Key Points and Summary – The Los Angeles-class, the U.S. Navy’s most numerous nuclear fast-attack submarine (SSN), served as a cornerstone of undersea power for decades.
-Named after the city of Los Angeles, 62 of these “Angels of Death” were built between 1972 and 1996.
-The class evolved through three “flights,” incorporating advancements like the Tomahawk vertical launch system and improved stealth technology for under-ice operations.
-Combat-proven in conflicts like the Gulf War, the class is now being gradually replaced by the more modern Virginia-class submarines, with some retired vessels finding new purpose as training ships.
Los Angeles-Class Submarine Explainer
The original full name of the City of Los Angeles, California, is El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula, which means, “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciúncula.”
Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that the US Navy would choose that city as the namesake for its most venerable and successful class of nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines (SSNs). To enemy warships, the Los Angeles-class submarines are veritable Angels of Death.
To the United States of America and her maritime allies, the Los Angeles-class boats are an undersea manifestation of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of the military. Either way, when it comes to undersea warfare, these subs are truly the long-reigning Queen of the Angels.
Los Angeles-Class Submarine Initial History
Tabbed as the successors to the USN’s Sturgeon-class SSNs, a total of 62 Los Angeles-class subs were commissioned between 1972 and 1996, built by the General Dynamics Electric Boat company in tandem with Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS; now a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII]).
Appropriately enough, the lead ship of the class was the USS Los Angeles (SSN-688), which was laid down on January 8, 1972, launched on April 6, 1974, commissioned on November 13, 1974, and decommissioned on February 4, 2011. The 62nd and final ship of the class, the USS Cheyenne (SSN-773), was commissioned on September 13, 1996.
The class was, in turn, divided into three so-called “flights”: SSNs 688 – 718 in Flight I, SSNs 719 – 750 in Flight II, and SSNs 751 – 773 in Flight III.
Los Angeles-Class Technical Specifications and Vital Stats
Displacement: 6,082 tons surfaced, 6,927 tons submerged
Hull length: 360.5 feet
Beam Width: 33 feet Draught: 33.8 feet
Primary Propulsion: 1 × S6G nuclear reactor, generating 150–165 megawatts
Max Speed:
Surfaced: 20 knots
Submerged: In excess of 25 knots submerged (unclassified); 33+ knots (reported, though not officially confirmed)
Test Depth: 1,480 feet
Crew Complement: 129 (13 commissioned officers and 116 enlisted seamen)
Armament:
4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes, 37 × Mk 48 torpedo, Tomahawk land attack missile, Harpoon anti-ship missile, Mk 67 mobile, or Mk 60 CAPTOR (“enCAPsulated TORpedo”) deep water mines
The Flight II subs were the first of the bunch to carry the Tomahawk 12-tube vertical launch system (VLS) and also had an upgraded reactor core.
The Flight III ships are designated as “688I” (for “Improved”). They are quieter, incorporate an advanced BSY-1 sonar suite combat system, and can lay mines from their torpedo tubes. They are configured for under-ice operations, with the forward diving planes relocated from the sail structure to the bow, and sails that have been strengthened for busting through ice.
Operational History In Brief
No submarine has received official credit for sinking an enemy vessel since the Royal Navy’s HMS Conqueror did so to the Argentine Navy’s ARA General Belgrano during the Falklands War in 1982. Nonetheless, the “Undersea Angeles of Death” (so to speak) are still a combat-tested bunch.
As noted by Naval Technology, “Nine of the Los Angeles class submarines were deployed in the Gulf War in 1991, during which Tomahawk missiles were launched from two of the submarines.12 Los Angeles submarines were deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March/April 2003. All 12 launched Tomahawk TLAM missiles.”
Summed Up in 4 Words: Retirement Has Now Arrived…
All good things must come to an end eventually, and this is true even of the Los Angeles-class boats.
Indeed, in theory, they should’ve been replaced by the Seawolf-class SSNs a long time ago. However, the end of the Cold War put a damper on those plans, with only three Seawolves built out of the original 29 hulls planned.
A significant part of the problem in replacing the “Angels” with the Seawolves was expense. The latter class cost approximately $3 billion per unit ($3.5 billion in the case of the USS Jimmy Carter), making it the most expensive SSN submarine and the second-most expensive submarine ever, after France’s SSBN Triomphant class. By contrast, the former class was built at a comparatively modest unit cost of $1.6 billion in 2020 dollars.
Time marches on, however, and the torch was passed from the Seawolf-class onto the Virginia-class subs as the USN’s new generation of SSNs. 24 out of the 66 planned Virginia-class warships have been completed so far (with 23 in active service), at a unit cost of $2.8 billion.
Accordingly, 36 of the Los Angeles-class warships have been retired, while two of them, USS La Jolla (SSN-701/MTS-701) and USS San Francisco (SSN-711/MTS-711), have found a new lease of life as moored training ships.
Meanwhile, the matriarch of the class, USS Los Angeles, is considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, but whether she actually ends up getting converted into a museum ship remains to be seen. Being nuclear powered might make that a little challenging, to say the least.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU).
More Military
We Almost Touched the F-117 Stealth Fighter
