Ulysses-class submarine

Class overview
Name:	Ulysses-Class Attack Submarine
Builders:	Portsdown Shipyards Consortium
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Mallard-class submarine
Succeeded by:	Lanchev-class Submarine Chanson-class Attack Submarine
In service:	1958 - 1984
Completed:	25
Retired:	25
General characteristics
Type:	nuclear powered attack submarine
Displacement:	4,200 tonnes (4,100 long tons)
Length:	88.05 m (288.9 ft)
Beam:	10 m (33 ft)
Propulsion:	1 x Albertson S3E Reactor 2 x Steam Turbines driving shaft 1 x Diesel Backup System
Speed:	+30 knots (56 km/h)
Range:	Theoretically unlimited
Endurance:	Only limited by food and maintenance requirements.
Test depth:	350 m (1,150 ft)
Complement:	105
Sensors and processing systems:	Type 52 Hull Sonar, Active Type 52 Hull Sonar, passive Type 30 Surface Search Radar Type 5 Electronic Warfare System
Armament:	8 × 533 mm torpedo tubes with stowage for up to 14 weapons; SST-11 Tranch Torpedo

The Ulysses-class was a class of nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) in service with the Royal Navy from the late 1950s until 1984. The class has been hailed by many as being the first of the so-called 'modern submarine' family. With greatly increased sonar, diving depth, silencing technologies and also one of the first underwater-carried electronic warfare systems both in the Royal Navy and in the world. They were the forerunners of all subsequent Royal Naval submarines. They served until 1984 when the last vessel was retired due to age. The class was followed by both the Lanchev-class submarine and the Chanson-class submarine

Design

H.M.S Unabashed (SSN-657)

The submarine class was the first to utilize the Albertson S3E Reactor, which itself went on to shape future reactor designs when Sentennei took over the contract in 1968. The Ulysses was the first class in the Royal Navy to feature a large bow-mounted sonar sphere and a greatly improved pressure hull that extended test depth to 350 meters. The complete layout of the interior was renovated, allowing for a larger area and the turbines where suspended from the hull on cushioned shelves that both assisted in acoustic muffling and refused shock damage to the engines. Fins were added to the rear diving planes that assisted in water drag and distorted side-on profiles.

Featuring a six bladed screw after renovations in 1960, the Ulysses initially was outfitted with a seven bladed 'talon' shaped screw set, that produced noise well below cavitation speeds. The H.M.S Unabashed (SSN-657) was luckily one of the first vessels to be refitted shortly before her fateful patrol in the south Central sea that involved her in the 10/3 Incident. The refitted screws and a change in turbine power led to the class being the fastest Submarines in the Royal Navy until the introduction of the Chanson-class submarine in 1991.

The hull of the Ulysses was utilized for the Protector-class ballistic missile submarines and two sub-variants throughout it's life-time, making it the most heavily utilized hull in the Royal Navy's history for a submarine.

See also

Name	Number	Builder	Launched	Comissioned	Status
H.M.S Ulysses	SSN-652	Royal Boat Guild	5 July 1956	12 December 1958	Retired
H.M.S Urgent	SSN-653	Royal Boat Guild	5 January 1957	12 October 1959	Retired
H.M.S Usuper	SSN-654	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Unseen	SSN-655	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Unshaken	SSN-656	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Unabashed	SSN-657	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Urchin	SSN-658	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Umbra	SSN-659	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Ultimatum	SSN-660	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Unhinged	SSN-661	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Unbroken	SSN-662	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Uproar	SSN-663	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Upham	SSN-664	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Usage	SSN-665	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Ulster	SSN-667	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Untoward	SSN-668	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Undertaker	SSN-669	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Upton	SSN-670	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Utmost	SSN-671	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Unequaled	SSN-672	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Unbowed	SSN-673	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired
H.M.S Unchained	SSN-674	BUILDER	LAUNCH	COMMISSION	Retired