THE TRIM PUMP PUBLICATION OF USSVI NEBRASKA – OCTOBER 2020 http://www.wildbill631g.com/

********************************************************************************* Why America's Virginia-Class Is Really 5 Submarines In 1 Caleb Larson, National Interest, July 3 Here's What You Need To Remember: New submarine classes have to undergo extensive testing and validation in order to be put into production. By implementing incremental changes and improvements in the design (and not just in the production process) the Navy is able to get better submarines out of shipyards and into the water much more quickly than would otherwise be possible. America’s Virginia-class submarines come in five “blocks,” and the latest hulls, block Vs, are essentially a new class of submarine. So why aren’t they called something else? Cost Effective According to the Congressional Research Service, the Virginia-class design “was developed to be less expensive and better optimized for post-Cold War submarine missions than the Seawolf-class design,” which was intended to be the United States’ heavy- weight with which to attack Soviet Union underwater strongpoints. Only three Seawolfs were built. The Virginia-class submarines come in five “blocks,” each with different, incremental improvements and tweaks related to manufacturing ease and upgrades in automation to reduce crew size. While the initial batch of ten Virginia-class submarines (blocks I and II) are essentially the same, the following eight Virginias are block III and incorporate a new bow design. As per Craig Hooper’s analysis, the new block IIIs will have “a new sonar array and large diameter vertical payload tubes.” A prodigious twenty percent of the block IIIs were redesigned. Of that class, the USS Delaware will apparently be commissioned into the U.S. Navy in 2020. As Hooper explains, “the new Block V boats, by adding the payload tubes and making other changes, induced another 20 percent change in the overall Virginia class design,” which means that the block Vs are forty percent re-designed. They’re essentially new submarines. Block V Virginia’s are also about eighty feet longer, carry more Tomahawk missiles, and have underwater drone launch and recovery capabilities. So if they’re so different—why aren’t they a different class? Two reasons: bureaucracy and innovation New submarine classes have to undergo extensive testing and validation in order to be put into production. By implementing incremental changes and improvements in the design (and not just in the production process) the Navy is able to get better submarines out of shipyards and into the water much more quickly than would otherwise be possible. A secondary benefit to the “incremental change” strategy are the lessons learned that would presumably be incorporated into the Columbia-class design. The Columbia-class is a planned twelve-hull design that would be the America’s most advanced nuclear- propelled design once they enter the water, likely in 2027. Hooper explains that the downside of incorporating incremental changes is that it hampers new ideas: “the time-consuming and expensive bureaucratic requirements that face new programs may discourage innovation and incentivize the Navy to keep older platforms in service longer than is prudent.” Put bluntly, the Pentagon’s pathological fear of a “new start” may encourage the development of sub-optimal solutions to avoid testing and trials requirements inherent in a “new platform.” In order to work around the Navy—the Navy—is not renaming the class, but “blocking” the tweaked variants. Smart. Starting next year I have decided that I will no longer mail any hard copies of the TRIM PUMP. This one and one more will be the last hard copies. The TRIM PUMP can be obtained on my website http://www.wildbill631g.com/ or emailed to you. Email me at [email protected] Last Typhoon: Can The World’s Largest Even if it only has one missile tube ready there is no denying that the giant submarine is still active. It frequently Submarine Still Destroy The World? joins other Russian Navy vessels on exercises. And it has H I Sutton, Forbes, August 23 been observed at a weapons pier specially designed for The Russian Navy’s Typhoon Class is the undisputed king loading and unloading nuclear missiles. of submarine designs. It is much larger than anything else So whether or not Dmitry Donskoy currently carries part of ever built. For context, the 33,800-ton monster is almost Russia’s nuclear deterrent, it seems that it could if called twice as large as the U.S. Navy’s Ohio Class ballistic upon. Possibly some modernization work would be missile sub. And while no submarine is immune to required if not all of the missile tubes are currently active. criticism, it is regarded as an engineering marvel even If so (and it seems likely), then it could involve major among Western analysts. But despite its fame, renovations. But that is not to say it couldn’t be done. Like immortalized in Tom Clancy’s The Hunt For Red October, so many aspects of the Russian Navy submarine fleet, we there is a mystery. Open-source analysts appear uncertain are kept guessing. about the armament and capabilities of the last remaining Typhoon, TK-208 Dmitry Donskoy. Is it equipped with a full load-out of ballistic missiles? If so Defense bills include money for two this single submarine packs enough firepower to obliterate Virginia-class subs any country. Or is it just a test bed used for trials, armed Mike Gooding, 13newsnow.com, August 25 with a single missile? Said another way, we don’t actually NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Back in February, the know whether Dmitry Donskoy still packs the nuclear Trump administration proposed funding only one of the punch it once did. And that also means that we do not know Virginia-class fast-attack nuclear-powered submarines in for sure how many fully operational ballistic missile fiscal year 2021. submarines Russia has. The plan represented a 50 percent cut from last As originally built, the Typhoon Class were armed with year's budget, a departure from long-standing military twenty R-39 ‘Rif’ intercontinental ballistic missiles. These plans to build two of the subs per year, and would not massive missiles, known to NATO as the SS-N-20 have been good news for Newport News Shipbuilding. Sturgeon, were about 53 feet long and nearly 8 feet across. The House version of the National Defense Again for comparison, that is much larger than the Trident- Authorization Act, passed in July, would authorize $6.8 II missiles carried by equivalent U.S. Navy and Royal Navy boats. It was partly because the missiles were so huge billion for two Virginia-class submarines. The Senate that the submarine to carry them had to be the world’s version includes $4.6 billion for the two subs. largest. "It's a jobs and livelihood thing for so many The R-39 missiles were solid fueled, meaning that the people here in Hampton Roads, in addition to being rocket motor used a solid block of propellant instead of critical to our national defense," said Rep. Elaine Luria liquid propellants. Western submarine-launched missiles (D-Va, 2nd District), who is a member of the House also use solid propellants (some other Russian ones are Armed Services Committee. liquid fueled) and it is widely considered safer than liquids. But there is still a possibility that President But it does have one relevant drawback. The solid fuel has Donald J.Trump could veto the entire NDAA over his a shelf life after which it becomes too unreliable. For the objection to a provision in it that would require the Typhoons, the missiles expired about 20 years ago. And Army to rename 10 bases which are named for due to the end of the Cold War, Russia decided not to Confederate figures from the Civil War. spend the many millions needed to replace the motors. At Luria says a veto of the bill -- which includes a the same time the improved R-39M missile was abandoned. three percent pay raise for the troops and which has The Typhoons were slowly withdrawn from service, and passed for 60 consecutive years -- would be a big now only Dmitry Donskoy remains. mistake. Dmitry Donskoy is now armed with the more modern "This is is the bill that funds our military. It provides the RSM-56 Bulava missile that replaced the R-39M project. resources for our national defense. So, it's shocking if he This has a range of around 5,000 miles and can rain down 6 would consider vetoing that legislation." or more MIRVs (multiple independently targetable reentry Luria added she supports changing the base vehicles). But it is unclear whether all of her missile tubes were modernized to carry the new missile. name. Officially, per the Russian Ministry of Defense website (in "They are commemorating a past that is not America's Russian), it has a capability for 20 of the missiles. But there finest hour," she said. have been persistent rumors that only one or two tubes Three of the bases -- Fort Lee, Fort Pickett, and were upgraded to allow it to act as a test bed. The Fort A.P. Hill -- are located in Virginia. difference to the Russian Ministry of Defense information In the end, it may not matter what President may reflect their status under New START (Strategic Arms Trump thinks, because the initial bills passed out of both Reduction Treaty). Under this all of the tubes have to be the House and Senate with bipartisan, veto-proof counted even if not used. majorities. own infrastructure. Pawling believes that “by 2040 external What The Ultimate Submarine carriage of XLUUVs would be likely. Think of it like an Could Look Like in 20 Years aircraft carrier that has to keep some aircraft on deck at all H I Sutton, Forbes, August 14 times, only having enough internal space for maintenance.” There are a few basics which are not likely to change, however. With the advent of autonomous underwater vehicles The U.S. Navy’s Virginia Class fast attack it is easy to suggest that future submarines will be completely submarines are ruthlessly efficient war machines, the apex uncrewed. None of the experts I discussed this with think that predators of the deep. Yet their general appearance and many it will go that far. Yet advances in automation and artificial aspects of their design have a direct lineage back to the 1950s. intelligence will greatly reduce the crews. The same can be said of British and Russian subs. Those who are left will live in relative comfort, and However, a range of new technologies could allow radically have easy access to the things we take for granted ashore, like different submarines in the future. social media. That is unthinkable today. Hall notes, “crew The U.S. Navy wants its next submarine, the don't like being away from the internet and social media, it is a SSN(X), to be bigger and faster than the current Virginia Class societal need. This is bad enough on a surface vessel, all but boats. The Royal Navy’s SSN(R) and Chinese Navy’s Type- impossible on a stealthy, submerged submarine.” But 095 Class boats will likely follow generally similar improvements in undersea communications could make it thinking. So what are the trends and technologies which could possible. revolutionize the next generation of submarine? They will also benefit from Virtual Reality or A driving force will be to increase the number of holographic displays of the 3D battlespace in which they are weapons a future submarine can carry, as well as autonomous operating. Command centers may look more like Star Trek underwater vehicles (AUVs, aka UUVs or simply ‘drones’). with more space and physically slimmer equipment. So the torpedo room, and it is likely to remain called that And much of the AI, navigation and communications may despite everything I am about to say, will be more of a leverage quantum computing. ‘generic ocean interface.’ It will have to be larger and almost These technologies will also change how a submarine certainly fully automated. ‘sees’ in the dark of the ocean. Aaron Amick who runs the Sub Another way that it will carry more weapons is Brief channel told me that sonar is undergoing a dramatic because some of them will be smaller, like the Swedish evolution at the moment. He believes three significant changes lightweight torpedoes which are loaded two to a tube. Or the are coming to sonar in the next 20 years: “Better materials, Very Lightweight Torpedo (VLWT) that Northrop Grumman mobile drone arrays, and artificial intelligent operators.” For is working on. These can be used against lower-value targets, materials, “thousands of synthetic acoustic sensors will create which are currently a problem for submarines armed only with an acoustic advantage, unlike anything we have seen before.” very expensive torpedoes. And they can be used to intercept What Amick envisions for mobile drone arrays is “deployable, incoming enemy torpedoes. disposable drones which can venture away from the The small AUVs carried aboard will be used to submarine. This will extend the sonar search beyond current extend the sensor reach of the submarine. Steve Hall, CEO of hull-mounted and towed array capabilities. They might use Society for Underwater Technology (SUT), told me that he blue-green laser data links to send the information back.” This "can easily see that expensive submarines with a human crew will be plugged into the third advance, AI. on board may stay silent and deep, deploying or remote- More prosaically, submarines are still likely to be controlling a variety of air, surface and submerged large steel tubes like they are today. This is largely because of autonomous or semi-autonomous systems.” limitations in how they are manufactured — unless 3D With new secure, discrete, underwater printing can make new things possible. Pawling notes that “if communications technologies, drones and submarines will 3D printing of hulls becomes possible then odd shapes might operate together as part of a network. Today submarines are become more popular.” But I wouldn’t bet on it happening in generally lone wolfs because of the difficulty of identifying 20 years. whether a target is friend or foe. This is even more of a How the submarines of the future will be powered is challenge for armed drones, which lack human judgement. But harder to speculate about. Lithium-ion batteries and the latest next-generation underwater communications could change the Air Independent Power (AIP), particularly fuel cells, are equation. making larger non-nuclear submarines more capable. These There are mutterings of a move is away from vertical will transform non-nuclear countries' navies. launch systems (VLS). Torpedo rooms are more versatile and But the power potential of nuclear propulsion will can be used to launch weapons or drones at higher speeds. remain attractive to those countries which have it. Especially However it is a nuanced topic. Dr Rachel Pawling, who if you want to have a high-power laser firing out of the teaches naval architecture at University College periscope. If you want to make a long bet on the ultimate London, suggests, “VLS is always going to hang around for submarine of 2040, maybe it will have new nuclear fusion those large air flight weapons where you want to launch power plants like those proposed by Lockheed Martin. several in quick order and don't care about reloads.” This would include larger hypersonic weapons such as Boost Glide missiles. Really large drones, termed XLUUVs (extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles), may also be carried. Think of them as small uncrewed submarines with their own independent warfighting capabilities. But these will need their USSVI Nebraska Base July Minutes Jason Harris. He is survived by : his wife Donna Leeds of Cherokee, Iowa; his children, Allison Harris of Cherokee, July 11th 2020 Meeting Iowa, Kevin Harris and Charlie Harris of Eight Mile, Alabama; and his siblings, Delwin Harris of Kansas, Eldon At 1310 CMDR Pat Hancock called meeting Harris of Kansas, Genevela of Ottawa, Kansas and Tara Fish to order. (Alden) of Ottawa, Kansas. He is also survived by several Motion to wave the reading of the last nieces and nephews. meeting’s minute was voted on and passed. Visitation will be held on Saturday, August 22nd 2020 Financial Report stated we had 1732.21 in from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM at the Boothby Funeral Funeral the bank. Motion to accept Treasurer Report was Home (207 E Main St, Cherokee, IA 51012). voted on and passed. Shore Duty Next meeting is in Wahoo, NE on October 10th. Tolling of the Bell Ceremony location will Name Location Rate/Rank Years Special Duties Basic Enlisted depend on the weather. Groton, 1974- Submarine School SN Student CT 75 Old business - none (BESS) New business - none Student - For the good of the order – none Polaris Dam Electronics Meeting adjourned. Naval Guided 1975- Neck, ETN3 "A" School, Missile School 76 ****************************************** VA Navigation Aids "C" School Student - Dam Ship's Inertial Naval Guided 1979- Neck, ET2(SS) Navigation Missile School 80 VA System (SINS) School Instructor - Dam Ship's Inertial Naval Guided 1980- Neck, ET1(SS) Navigation Missile School 83 VA System (SINS) School Ships

Ship's Special Hull# Rate/RankYears Division Name Duties SSBN/SSN- John 1976- Forward ETN2(SS) Navigation Marshall 79 Electronics 611

Glenn Eugene Harris Obituary Here is Glenn Eugene Harris’s obituary. Please accept Echovita’s sincere condolences. It is always difficult saying goodbye to someone we love and cherish. Family and friends must say goodbye to their beloved Glenn Eugene Harris of Cherokee, Iowa, born in Kansas City, Missouri, who passed away at the age of 65, on August 14, 2020. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Glenn Eugene Harris to show support. He was predeceased by : his parents, George Harris and Russie Harris (Dodson); and his son Nebraska USSVI Base October 2020 Meeting

October 10TH in Wahoo, Nebraska SATURDAY OCTOBER 10th The meeting of the USSVI Nebraska Base be held at the Veterans Memorial Club at 1300 (1:00PM). Club address – 112 E.7th St. Wahoo.

*** We will be having a lunch at 1200 Noon at the Club prior to the meeting for a small fee for those who wish to have lunch.

Wahoo Memorial service will be held at 1500(3:00PM) after the *** ATTENTION *** meeting on the Saunders County WILLIAM C. WILSON Veterans Plaza on the Court House 1301 N. SIXTH STREET Lawn in front of the Wahoo Torpedo RED OAK, IOWA 51566 Memorial or at the Veterans Club depending on the weather to include a Home 712-357-1035 Tolling of the Lost Boats Ceremony. Cell 712-621-4994

Host Hotel – Wahoo Heritage Inn 950 N. Chestnut St., Wahoo, Ne 68066-1665 PHONE (402) 443-1288 FAX (402) 443-1289 TOLL FREE (866) 443-1288 Any questions call: Pat Hancock # 402.443.3607 (Home) or 402.443.7998 (Cell) [email protected] or [email protected]

*********************************************************************************************************************************** Russian shipyard floats out first serial Borei- A-class nuclear-powered submarine Not Attributed, TASS, July 16 The first serial Project 955A (Borei-A) strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine Knyaz Oleg was floated out on Thursday, the Sevmash shipbuilding plant’s press service said. "Today, on July 16, a ceremony to float out the Knyaz Oleg strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine of the Borei-A class took place at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk," the statement said. The ceremony was attended by officials from the Defense Ministry, the Russian Navy, the United Shipbuilding Corporation, Sevmash and other agencies. The lead submarine of Project 955A, the Knyaz Vladimir, has already entered service with the Russian Navy. It arrived to Gadzhiyevo, the main base of the Northern Fleet’s submarine forces, on July 3. Project 955A strategic missile-carrying underwater cruisers represent the fourth generation of nuclear- powered subs built for the Russian Navy. According Russia’s Defense Ministry, Borei-A-class submarines are less noisy and feature improved maneuvering, depth and armament control systems. All Borei-class submarines can carry 16 Bulava ballistic missiles. They are also furnished with 533mm torpedo tubes. STRATCOM Commander: Number of minimum number of submarines you can get to. It doesn’t matter what number of weapons or missiles are on them, SSBNs Needed Depends on Threat it’s the number of platforms I have to have to make my Richard R. Burgess, Sea Power Magazine, July 31 statement remain true on force survivability. That is why ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is planning to build the Navy and the STRATCOM will say ‘at least 12’ 12 Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines (SSBNs) to [Columbia-class SSBNs]. We need to see what the threat replace its 14 legacy Ohio-class SSBNs, but the number looks like.” could change if the threat to the United States changes. Richard praised the introduction of the low-yield W76-2 With the increasing concern about the growing power of nuclear warhead into the deterrent force. “It is a very China and Russia in the era of “great power competition,” welcome addition,” he said. “It is doing exactly what it was the numbers in the U.S. nuclear deterrence triad — Navy designed to do, but it is important to remember it added SSBNs and U.S. Air Force bombers and intercontinental into an already existing stack of capabilities.” ballistic missiles — might need to be changed to meet the He also noted that the Nuclear Posture Review “wisely future threat. talked about a sea-launched [nuclear] cruise missile … a Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic very good beginning to offset the numbers of non-treaty- Command, speaking July 30 at a webinar sponsored by the accountable weapons that has great benefit in the assurance Mitchell Institute, said that the U.S strategic deterrent is of our allies.” “going to be tested in ways that it hasn’t been tested https://www.ketv.com/article/chronicle-sitting-down-with- before,” noting that “it has been 30 years since the United us-stratcoms-newest-head-of-command/33104870# States contemplated a nuclear conflict.” This Nebraska television station’s interview is available to Richard noted that Russia has been modernizing its forces watch (13 minutes) or to read the transcript. ADM Richard for the last 15 years and that there has been a “breathtaking recently moved from Norfolk as COMSUBFOR to Omaha as expansion” in China’s forces. STRATCOM. The new command headquarters building is “China is on a trajectory to be a peer to us by the end of the discussed, as well as the mission and readiness of STRATCOM. decade,” he said. The Chinese Navy’s New Mystery Submarine The admiral praised the U.S. nuclear deterrent triad because of the “flexibility of its design,” which allows U.S. H I SuttonContributor Strategic Command to respond to every contingency. Aerospace & Defense “If you take away any leg [of the triad], you just took away I cover the changing world of underwater warfare. a stack of attributes that we have found useful in that past China continues to surprise the defense world. It is and see being useful in the future,” he said. “Can I probably the only country on earth that can build a full- compensate in some respects by coming across and using size submarine without any details leaking out. By other elements of the triad? Yes, but not with those same comparison the name, size and general characteristics attributes. Which means you just narrowed the range of the of U.S. Navy submarines are well known long before situations that we are able to effectively deter. You just they roll out of the shed. A year ago China surprised took away a future hedging capability. If you took a piece [of the triad] away, that’s going to make it that much harder everyone by launching a submarine that no one had for me to execute the policy of this nation as documented in been expecting. Only now are further details emerging the Nuclear Posture Review.” via open source intelligence. Richard addressed the survivability of the SSBN leg of the triad, armed with Trident missiles. “When we say the submarine leg is survivable, that’s not just based on individual platform survivability,” he said. “Submarines are very difficult to find. They are not impossible to find. They have to be operated correctly like any stealth platform. But you derive that from force survivability. It is the combination of the number and location and the way you are operating the force is what gives you that very high confidence that that leg is going to survive.” An official publicity photograph of the launch ceremony “I’m very confident that the Navy has taken the right steps of the so-called 'sailless' submarine in ... [+] to ensure that we are able to maintain force survivability,” Richard continued. “I think it’s important that when we set JIANGNAN SHIPBUILDING GROUP the requirements, particularly the numbers for the Until now we could only estimate her size based on the platforms, that was based on a specific threat. If you change launch photos. Thanks to fresh analysis of commercial the threat on me, then we have to come back and re-think satellite imagery, which caught the new submarine what the right number is. That’s going up. Going down, it’s outside the shipyard, we now know that she is 150 feet not just what the threat looks like, but it’s what it takes to long and about 15 feet across. This is slightly smaller maintain that attribute of the leg. There’s a Continued on page 9 Los-Angeles Class Submarine: The and batteries are available to provide emergency propulsion. Stealth Submarine Russia Feared The sensor suite is centered around the BQQ-5 sonar system, with the class progressively equipped with Kyle Mizokami, National Interest, July 7 the BQQ-5A(V)1, BQQ-5C and later the BQQ-5D—the same sonar that equips the Seawolf class. For flank The Los Angeles–class nuclear attack submarines detection, AN/BQG-5 wide aperture arrays dot the were the most successful American submarines of the Cold submarine’s sides, providing passive sonar detection War. capability. The class has been equipped with several towed Here's What You Need to Remember: At 360 feet long and sonar arrays, most recently the TB-29 Thin Line Towed 6,927 tons submerged, the Los Angeles–class submarines Array. The tail fins that support the towed arrays also were designed to be 20 percent longer and 50 percent larger support seven-celled Countermeasure Set, Acoustic MK 2 by displacement volume than their predecessors. launchers. The Los Angeles–class nuclear attack submarines Armament consists of four 533-millimeter torpedo were the most successful American submarines of the Cold tubes for all production submarines. The tubes are placed War. The United States built sixty-two Los Angeles–class amidships on the hull due to the bow housing the subs, more than any class except for the Gato class of active/pass sonar array. The ships can carry twenty-six World War II. Fast, powerful and heavily armed, the torpedo tube-launched weapons, which at the height of the submarines are slowly being replaced by Virginia-class Cold War included Mk.48 homing torpedoes, up to eight attack boats. Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon antiship missiles and The Los Angeles–class submarines, also known as CAPTOR mines. The last twenty-three submarines were the 688 class, were first designed in the early 1970s. The equipped with twelve vertical launch silos for Tomahawk first ship, Los Angeles (SSN-688), was laid down in 1976. missiles, a concept carried on with the Virginia class, for a The submarines were produced at a Cold War pace, with possible total of twenty Tomahawk missiles. production averaging three to five submarines annually, In addition to the traditional roles of undersea, significantly higher than the current pace of two Virginia- surface and strike warfare, the Los Angeles class was class submarines produced annually. The Navy sustained capable of conducting special operations. Select ships in this rate of production until 1992. Over the twenty years the the class were capable of being fitted with the portable Dry class was produced, various systems, including propulsion, Dock Shelter, which could hold a Swimmer Delivery bow and towed sonar, and even hull material were Vehicle, up to twenty SEAL commandos and four Combat upgraded to reflect the latest technology. Rubber Raiding Craft. This role has been taken over by the At 360 feet long and 6,927 tons submerged, the Ohio-class cruise missile submarines and the Seawolf class, Los Angeles–class submarines were designed to be 20 particularly the USS Jimmy Carter. percent longer and 50 percent larger by displacement Although intelligence gathering has long been a volume than their predecessors, the Sturgeon class. They role for submarines, starting in the 1990s the U.S. are also reportedly much faster: while the Sturgeon class submarine fleet began using an Army phrase, “intelligence could make twenty-six knots submerged, the Los Angeles preparation of the battlefield,” to describe intelligence class can allegedly make a swift thirty-seven knots. gathering in support of operations on the ground. Lacking a The Los Angeles–class submarines were underwater enemy to fight, American submarines could constructed from HY-80 steel, with a glass reinforced linger off the coastlines of potential adversaries, collecting plastic bow over the sonar array. This gives the submarine electronic data and conducting surveillance operations. The a maximum official depth of 650 feet. Other sources peg Los Angeles class was at the forefront of this effort, and maximum operating depth at 950 feet. The absolute USS Annapolis was refitted with a photonic mast featuring maximum diving depth in emergencies is reportedly 1,475 cameras instead of a traditional periscope mast. feet. Sixty-two Los Angeles–class submarines were The submarines feature a teardrop hull first built between 1976 and 1996. Not all of them served at introduced with the Skipjack class, with diving planes once—some of the earliest subs were retired starting in mounted on the sail. The last twenty-three ships in class 1995 with just seventeen years of service to avoid costly moved the diving planes to the bow and feature nuclear refueling costs while the production line was still strengthened sails for breaking through Arctic ice. This was running! Today thirty-eight are still on active duty. The likely in response to the Soviet Union’s Typhoon-class Seawolf class, meant to provide deeper-diving submarines ballistic-missile submarines, which were designed to capable of Arctic operations, was canceled at three ships, operate under and through Arctic pack ice. due to cost overruns and the quest for a 1990s “peace According to Combat Fleets of the World, each dividend.” The true replacements for the “688” class are the submarine is served by a General Electric S6G pressurized Virginia submarines, currently under construction. water reactor powering two sets of geared steam turbines. The reactor provides 35,000-shaft horsepower to a single seven-bladed propeller. Some of the last of the class built have pump jets instead of a propeller. A diesel generator In Just Minutes, A U.S. Navy Ohio-class nuclear weapons at all. At least that’s the hope.As such, the Trident-armed Ohio-class submarines will have succeeded Submarine Could Wipe Out 24 Cities in their mission if they never fire their weapons in anger. Sebastian Roblin, National Interest, July 9 The Ohio-class boats entered service in the 1980s as a Here's What You Need to Remember: The Ohio replacement for five different classes of fleet ballistic- class will serve on until the end of the 2020s, and may even missile submarines, collectively known as the “41 for receive some additional acoustic stealth upgrades until they Freedom.” Displacing more than eighteen thousand tons are replaced by a successor, tentatively dubbed the submerged, the new boomers remain the largest submarines Columbia class. With estimated costs of $4–6 billion each to serve in the U.S. Navy—and the third largest ever built. to manufacture, the next-generation boomers may be fewer With the exception of the Henry M. Jackson, each is named in number and will use new reactors that do not require after a U.S. state, an honor previously reserved for large expensive overhauls and refueling, allowing them to serve surface warships. on until 2085. In the event of a nuclear exchange, a boomer Nine years after the atomic bombings of would likely receive its firing orders via Very Low Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Ishirō Honda’s Godzilla depicted Frequency radio transmission. While a submarine’s a monster awakened from the depths of the ocean to wreak missiles are not pretargeted, like those in in fixed silos, they havoc on Japanese cities. A giant fire-breathing reptile, can be assigned coordinates quite rapidly. The first eight however, was less horrifying than what was to come. In Ohio-class boats were originally built to launch the Trident less than a decade’s time, there would be dozens of real I C4 ballistic missile—an advanced version of the earlier undersea beasts capable of destroying multiple cities at a Poseidon SLBM. However, by now all of the boomers are time. I’m referring, of course, to ballistic-missile armed with the superior Trident II D5 ballistic missile, submarines, or “boomers” in U.S. Navy parlance. which has 50 percent greater range and is capable of very The most deadly of the real-life kaiju prowling the accurate strikes, which could enable them to precisely oceans today are the fourteen Ohio-class ballistic-missile target military installations as a first-strike weapon. submarines, which carry upwards of half of the United Ohio-class submarines also come armed with four States’ nuclear arsenal onboard. twenty-one-inch tubes that can launch Mark 48 torpedoes. If you do the math, the Ohio-class boats may be However, these are intended primarily for self-defense—a the most destructive weapon system created by humankind. ballistic missile submarine’s job isn’t to hunt enemy ships Each of the 170-meter-long vessels can carry twenty-four and submarines, but to lie as low and quiet as possible to Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) deny adversaries any means of tracking their movements. which can be fired from underwater to strike at targets The submarine’s nuclear reactor gives it virtually unlimited more than seven thousand miles away depending on the underwater endurance and the ability to maintain cruising load. speeds of twenty knots (twenty-three miles per hour) while As a Trident II reenters the atmosphere at speeds producing very little noise. of up to Mach 24, it splits into up to eight independent While other branches of the military may be reentry vehicles, each with a 100- or 475-kiloton nuclear deployed in reaction to the crisis of the day, the nuclear warhead. In short, a full salvo from an Ohio-class submarines maintain a steady routine of patrols, and submarine—which can be launched in less than one communicate infrequently so as to remain as stealthy as minute—could unleash up to 192 nuclear warheads to wipe possible. Each Ohio-class submarine has two crews of 154 twenty-four cities off the map. This is a nightmarish officers and enlisted personnel, designated Gold and Blue, weapon of the apocalypse. who take turns departing on patrols that last an average of The closest competitor to the Ohio-class submarine seventy to ninety days underwater—with the longest on is the Russia’s sole remaining Typhoon-class submarine, a record being 140 days by the USS Pennsylvania. An larger vessel with twenty ballistic-missile launch tubes. average of a month is spent between patrols, with resupply However, China, Russia, India, England and France all facilitated by three large-diameter supply hatches. operate multiple ballistic-missile submarines with varying Currently, nine boomers are based in Bangor, missile armaments—and even a few such submarines Washington to patrol the Pacific Ocean, while five are would suffice to annihilate the major cities in a developed stationed in Kings Bay, Georgia for operations in the nation. Atlantic. The end of the Cold War, and especially the What possible excuse is there for such monstrous, Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, resulted in the nation-destroying weaponry? downsizing of U.S. nuclear forces. However, rather than The logic of nuclear deterrence: while a first strike retiring some of the oldest boats as originally planned, the might wipe out a country’s land-based missiles and nuclear Navy decided to refit four of the eighteen Ohio-class subs bombers, it’s very difficult to track a ballistic-missile to serve as cruise missile carriers to launch conventional submarine patrolling quietly in the depths of the ocean— attacks against ground and sea targets—starting with the and there’s little hope of taking them all out in a first strike. USS Ohio. Thus, ballistic-missile submarines promise the unstoppable Meanwhile, the New START treaty which came hand of nuclear retribution—and should deter any sane adversary from attempting a first strike or resorting to Continued on page 9 BOAT DESIGNATION REPORTED LOST MEN INFORMATION B0AT DESIGNATION REPORTED LOST MEN LOST INFORMATION

USS G2 SS-27 30-Jul-1919 3 LOST FOUNDERED IN LONG ISLAND SOUND USS GRUNION SS-216 30-Jul-1942 70 LOST UNKNOWN CAUSES OFF KISKA ISLAND, ALEUTIANS USS S-28 SS-133 4-Jul-1944 50 LOST FOUNDERED OFF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS USS ROBALO SS-273 26-Jul-1944 78 LOST POSSIBLE JAPANESE MINE OFF PALAWAN - 4 POWS USS S-39 SS-144 16-Aug-1942 0 LOST STRUCK A SUBMERGED REEF OFF ROSSEL ISLAND, IN THE LOIISIADE ARCHIPELAGO USS POMPANO I SS-181 29-Aug-1943 76 LOST POSSIBLE JAPANESE MINE OFF HONSHU, JAPAN USS FLIER SS-250 13-Aug-1944 78 LOST JAPANESE MINE IN BALABAC STRAIT USS HARDER I SS-257 24-Aug-1944 79 LOST JAPANESE DEPTH CHARGE ATTACK OFF LUZON,P.I. USS BULLHEAD SS-332 6-Aug-1945 84 LOST JAPANESE AIR ATTACK OFF BALI COAST USS S-51 SS-162 25-Sep-1925 33 LOST RAMMED OFF BLOCK ISLAND, RHODE ISLAND USS GRAYLING I SS-209 9-Sep-1943 76 LOST UNKNOWN CAUSES ALONG APPROACHES TPO MANILA, P.I. USS CISCO SS-290 28-Sep-1943 76 LOST JAPANESE AIR/SURFACE ATTACK IN SULU SEA USS O5 SS-66 20-Oct-1923 3 LOST RAMMED IN LIMON BAY, CANAL ZONE USS S-44 SS-155 7-Oct-1943 55 LOST JAPANESE SURFACE ATTACK IN SEA OF OKHOTSK USS WAHOO I SS-238 11-Oct-1943 80 LOST JAPANESE AIR/SURFACE ATTACK IN LA PEROUSE STRAIT OFF JAPAN USS DORADO I SS-248 12-Oct-1943 76 LOST AIR ATTACK IN SW ATLANTIC USS SEAWOLF II SS-197 3-Oct-1944 99 LOST USS ROWELL OFF MOROTAI ISLAND USS ESCOLAR SS-294 17-Oct-1944 82 LOST POSSIBLE JAPANESE MINE IN YELLOW SEA OFF CHINA USS SHARK II SS-314 24-Oct-1944 87 LOST JAPANESE DEPTH CHARGE ATTACK OFF FORMOSA USS TANG I SS-306 24-Oct-1944 78 LOST CIRCULAR RUN OF OWN TORPEDO IN FORMOSA STRAIT USS DARTER SS-227 24-Oct-1944 0 LOST GROUNDED ON BOMBAY SHOAL, SOUTH CHINA SEA

UNITED STATES SUBMARINE VETERANS INCORPORATED OFFICERS CMDR/POC PATRICK J. HANCOCK 1626 N. SYCAMORE STR. [email protected] WAHOO, NE 68066-1044 VICE CMDR ********************* 2ND VICE SECRETARY William C. Wilson Same as Below TREASURER MEMBERSHIP TRIM PUMP - WILLIAM C. WILSON 1301 N 6TH STREET EDITOR RED OAK, IA 51566 712-357-1035 [email protected] SUBVETTES USSVI OFFICERS ???? PRESIDENT LORRI KENTNER 217 W 2ND STREET – PO BOX 548 H 402-755-2169 C 402-404-1289 PONCA, NE 68770 [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT ******************** SECRETARY KATHY HANCOCK(PAT) 1626 N. SYCAMORE STR. WAHOO, NE 68066-1044 HISTORIAN CINDY MONINGER 310 G STR. SHELTON, NE 68876-9503 308-647-6767(TIM) [email protected] TREASURER SUE ANDERSEN 3590 LOWELL ROAD GIBBON, NE 68840 308-468-6655 (LARRY) ************************************************************************************************************************************************ From page 8 some form of builder’s trials. She is not yet posted to into effect in 2011 imposes additional limits on the an operational base. number of deployed nuclear weapons. The current plan is This submarine is a unique design that has no sail to to keep twelve Ohio-class subs active at time with twenty speak of. All other submarines have this fin-like Trident IIs each, while two more boomers remain in overhaul, structure rising up from the middle of the deck where keeping a total of 240 missiles active at a time with 1,090 the periscope goes. Until now it has been a defining warheads between them. Don’t worry, restless hawks: characteristic of a submarine: this boat is flatter and that’s still enough to destroy the world several times over! has a tiny bump where the sail should go. The reason The Ohio class will serve on until the end of the for this has been the subject of speculation. One 2020s and may even receive some additional acoustic theory is that the submarine is uncrewed, and so does stealth upgrades until they are replaced by a successor, not need a sail for the captain to stand in when tentatively dubbed the Columbia class. With estimated navigating on the surface. This would make it the costs of $4–6 billion each to manufacture, the next- world’s largest and most impressive Autonomous generation boomers may be fewer in number and will use new reactors that do not require expensive overhauls and Underwater Vehicle (AUV). China recently revealed a refueling, allowing them to serve on until 2085. large AUV but that is nothing in comparison. ****************************************************** From I suspect that this is not the case. Instead the most From Page 6 likely explanation is that it is a test submarine to than my initial estimates and makes her compact for a evaluate radical ideas for future Chinese attack submarine but still too large to be described as a submarines. One day we may know this mystery midget submarine. The satellite passed overhead in submarine’s name and mission, but for now the September, demonstrating that she is undergoing Chinese Navy has the West guessing. THE TRIM PUMP EDITOR WILLIAM C. WILSON THE TRIM PUMP OCTOBER 2020 1301 N 6TH STREET RED OAK, IA 51566

52 U.S. WORLD WAR II SUBMARINES STILL AT SEA