The ''Hunley''-class was a class of two submarine tenders in service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1962 to 1996.

History

The ''Hunley''-class was the first class of submarine tenders in the U.S. Navy being built from the keel up to service ballistic missile submarines (SSBN). The early generations of SSBNs were equipped with the

UGM-27 Polaris The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980. In the mid-1950s the Navy was involved in the Jupiter missile ...

missile. To handle these missiles, a large 32 ton crane was installed aft that moved in a large circle. In 1973-1975 both ships were converted to handle the newer

UGM-73 Poseidon The UGM-73 Poseidon missile was the second US Navy nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) system, powered by a two-stage solid-fuel rocket. It succeeded the UGM-27 Polaris beginning in 1972, bringing major advances in warheads ...

missile. The massive crane was then replaced by two smaller ones. The ships were powered by ten

Diesel engines The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-calle ...

, delivering 15.000 SHP on one shaft. Paul H. Silverstone: ''U.S. Warships since 1945''. Ian Allan Ltd., London (UK), 1986, p. 145. Both tenders were decommissioned following the retirement of the ''Poseidon''-equipped SSBNs. After spending at least a decade in the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

, both ships were scrapped.

Ships

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunley-class submarine tenders Hunley-class submarine tenders Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Auxiliary depot ship classes