N120004 USN SKATE CLASS SUBMARINE

The Skate-class units were American nuclear powered fighter submarines (ANNs) that were launched between 1957 and 1958. In total, 4 ships of this class were built. A single unit of this type was 81.6 m long and 7.6 m wide, with an underwater displacement of about 2,850 tons. The maximum underwater speed was up to 22 knots. The armament consisted of 6 bow and 2 stern 533 mm torpedo tubes, with a torpedo reserve of 22. Submarines were the first nuclear fighter class in the history of the US Navy. Interestingly, their design was not directly based on the USS Nautilus, but rather uses a solution known from the Tang class, and indirectly also from the German XXI class of U-boats from World War II (especially when it comes to the hull structure!). However, it was not decided to apply the experience gained from the operation and tests carried out on the USS Albacore, which entered service in 1953. It is assumed that the US Navy command considered it too risky to introduce a revolutionary propulsion combined with an equally revolutionary shape of the hull. This was only done with Skipjack-class submarines. It is worth noting that the 4 Skate-class submarines used different propulsion reactors: the first two ships of this type used the S3W reactor, and the last two - the S4W. Units of this class were withdrawn from service in 1984-1989.