Project Nobska

Project Nobska
Date	18 June – 15 September 1956
Location	Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Coordinates	41°31′00″N70°39′20″W / 41.51667°N 70.65556°W Coordinates: 41°31′00″N70°39′20″W / 41.51667°N 70.65556°W
Also known as	Nobska study
Type	US Navy and interagency conference/summer study
Theme	Submarine and antisubmarine warfare
Cause	Introduction of nuclear-powered submarines
Patron(s)	Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke
Organised by	Committee on Undersea Warfare of the National Academy of Sciences
Participants	73 representatives from US government organizations concerned with submarine warfare
Outcome	Approval of new submarine arrangement for better sonar capability; New anti-submarine torpedoes (Mark 46 and Mark 48); Submarine tactical nuclear weapons (Mark 45 torpedo and SUBROC); Concentration on Polaris missile program as US Navy strategic deterrent;

Last updated February 28, 2023

Project Nobska was a 1956 summer study on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) for the United States Navy ordered by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke. It is also referred to as the Nobska Study, named for its location on Nobska Point near the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The focus was on the ASW implications of nuclear submarines, particularly on new technologies to defend against them. The study was coordinated by the Committee on Undersea Warfare (CUW) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). It was notable for including 73 representatives from numerous organizations involved in submarine design, submarine-related fields, and weapons design, including senior scientists from the Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear weapons laboratories. Among the participants were Nobel laureate Isidor Rabi, Paul Nitze, and Edward Teller. The study's recommendations influenced all subsequent US Navy submarine designs, as well as submarine-launched ASW tactical nuclear weapons until this weapon type was phased out in the late 1980s. New lightweight (Mark 46) and heavyweight (Mark 48) anti-submarine torpedo programs were approved. Although not on the initial agenda, the Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) was determined to be capable of implementation at this conference. Within five years Polaris would exponentially improve the US Navy's strategic nuclear deterrent capability.^[1]^[2]

Background

USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine (SSN), became operational in 1955. The nuclear submarine could maintain a high speed at deep depths indefinitely, creating a more difficult ASW problem than any previous type of submarine, as was shown in Nautilus' first exercises. Within a few years, more exercises would show that other SSNs had difficulty detecting and tracking an attacking SSN in time to launch a counterattack.^[1] Future SSNs would be even faster, as the fully streamlined conventional USS Albacore (AGSS-569) was already demonstrating.

It was expected that the Soviet Union would have its own SSN within a few years, as it had produced its own atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, and advanced conventional submarines only a few years behind their development in other countries. As it turned out, the Soviet Navy was only three years behind the USN with their first nuclear-powered submarine.

Various ASW technologies and weapons, including new surface ship and submarine sonars, SOSUS, ASROC, the Mark 45 nuclear torpedo, and "Stinger" (later SUBROC) were in development.^[1] Columbus Iselin II, director of WHOI, suggested to Admiral Burke that an inter-agency study was necessary to determine the best approach in each area, and probably also to improve coordination among the numerous offices pursuing the problem. The study ran from 18 June through 15 September 1956, and the final report was released on 1 December 1956.^[2]

Key findings

The final report explored the ways that oceanography influenced the ASW problem, noted that all Soviet submarine bases required long transits in shallow waters to operating areas, and recommended that active as well as passive sonar be explored for improved implementation.^[2] The Mark 45 nuclear torpedo was among the systems recommended for further development, as was "Stinger" (later SUBROC). The Mark 45 torpedo was the first USN submarine tactical nuclear weapon, entering service in 1959.^[3] SUBROC was a submarine-launched short-range ballistic missile that carried a nuclear depth bomb; it was deployed in 1965. ASROC does not appear in summaries of Nobska recommendations; however, it became the primary ASW weapon of USN surface combatants.

Although references do not make a direct link, the radical redesign of the internal US Navy SSN arrangement between the Skipjack and Thresher classes is often attributed to Nobska. It was proposed by the Naval Underwater Systems Center the month the Nobska report was published.^[4] This involved placing a large sonar sphere in the bow of a teardrop-hulled, fully streamlined submarine. The sphere allowed three-dimensional sonar operation for greater detection range. To make room for the sphere, the torpedo tubes were relocated to a midships position and angled outboard. The first submarine with this arrangement was the one-off Tullibee in 1961, followed that same year by Thresher. This arrangement has been used by all subsequent US Navy attack submarine classes, and was also adopted for the Ohio-class missile submarines.

The foundation of future USN torpedo design was laid at Nobska. One conclusion reached was that fast homing torpedoes were possible. The REsearch TORpedo Configuration (RETORC) program commenced soon after the conference. RETORC I, a lightweight design, resulted in the Mark 46 torpedo, which entered service in 1963. Its heavyweight counterpart, RETORC II, was developed into the Mark 48 torpedo, which entered service in 1971. With modifications, the Mark 46 and Mark 48 remain the standard US Navy torpedoes today.^[1]^[3]

Focus on Polaris missile program

An important milestone in the Polaris missile program was inadvertently achieved at Nobska. In the course of discussing how a nuclear warhead could be made small enough for the Mark 45 torpedo, Edward Teller of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory started a discussion on the possibility of developing a physically small one-megaton nuclear warhead for the Polaris missile, with Admiral Burke present. His counterpart in the discussion, J. Carson Mark of Los Alamos National Laboratory, at first insisted it could not be done. However, Dr. Mark eventually stated that a half-megaton warhead of small enough size could be developed. This yield, roughly thirty times that of the Hiroshima bomb, was enough for Admiral Burke, and Navy strategic missile development shifted from Jupiter to Polaris by the end of the year.^[5] Within five years regular Polaris deterrent patrols were in progress.

Recommendations not implemented

Nobska recommendations that were not implemented included a small 500-ton SSN (to allow large numbers to be built quickly) and a nuclear-powered destroyer escort (DEN). A small fuel cell-powered submarine, possibly with a reactor to heat the fuel cells, was also considered. However, both the small SSN and the DEN were dependent on leveraging high power-to-weight reactors from the developmental nuclear-powered aircraft program, and these reactors were never successfully developed. Fuel cell technology was insufficiently developed to be practical at the time.^[1] A sketch design for the DEN was produced in 1958, with a guided missile variant including the Tartar missile. However, it was eventually decided to generally limit surface combatant nuclear power to nuclear-powered guided missile frigates (DLGN) (redesignated in 1975 as nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers (CGN)).^[6]

Related Research Articles

The RUR-5 ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates. The ASROC has been deployed on scores of warships of many other navies, including Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of China, Greece, Pakistan and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UGM-27 Polaris</span> Submarine-launched ballistic missile

The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980.

The Seawolf class is a class of nuclear-powered, fast attack submarines (SSN) in service with the United States Navy. The class was the intended successor to the Los Angeles class, and design work began in 1983. A fleet of 29 submarines was to be built over a ten-year period, but that was reduced to 12 submarines. The end of the Cold War and budget constraints led to the cancellation of any further additions to the fleet in 1995, leaving the Seawolf class limited to just three boats. This, in turn, led to the design of the smaller Virginia class. The Seawolf class cost about $3 billion per unit, making it the most expensive United States Navy fast attack submarine and second most expensive submarine ever, after the French Triomphant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles operate in a different way from submarine-launched cruise missiles.

The Vanguard class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in service with the Royal Navy. The class was introduced in 1994 as part of the Trident nuclear programme, and comprises four vessels: Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant and Vengeance, built between 1986 and 1999 at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, now owned by BAE Systems. All four boats are based at HM Naval Base Clyde , 40 km (25 mi) west of Glasgow, Scotland.

The George Washington class was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines deployed by the United States Navy. George Washington, along with the later Ethan Allen, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes, comprised the "41 for Freedom" group of submarines that represented the Navy's main contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s.

The Yankee class, Soviet designations Project 667A Navaga (navaga) and Project 667AU Nalim (burbot), was a series of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines built in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. In total, 34 units were built: 24 in Severodvinsk for the Northern Fleet and the remaining 10 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur for the Pacific Fleet. Two Northern Fleet units were later transferred to the Pacific. The lead boat K-137 Leninets received its honorific name on 11 April 1970, two and one half years after being commissioned.

The Permit-class submarine was a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy from the early 1960s until 1996. They were a significant improvement on the Skipjack class, with greatly improved sonar, diving depth, and silencing. They were the forerunners of all subsequent US Navy SSN designs. They served from the 1960s through to the early 1990s, when they were decommissioned due to age. They were followed by the Sturgeon and Los Angeles classes.

The Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program of the United States Navy extended the lives of World War II-era destroyers by shifting their mission from a surface attack role to that of a submarine hunter. The FRAM program also covered cruisers, aircraft carriers, submarines, amphibious ships, and auxiliaries. The United States Coast Guard also used this term in the 1980s for the modernization of its Hamilton-class cutters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear submarine</span> Submarine powered by a nuclear reactor

A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" submarines. Nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for conventional submarines. The large amount of power generated by a nuclear reactor allows nuclear submarines to operate at high speed for long periods, and the long interval between refuelings grants a range virtually unlimited, making the only limits on voyage times being imposed by such factors as the need to restock food or other consumables.

The Mark 46 torpedo is the backbone of the United States Navy's lightweight anti-submarine warfare torpedo inventory and is the NATO standard. These aerial torpedoes are designed to attack high-performance submarines. In 1989, an improvement program for the Mod 5 to the Mod 5A and Mod 5A(S) increased its shallow-water performance. The Mark 46 was initially developed as Research Torpedo Concept I, one of several weapons recommended for implementation by Project Nobska, a 1956 summer study on submarine warfare.

USS Bluefish (SSN-675), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bluefish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-submarine weapon</span> Weapon to be used in anti-submarine warfare

An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon is usually a projectile, missile or bomb that is optimized to destroy submarines.

The California class was a pair of nuclear-powered guided-missile cruisers operated by the United States Navy between 1974 and 1998. Other than their nuclear power supply and lack of helicopter hangars, ships of the California class were comparable to other guided-missile cruisers of their era, such as the Belknap class. The class was built as a follow-up to the nuclear-powered Long Beach, Bainbridge, and Truxtun classes. Like all of the nuclear cruisers, which could steam for years between refuelings, the California class was designed in part to provide high endurance escort for the navy's nuclear aircraft carriers, which were often limited in range due to their conventionally powered escorts continuously needing to be refueled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UUM-125 Sea Lance</span> Standoff Anti-Submarine

The UUM-125 Sea Lance, known early in development as the Common ASW Standoff Weapon, was to be an American standoff anti-submarine missile, initially intended to carry a W89 thermonuclear warhead. It was conceived in 1980 as a successor to both the UUM-44 SUBROC and RUR-5 ASROC anti-submarine missiles. The Sea Lance was to be available in two versions, known as UUM-125A and RUM-125A. The former would be a submarine-launched version, the latter surface-launched. It was cancelled in 1990 as its importance was obviated by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

An anti-submarine missile is a standoff anti-submarine weapon. Often a variant of anti-ship missile designs, an anti-submarine systems typically use a jet or rocket engine, to deliver an explosive warhead aimed directly at a submarine, a depth charge, or a homing torpedo that is carried from a launch ship, or other platform, to the vicinity of a target.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UUM-44 SUBROC</span> Standoff anti-submarine weapon

The UUM-44 SUBROC was a type of submarine-launched rocket deployed by the United States Navy as an anti-submarine weapon. It carried a 250 kiloton thermonuclear warhead configured as a nuclear depth bomb.

The UGM-89 Perseus was a proposed U.S. Navy submarine-launched anti-ship (AShM) and anti-submarine (ASW) cruise missile that was developed under the Submarine Tactical Missile (STAM) project, which was also referred to as the Submarine Anti-ship Weapon System (STAWS). This missile system was to be the centerpiece for a proposed third-generation nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine championed by then-Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the influential but controversial head of the Navy's nuclear propulsion program.

The United Kingdom's Polaris programme, officially named the British Naval Ballistic Missile System, provided its first submarine-based nuclear weapons system. Polaris was in service from 1968 to 1996.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 109–114. ISBN 1-55750-260-9.
1 2 3 Weir, Gary E. (2001). An Ocean in Common: American Naval Officers, Scientists, and the Ocean Environment. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. pp. 274–290. ISBN 1-58544-114-7.
1 2 US Navy Torpedo History part 2, retrieved 31 March 2019
↑ Friedman submarines, pp. 135-136
↑ Teller, Edward (2001). Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics . Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Publishing. pp. 420–421. ISBN 0-7382-0532-X.
↑ Friedman, Norman (2004). U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History, Revised Edition. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 335–336. ISBN 1-55750-442-3.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Friedman-Nobska-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 109–114. ISBN 1-55750-260-9.

[Weir-Ocean-2] 1 2 3 Weir, Gary E. (2001). An Ocean in Common: American Naval Officers, Scientists, and the Ocean Environment. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. pp. 274–290. ISBN 1-58544-114-7.

[TorpHist2-3] 1 2 US Navy Torpedo History part 2, retrieved 31 March 2019

[4] Friedman submarines, pp. 135-136

[5] Teller, Edward (2001). Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics . Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Publishing. pp. 420–421. ISBN 0-7382-0532-X.

[6] Friedman, Norman (2004). U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History, Revised Edition. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 335–336. ISBN 1-55750-442-3.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]