page_title: Sturgeon-class submarine
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Sturgeon-class submarine / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: QMC O'Connor, a chief petty officer talks to the helmsmen aboard the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS PARGO (SSN-650) (Sturgeon Class) as CDR David W. Hearding, the submarine's commanding officer, looks through the periscope. The PARGO is underway north of the Arctic Circle.
context_page_description: The Sturgeon class was a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy from the 1960s until 2004. They were the "workhorses" of the Navy's attack submarine fleet throughout much of the Cold War. The boats were phased out in the 1990s and early 21st century, as their successors, the Los Angeles, followed by the Seawolf and Virginia-class boats, entered service.
context_section_description: The Sturgeons were essentially lengthened and improved variants of the Thresher/Permit class that directly preceded them.  The five-compartment arrangement of the Permits was retained, including the bow compartment, operations compartment, reactor compartment, auxiliary machinery room no. 2, and the engine room. The extra length was in the operations compartment, including longer torpedo racks to accommodate additional Mark 37 torpedoes, the most advanced in service at the time of the class's design in the late 1950s. The class was designed to SUBSAFE requirements, with seawater, main ballast, and other systems redesigned for improved safety. The biggest difference was the much larger sail, which permitted a second periscope and additional intelligence-gathering masts.  The fairwater planes mounted on the sail could rotate 90 degrees, allowing the submarine to surface through thin ice.  Because the S5W reactor was used, the same as in the Skipjacks and Thresher/Permits, and the displacement was increased, the Sturgeons' top speed was 26 knots (48 km/h), 2 knots slower than the Thresher/Permits.
  The last nine Sturgeons were lengthened 10 feet (3 m) to provide more space for electronic equipment and habitability. The extra space also helped facilitate the use of dry deck shelters first deployed in 1982.
  The class received mid-life upgrades in the 1980s, including the BQQ-5 sonar suite with a retractable towed array, Mk 117 torpedo fire control equipment, and other electronics upgrades.
caption: Control room
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