Halibut 1960
Halibut 1963
| No | Name | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comm | Fate |
| SSGN587, 8.1965- SSN587 | Halibut | Mare Island N Yd, Vallejo | 11.4.1957 | 9.1.1959 | 4.1.1960 | attack nuclear-powered submarine 8.1965, stricken 4.1986 |
|
Displacement standard, t |
|
|
Displacement normal, t |
3846 / 4895 |
|
Length, m |
106.7 |
|
Breadth, m |
9.00 |
|
Draught, m |
6.30 |
|
No of shafts |
2 |
|
Machinery |
2 sets geared steam turbines, 1 Westinghouse S3W nuclear reactor |
|
Power, h. p. |
6600 |
|
Max speed, kts |
15 / 14 |
|
Fuel, t |
nuclear |
|
Endurance, nm(kts) |
practically unlimited |
|
Armament |
1 x 1 Regulus I CruM (5 SSM-N-8(RGM-6)), 6 - 533 TT (4 Mk 61 bow, 2 Mk 62 stern, 12) |
|
Electronic equipment |
BPS-12 radar, BQS-4, BQR-2 sonars, WLR-1 ECM suite |
|
Complement |
111 |
|
Diving depth operational, m |
210 |
Project history: Halibut was the sole US nuclear-powered cruise-missile submarine, originally conceived as a near-sister to the Graybacks. She was completed with nuclear power and with enlarged missile hangars, for a total of two Regulus II or five Regulus I cruise missiles. The engineering plant was reportedly similar to that of the Skate class (S3W reactor), with two shafts. The FY58 programme originally included three larger Regulus II submarines, SSGN594-596, with another (SSGN607) planned for FY59; all completed as Permit class attack submarines. This SCB-166A submarine would have carried four Regulus II (or eight Regulus I) in four separate missile hangars forward of the sail. Halibut's hangars were removed after the end of the Regulus programme in 1965 (reclassified to SSN)- She was employed in research from then until 1976, with a ducted bow thruster forward and facilities for a deep submergence vehicle (DSRV) aft; all that was left of her missile equipment was a bulged structure on her foredeck.
Modernizations: 1965: - 1 x 1 Regulus I CruM (5 RGM-6); + ability to carry DSRV
Naval service: No significant events.
Halibut with DSRV, 1970
© Ivan Gogin, 2015