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The ''Skipjack'' class was a class of United States Navy nuclear submarines (SSNs) that entered service in 1959-61. This class was named after its lead ship, . The new class introduced the teardrop hull and the S5W reactor to U.S. nuclear submarines.〔〔 The ''Skipjack''s were the fastest U.S. nuclear submarines until the s, the first of which entered service in 1974. ==Design== The ''Skipjack''s' design was based on the USS ''Albacore'''s high-speed hull design. The hull and innovative internal arrangement were similar to the diesel-powered ''Barbel'' class that were built concurrently. The design of the ''Skipjack''s was very different from the s that preceded the ''Skipjack''s. Unlike the ''Skate''s, this new design was maximized for underwater speed by fully streamlining the hull like a blimp. This required a single screw aft of the rudders and stern planes. Adoption of a single screw was a matter of considerable debate and analysis within the Navy, as two shafts offered redundancy and improved maneuverability.〔Friedman, pp. 31-35〕 The so-called "body-of-revolution hull" reduced her surface sea-keeping, but was essential for underwater performance. Also like ''Albacore'', the ''Skipjack''s used HY-80 high-strength steel, with a yield strength of , although this was not initially used to increase the diving depth relative to other US submarines. HY-80 remained the standard submarine steel through the ''Los Angeles'' class.〔Friedman, pp. 56, 130〕 Another ''Barbel''-like innovation was the combination of the conning tower, control room, and attack center in one space. This was continued in all subsequent US nuclear submarines. Combining the functions in one space was facilitated by the adoption of "push-button" ballast control, another feature of ''Albacore''.〔 Previous designs had routed the trim system piping through the control room, where the valves were manually operated. The "push-button" system used hydraulic operators on each valve, remotely electrically operated (actually via toggle switches) from the control room. This greatly conserved control room space and reduced the time required to conduct trim operations. The overall layout made coordination of the weapons and ship control systems easier during combat operations. Much of the overall internal arrangement was continued in the subsequent ''Thresher''- and ''Sturgeon''-class submarines. The ''Skipjack''s' five compartments were called the Torpedo Room, Operations Compartment, Reactor Compartment, Auxiliary Machinery Space (AMS), and Engine Room. With the addition of a missile compartment, the arrangement of the first 41 US nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) was similar. The design was primarily single-hull, with a double hull around the torpedo room and AMS for ballast tanks. The design was improved on the ''Thresher''s, the one-off , and subsequent attack submarines by relocating the torpedo room into the operations compartment via angled midships torpedo tubes to make room for a large sonar sphere in the bow. The ''George Washington'' class, the first SSBNs, were derived from the ''Skipjack''s, with rebuilt from the incomplete first . The hull of ''Scorpion'' was laid down twice, as the original hull was redesigned to become the ''George Washington''. Also, the material for building was diverted into building , which delayed ''Scamp''s progress. The bow planes were moved to the massive sail to cut down on flow-induced noise near the bow sonar arrays. They were known as sail planes or fairwater planes. The ''Skipjack''s were the first class built with sail planes; they were later backfitted on the ''Barbel''s. This design feature would be repeated on all U.S. nuclear submarines until the improved , the first of which was launched in 1988. The small "turtleback" behind the sail was the exhaust piping of the auxiliary diesel generator. The ''Skipjack''s also introduced the S5W reactor to U.S. nuclear submarines. It was known as ASFR (Advanced Submarine Fleet Reactor) during development.〔Friedman, pp. 125-126〕 The S5W was used on 98 U.S. nuclear submarines of 8 classes and the first British nuclear submarine, , making it the most-used US Navy reactor design to date. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Skipjack-class submarine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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