Armament: six 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (bow), with 18 reload torpedoes
 * Propulsion: three Fairbanks-Morse 38d(8 1/8)&times;10 3150 shp (2.3 MW) diesel engines, two General Electric motors, totaling 4800 shp (3.6 MW)
 * Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h) surfaced, 12 knots (22 km/h) snorkeling, 25.1 knots (46.5 km/h) on battery for 90 minutes
 * Endurance: 1.5 hours at full speed, 102.0 hours at 3 knots (6 km/h)
 * Range: 19,000 miles (31,000 km) without refueling
 * Depth: 712 ft (217 m)
 * Complement: 85 officers and men

Boats

 * USS Barbel (SS-580)
 * USS Blueback (SS-581)
 * USS Bonefish (SS-582)