The advent of nuclear submarines provided the final piece to a number of promising technical puzzles. The quest for greater submerged speed, initiated in earnest after 1945, found its way to the Navy's David Taylor Model Basin just as ADM Hyman Rickover's nuclear propulsion project succeeded with Nautilus. The research at David Taylor provided insights into the ideal hull form for high-speed submarines. With the conventionally-powered experimental Albacore (SS 569), submariners reached an extraordinary submerged speed.
In the fast attack submarine USS Skipjack (SSN 585) the endurance of nuclear propulsion and the high speed of the Albacore teardrop hull came together to form the new paradigm. Every American submarine since 1958 has followed the same basic formula. The attack submarines proved very effective during the Cold War in addressing the Soviet submarine threat in the north Atlantic and northwest Pacific through surveillance and deterrence.
The Nautilus-Albacore combination also served to extend the reach of the submarine force. While the Navy experimented with launching air breathing missiles like the Regulus from submarines during the late 1950s, the mobility, stealth, and endurance of nuclear submarines on the Skipjack model proved the ideal platform for launching ballistic missiles. From the Polaris A-1 in 1960, through multiple generations of missiles suitable for submerged launching, the Navy's fleet ballistic-missile submarines (SSBN) have provided the ultimate nuclear deterrent. As opposed to easily targeted land-based missiles easily targeted, SSBNs are in constant motion, hiding deep in the ocean, with virtually unlimited endurance, capable of reaching almost any target at the direction of the president.
With the current Ohio-class SSBNs, the submarine force employs this is the most effective and survivable component of current American strategic nuclear defense.
Since the 1970s, the submarine force has also provided the Navy with a stealthy way of applying tactical firepower against land and sea targets. Fitted at first for torpedo tube launch, the Tomahawk cruise missile has enhanced the effectiveness of the attack submarine fleet. Now capable of firing these missiles from a vertical launch system in the bow, the latest flight of the submarine force's front line Los Angeles-class SSNs has proven very useful in the challenging environment of modern littoral war at sea. During Operation Desert Storm, submarine-launched Tomahawks proved their extraordinary effectiveness during the first combat use of the submarine force's new capability. Mediterranean submarine operations during the Persian Gulf conflict are a case in point.
With their stealth quiet manner, endurance, diverse weapons array, and ability to detect threats while effectively communicating with the fleet at great range, American submarines conduct both independent tactical and strategic patrols as well as operations in support of carrier battle groups. The effort to integrate the submarine more thoroughly with air and surface forces suggests that naval warfare of the future will require a flexible mix of assets designed for a future filled with constantly changing defense demands. Always on the cutting edge, the submarine force will help the Navy sustain the adaptability necessary to control tomorrow's battle space.