The United States Navy has developed, over the years into one of the world's most powerful forces. The nuclear submarine is one of the major components responsible for achieving this status. The nuclear submarine has evolved over time, in design, construction, and weapons, to become the most feared deterrence force ever. Tom Clancy, a well-known author and naval expert, describes nuclear attack submarines (SSN's) in an excellent fashion by commenting:

The modern SSN is a stealth platform with 70 percent of the worlds surface under which to hide. Its endurance determined not by fuel but by the amount of food that may be crammed into the hull, and its operational limitations determined more by the skill of the commander and crew than by external factors.

The idea of nuclear energy to power navy submarines came from an improbable origin: a United States naval officer named Hyman G. Rickover. After World War II, Rickover was transferred to the engineering department of the United States Navy. While there, he was responsible for envisioning the idea of placing small nuclear reactors in submarines and surface ships. With these reactors, vessels could travel great distances wi

1960. It did this by tracing the same route as Ferdinand Magellan four centuries earlier.

(SSN-571) and built by Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics. The nuclear reactor in the Nautilus generated steam for the turbines as a result of pressurized water. This development was far more promising than the now Admiral Rickover and the Navy had ever dreamed.

Since the last attack submarine class, the Los Angeles-class, many advances in submarine technology have surfaced. These changes have been put into the latest attack submarine, which is the USS Seawolf (SSN-21). This $2.1 billion submarine has been awarded as the quietest, fastest, and most powerful submarine in the world.

When the boat was launched in 1954, it passed both performance and technological barriers. Being similar to submarines developed after 1944, the boat's speed was greater underwater than above, it did not have surface often to replenish batteries, and could remain underwater for a length of sixty days. The

In the late 1970's, a new class of ballistic missile submarines, or "boomers" as they were being called, was being constructed. The primary objective for this class was to be surreptitious. The first boat in this new class was the USS Ohio (SSBN-726). When it went into service, it gave off less noise than the ocean itself making it the quietest submarine ever to go to sea. One difference from previous SSBN's was the number of missile tubes. The Ohio-class has twenty-four tubes instead of sixteen as ballistic missile submarines developed before that time had.

thout having to replenish the their fuel supply. Most importantly for submarines, it would now allow them to stay submerged for longer periods of times instead of having to come to the surface to give air to then diesel engines.

The nuclear reactor that propels the Ohio-class comes from General Electric. This S8G nuclear-fueled reactor produces 90,000 horsepower. This is perhaps enough energy for a city of 50,000 people. It is easily the largest nuclear submarine ever built by the United States. The Ohio-class submarines stretch a lengthy 560 feet, with the hulls expanding to forty-two feet. While submerged they displace a massive 18,750 tons of water. The speed when operating underwater is twenty-six knots. The two crews each have fifteen officers and 142 enlisted men. The last of the eighteen Ohio-class submarines was the USS Louisiana (SSBN-743), which was commissioned in September of 1997.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Los Angeles-class, United Navy, Electric Boat, Throughout Tullibee's, North Pole, Poseidon C-3, Skipjack SSN-585, Trident C-4, Nautilus Seawolf, Sturgeon SSN-637, tons water, attack submarines, ballistic missile, attack submarine, ballistic missile submarines, nautical miles, george washington, missile submarines, los angeles-class, submarines developed, feet speed, nautical miles weight, uss lafayette ssbn-616, uss george washington, knots ships displaced,
Approximate Word count = 3890
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)