Benjamin Franklin class submarine
The Benjamin Franklin class of submarine was an evolutionary development from the James Madison class of fleet ballistic missile submarine. Having quieter machinery and other improvements, they are considered a separate class. Together with
the George Washington,
the Ethan Allen,
the Lafayette, and
the James Madison
classes, they comprised the "41 for Freedom."
The Franklin class submarines were built with the Polaris A-3, and later converted to carry the Poseidon C-3. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, select units were further modified to carry Trident-I (C-4) missiles.
In the early 1980s, to make room for the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines within the limits set by SALT II, the missile tubes of
Kamehameha and
James K. Polk
were disabled. Those boats were redesignated special operations attack submarines and given SSN hull classification symbols.
Boats
(Boats marked with * indicate C-4 conversions.)
