![]() For historical comparison of technological advances, note that the first nationally authorized submarine warship was not officially commissioned until 1900, while the first transatlantic radio-telegraph was not operational until 1901. ![]() So, for comparison to these early strivings for more precise navigation on the open sea, consider the most sophisticated state-of-the art computer data processor now known, which precisely calculates the output of an absolutely ingenious arrangement of gyros and accelerometers that sense the slightest nano-scale movement: The SINS, Ship’s Inertial Navigation System.īut, in my biased opinion, at the top of the list are the technological advancements resident in the Common Submarine Radio Room, CSRR, for a US submarine to be in constant communication with its Submarine Operating Authority while submerged at sea anywhere in the oceans of the world.Ĭommunication: The Science-and, the Technology. Two years before, NAUTILUS accomplished a historic navigational feat by transiting 1,830 miles submerged in four days from the Pacific to the Atlantic-and, in doing so, became the first ship to pass over the North Pole- NAUTILUS 90-NORTH! On July 20, 1960, while submerged off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, with a self-contained navigational system for precise launch-position fixing fired two Polaris A-1 missiles that hit their respective bull’s eyes some 1200 miles down range, and then signaled: “FROM THE DEEP, POLARIS ON TARGET-RABORN.” Some 439 years after Magellan’s historic circumnavigation of the world on May 10, 1960, USS TRITON (SSRN 586) completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the world following Magellan’s route having sailed some 41,000 miles in eighty-four days. ![]() One is for the technological improvements in the electronic instruments for precise navigation, and the other is for the advances in military command-control-communications. On my military-related list of amazing achievements, there are two technological advancements that stand-out to me. The bottom-line is that VIRGINIA is an extremely capable submarine, and in the hands of a well-trained, experienced ship’s company skilled in the operational arts of submarine warfare, has an incisive ability for both deep ocean and shallow water operations of all kinds- including Anti-Submarine Warfare.īut, of all the technological advances of the 20 th century, electrical and electronic ones top my long list of amazing achievements. VIRGINIA is capable of carrying and operating advanced Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, UUV’s, wake-homing detection equipment, and a deployable active bi-static sonar source. Moreover, the internal torpedo magazine space can be adapted to provide 2400 cubic feet of space for up to 40 SEAL team-members and their equipment. VIRGINIA ’s integral 9-man lock-out chamber can be used with the Advanced SEAL Delivery System, ASDS, which is mini-submarine capable of “dry” delivery of a SEAL team. She is designed with SEAWOLF-level acoustic quietness for stealth as well as acoustic tile cladding for active acoustic signal absorption. Her propulsion plant is rated at 40,000 SHP for a single shaft with a maximum rated submerged speed of 34 knots, according to the open literature. VIRGINIA is powered by a S9G PWR, a Pressurized Water Reactor, made by General Electric that will not require re-coring for the life of the ship. Her design for a reduced number of needed hull-penetration features eight non-hull penetrating antennae packages. The wall-thickness and diameter of VIRGINIA ’s cold-rolled, HY-120 steel inner pressure hull, with scrupulously designed hull-penetrations and conscientious seam-welds, allows submarine design engineers to impose a safe-diving test-depth of 1600 feet, according to the open literature. ![]() Note that the US Navy officially will neither confirm nor deny any US submarine’s speed except to be greater than 20 knots, and a test-depth greater than 400 feet. VIRGINIA ’s Length-to-Breadth, L/B, ratio of 11.09 is comparable to the 11.0 for LOS ANGELES Class submarines with a 33-foot beam, and is somewhat more than SEAWOLF’s 8.4 with a 42-foot beam, but a little less than OHIO ’s 13.3 also with a 42-foot beam. She is designed with Berthing and Messing to accommodate 14 officers and a crew of 120. She is 377 feet in length, 34 feet in the beam, has a draft of 30.5 feet at the designer’s waterline, DWL, and displaces 7800 dwt submerged. Submarine Modernization: On 4 July 2004, USS VIRGINIA (SSN 774) joined the Fleet.
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