Museum
| USS Hawaii |
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Leaps in Submarine Technology - USS Hawaii (SSN-776)Birthed in the Nuclear Age after the first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, the USS Hawaii, a Virginia-Class submarine, is the latest version of the bullet-shaped, true submersible. Home ported in Pearl Harbor, she is a technological marvel, combining the latest in sensors, weapons, communications, propulsion, atmospheric controls and submarine construction.Capable of sustaining her operations for months at a time, with the aid of modern communication, satellites, missiles and torpedoes, the USS Hawaii is able to influence events across the globe. She can monitor communications of an interested party or launch a precision strike from deep below the sea. She can capture information by passive or active means and use her vast computer data banks to process and analyze data while accomplishing her mission for the United States. She possesses the ultimate in stealth while using every inch of her formidable platform for her mission. Literally, a "black hole" in the ocean, she is effectively employed by her crew of 135 and can be re-configured to support SEAL operations. Coming now in numbers, she is the platform for submarines for the 21st century. |
Secrets of the Sub
| The Very First Sub Ever |
The First Submarine EverThere were many countries around the world developing submarines in the 17th and 18th century both for wartime use and for commercial purposes. In the United States, we say the Turtle, developed by a Yale University professor, David Bushnell, was our first submarine. Designed to deliver an underwater mine with a timed fuse, it's original purpose was to break the blockade of the British Navy in New York harbor in 1776, during the War of Independence. Almost a hundred later the Confederate States Ship Hunley with a crew of nine men braved the waters of Charleston, South Carolina harbor to attack and sink the Union Ship USS Housitanic. The weapon used was a mine mounted on a spar jutting from the bow of the submarine. Again, the purpose was to break the blockade of a harbor but within 40 years, the United States started the submarine explosion with the Simon Lake, SS-1, in 1900 , designed as a scouting ship for America's emerging battle fleets. In less than 20 years, the first world war would see the island nation of Great Brritain brought to her knees by German commerce raiding submarines and submarines , large and small being developed by many nations. |
