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USS Ohio PDF Print E-mail

Leaps in Submarine Technology - USS Ohio (SSBN-726)

Latest addition to the Cold War arsenal for Strategic Deterrence, the Ohio-class SSBN is 576 feet long, carrying 24 D-5 missiles with multiple, independently- targeted, re-entry vehicle warheads that is the central feature of the Strategic Shield for the United States and the West.

Employing the most up-to-date technology for weapons, sensors, communications, construction, habitability, this submarine is more  quiet than the ocean that surrounds it.  The submarine uses its stealth to remain "undetected and ready" in the oceans of the world, hiding and awaiting a message it hopes will never come.

It uses its sensors and equipment with maximum redundancy.  Its weapons systems achieve unbelievable accuracy at the far reaches of the envelope-with targets thousands of miles away. As the sophistication of the platform has grown, so has the sensor technology seeking this submarine- in a modern version of "cat and mouse". This submarine is ready to meet the challenge.

With the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks II (START II), the number of Strategic Submarine platforms was reduced from 18 to 14. In 2005, four Ohio Class submarines were converted to support Special Warfare. All D-5 missiles and supporting equipment were removed and the submarines were re-configured to support Tomahawk Cruise missiles and Navy SEALs and Special Warfare Units.  Two special warfare submarines will be assigned to each coast but the submarines are capable of world-wide  missions.
 

Secrets of the Sub

Victory At Cost

Victory at a cost

During World War II, The United States Submarine Force, encompassing less than 2% of the U.S. Navy's fleet, inflicted destruction on Japanese maritime power. U.S. submarines were responsible for sinking over 30% of the Japanese Navy including eight aircraft carriers, one battleship and eleven cruisers.  More importantly, the Submarine Force sank 2,400 Japanese merchant ships totaling 4.9 million tons.

Chart of Enemy Ships

However, this success did not come without risk. Out of a total of 14,000 submariners who fought in peril under the sea took losses of over 3,500 officers and men.  Approximately one in four submariners never returned.

victory-bonefish-plaque-2_web

The USS Bonefish submarine plaque is one of fifty-two memorials at the Waterfront Memorial at Bowfin Park.