Missile Submarines

A Poseidon C-3 ballistic missile erupts from the water shortly after its launch from the submarine USS Daniel Boone (SSBN-629) on September 21, 1970.

The Navy's fleet of submarine-launched ballistic missiles is vital to the nation. Yet missile submarines, or "boomers," rarely win headlines. And little is known by the public about the develepment of the missiles carried by these subs. That story is, in large part, about Vice Adm. William F. "Red" Raborn, who made it all happen. In the early 1950s, a Washington magazine published an article accompanied by a cover painting of what looked like a bullet rising into the sky from the sea. It was a rare public view of a long-range ballistic missile, a modern-day outgrowth of the German V-2 rocket of World War II. But this new weapon would have a nuclear warhead. Bringing together the ballistic missile and the submarine took the genius of Raborn, a 1928 graduate of the Naval Academy and former carrier skipper. To realize the goal of developing a submarine-launched ballistic missile, the Special Projects Office was established in November 1955 with Raborn as its director.

In an extraordinary crash program driven by Raborn's powerful personality; the office undertook development of what soon became the Polaris missile and a new class of nuclear powered submarines to carry the missile. Both submarine and missile were full-fledged marvels of human genius. The first "boomers" displaced about 6,800 tons when submerged, carried 12 officers and 100 enlisted men and packed 16 Polaris missiles in grouped launch tubes dubbed "Sherwood Forest." The missiles were capable of being launched not merely at sea but from beneath the sea. Only five years after Raborn's program office "began butting heads," in the recollection of one expert, the George Washington, first of 41 Polaris subs, departed in November 1960 on its first deterrent patrol. As for the UGM-27 Polaris A-1 missile, it did look like a bullet. It was tipped with a 500-kiloton W-47 thermonuclear warhead, known in the 1950s as a "city buster."

Early Polaris missiles were so short-ranged that, to get close enough to the Soviet Union, the "boomers" had to operate in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. When the longer-reaching Polaris A-3 model was introduced in 1964, the submarines moved to the North Atlantic, improving their survivability. The Navy built 163 Polaris A-1, 192 Polaris A-2 and 644 Polaris A-3 models. Under the overall aegis of chief of naval operations Adm. Arleigh Burke, Raborn had turned the Navy in a new direction. When he took on the job, the sea service was part of the effort to develop the liquid-fueled Jupiter rocket, a cantankerous and trouble-prone design. But volatile liquid-fuel rockets were prohibitively dangerous in a submarine, and Raborn pushed for the solid-fueled Polaris, butting heads on the issue with Defense Secretary Charles Wilson.

The Polaris system eventually gave way to the UGM-73 Poseidon and UGM-96 Trident II D-5 missiles. The D-5 can carry eight to 14,300-kiloton W-87 warheads mounted in Mk. 5 re-entry vehicles - meaning that a single Ohio-class submarine of today can unleash more destructive power than has been used in all of the wars in the world's history. Experts say this awesome deterrent power assures U.S. security. The ballistic missile submarine force is part of the "strategic triad," which also includes Air Force bombers and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles. Raborn retired from the Navy in 1963 and spent an uneventful tour as head of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1965 and 1966. Always a proponent of the strategic missile system he developed, Raborn remained active supporting Navy causes until his death in 1990.

Robert F. Dorr; Special To The Navy Times. Missile Submarines. November 12, 2001

Submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) have been an integral part of the strategic deterrent for six generations, starting in l956 with the U.S. Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) Polaris (A1) program. Since then, the SLBM has evolved through Polaris (A2), Polaris (A3), Poseidon (C3) and today?s force of Trident I (C4) and Trident II (D5). Each generation has been continuously deployed at sea as a survivable retaliatory force and has been routinely operationally tested and evaluated to maintain confidence and credibility in the deterrent. Trident I (C4) was first deployed in 1979 and is planned to be deployed until phased out in the early 2000s. Trident II (D5) was first deployed in 1990 and is planned to be deployed past 2020. The Trident II (D5) missile is also provided to the United Kingdom which equips the missile with UK warheads and deploys the missile on Vanguard Class UK submarines. Trident I (C4) and Trident II (D5) missiles are deployed in Ohio- class (Trident) submarines, each carrying 24 missiles. The Trident II (D5) is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles). Trident II is more sophisticated than Trident I (C4) with a significantly greater payload capability. All three stages of the Trident II are made of lighter, stronger, stiffer graphite epoxy, whose integrated structure means considerable weight saving. The missile?s range is increased by the aerospike, a telescoping outward extension that reduces frontal drag by about 50 percent. Trident II is launched by the pressure of expanding gas within the launch tube. When the missile attains sufficient distance from the submarine, the first stage motor ignites, the aerospike extends and the boost stage begins. Within about two minutes, after the third stage motor kicks in, the missile is traveling in excess of 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) per second.

Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines - SSBN

Since the first Poseidon submarines took to the seas in 1960, the sole purpose of the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine has been strategic deterrence. Given their wide operational area (70% of the world's surface is covered by water) the SSBN represents the most survivable and unreachable "leg" of America's land, sea, and air nuclear deterrence tripod. Built to accommodate the Improved Trident I ballistic missile and relying on advances pioneered by the Narwhal's natural circulation reactor as well as the advanced sensor capabilities of the Los Angeles class fast attack submarines, the Ohio class SSBNs are the most advanced ballistic missile submarines in the world. Virtually undetectable at operating speed and depth, the Ohio class SSBN can maneuver with impunity through the world's oceans and given the submarine's sensory capabilities an Ohio class boat will detect and maneuver around any threat long before the threat can acquire the SSBN. Of the eighteen Ohio class SSBNs currently in service, the first eight were designed to fire 24 Trident I Submarine Launched Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (SLICBM) each of which carries 10 Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) warheads. The remaining ten were designed to carry the more powerful Trident II SLICBM each of which carries 12 MIRVs. Current Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) conditions limit the number of MIRVs to eight per missile. In 1992 the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) was signed, limiting member nations to 14 SSBNs each. As a result, only four of the original eight will be backfitted with the Trident II missile, while the rest will either be converted to SSGN cruise missile boats, Special Operations support ships (similar to the SSN640 class) or decommissioned.

Strategic deterrence has been the sole mission of the fleet ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) since its inception in 1960. The SSBN provides the nation's most survivable and enduring nuclear strike capability. The Ohio class submarine replaced aging fleet ballistic missile submarines built in the 1960s and is far more capable.

Ohio-class/Trident ballistic missile submarines provide the sea-based "leg" of the triad of U.S. strategic deterrent forces. The 18 Trident SSBNs (each carrying 24 missiles), carry 50 percent of the total U.S. strategic warheads. Although the missiles have no pre-set targets when the submarine goes on patrol, the SSBNs are capable of rapidly targeting their missiles should the need arise, using secure and constant at-sea communications links.

The first eight Ohio class submarines (Tridents) were originally equipped with 24 Trident I C-4 ballistic missiles. Beginning with the ninth Trident submarine, USS Tennessee (SSBN 734), all new ships are equipped with the Trident II D-5 missile system as they are built, and the earlier ships are being retrofitted to Trident II. Trident II can deliver significantly more payload than Trident I C-4 and more accurately.

The Ohio-class submarines are specifically designed for extended deterrent patrols. To decrease the time in port for crew turnover and replenishment, three large logistics hatches are fitted to provide large diameter resupply and repair openings. These hatches allow sailors to rapidly transfer supply pallets, equipment replacement modules and machinery components, significantly reducing the time required for replenishment and maintenance. The class design and modern main concepts allow the submarines to operate for 15+ years between overhauls.

The first four Ohio-class submarines are scheduled for conversion over the next five years to guided missile submarines (SSGN) with an additional capability to transport and support Navy special operations forces.

Four Ohio-class Trident submarines that were previously scheduled for inactivation during Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004 are being converted to guided missile submarines (SSGN) over a five-year period ending in 2007. The primary missions of the SSGN will be land attack and Special Operations Forces (SOF) insertion and support. Secondary missions will be the traditional attack submarine missions of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), battle space preparation, and sea control.

These ships will be armed with up to 154 Tomahawk® or Tactical Tomahawk® land attack missiles. They will have the ability to carry and support a team of 66 SOF personnel for up to 90 days as compared to 15 days for a SOF outfitted fast attack submarine (SSN). Clandestine insertion and retrieval of these Special Operations Forces will be enhanced by the ability to host dual dry deck shelters and/or Advanced Seal Delivery System. Each SSGN will be able to conduct a variety of peace-time, conventional deterrent, and combat operations all within the same deployment.

USS Ohio (SSGN 726) entered the conversion yard on 15 November 2002. On 14 January 2003, USS Florida (SSGN 728) became the first Ohio-class submarine to launch a cruise missile. The launch was made from underwater in the Gulf of Mexico.

Big Red Subtitled: Three Months On Board a Trident Nuclear Submarine. Veteran Time correspondent Douglas C. Waller was granted unprecedented access by the Navy to take you inside this silent, secretive world. The gripping story of a three-month cruise on the U.S.S. Nebraska: the rituals of the closed society of submariners, the top-secret plans for a nuclear holocaust, the elaborate failsafe mechanisms, and the extraordinary security measures designed to protect the world's deadliest weapons - even from the men who handle them. Waller's account brings this secretive world life.

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