Skipjack is the name of a class of American nuclear fighter submarines (ANNs). Units of this type were built in the years 1956-1961. In total, six units of this type were built. The Skipjack-class ship was 76.7 m long, 9.6 m wide, and had a displacement of approximately 3,500 tons. The maximum underwater speed is approx. 30 knots. The ship had six 533 mm bow torpedo tubes.
The Skipjack-class ships were developed and put into production to replace the Skate-class ships. Compared to their predecessors, they differed in many elements. First of all, as the first combat units of the US Navy in history, they had the so-called drop-shaped hull, previously tested on the USS Albacore. The hull of this type, although difficult to manufacture, provided almost fantastic for those times hydrodynamic properties and allowed to achieve very high underwater speed. In addition, the Skipjack-class units also had a different type of reactor (S5W), which generated more power and was more compact than those used in the Skate-class. It was also the first nuclear-powered submarine to use a single propeller in the US Navy. Generally, the Skipjack type brought with it many innovations to the American Navy, but despite its innovation, it turned out to be a highly refined design, with high combat values, and throughout the service, ships of this type were considered first-line units until their withdrawal in the late 1980s. Twentieth century.