US Navy Sturgeon-Class Submarines Stopped The Soviet Navy – Influenced Modern Attack Subs

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) Today’s Virginia-class attack submarines certainly did not materialize in a vacuum. Neither did their Los Angeles-class and Seawolf-class predecessors.

Some of the design work and innovation woven into earlier submarines, like the 1960s-era Sturgeon-class U.S. Navy boats inspired or influenced the platforms in use today.

Cold Warriors Beneath the Seas

Sturgeon-class submarines were initially built in the 1960s and 1970s and served until 2004.

They are widely regarded as a critical Cold War undersea platform. Some observers and historians note that the Sturgeon-class subs were extremely similar to the Thresher/Permit-class boats.

Some of the class’ distinguishing features included a retractable towed sonar array, a large sail to allow for multiple antennas, an ability to fire torpedoes, and a half-inch rubber coating covering a glass-reinforced plastic dome to improve sonar sphere performance.

The Sturgeon’s larger sail allowed for additional intelligence-gathering masts, enabling the boat to operate at greater depths and avoid risky surfacing.

When it did need to surface, the boat could emerge even through thin ice by using its fairwater planes — structures which, when mounted on the sail, could rotate 90 degrees and break through the ice.