Inside the History of the Barbel-Class Submarines

Getting deeper into the history of diesel

The United States Navy championed a small fleet of three diesel-electric attack submarines spanning from 1956 all the way until 1990 when the USS Blueback, the last diesel sub, was decommissioned. Dubbed the Barbel Class, USS Blueback, USS Bonefish, and USS Barbel were the Navy’s first commissioned teardrop-shaped submarines and were of a double-hull construction that featured 1.5-inch thick HY80 steel. Their shape allowed for very low drag and could essentially maximize the speed potential of the diesel-electric setup. Strapping three Fairbanks-Morse 38D8-1/8 diesel motors together (around 3,150 hp total) with two General Motors electric motors (around 4,800 hp total) allowed the Barbel Class subs to average a surface speed of 15 knots, and could average 18 knots when submerged. Their high efficiency allowed them to have monumental ranges: 19,000 miles before they would need to refuel, and could run solely off the electric motors for 90 minutes at full speed of 25 knots or an astonishing 102 hours at 3 knots, allowing for a nearly silent approach.

These submarines were praised for their consistency and ability to traverse the globe with ease, especially during a time when nuclear powered subs were not considered reliable or worth it yet. Their low acoustic signature, thanks to the teardrop hulls, kept the 77-man crews safer than any previous line of submarines, and the reliable diesel motors ensured they could keep moving no matter where or when. Outfitted with six 21-inch torpedo tubes, the subs kept 22 torpedoes onboard just in case and would routinely perform excellently in training exercises and some light operations in the Pacific, having earned a record for firing the most torpedoes in 1973. The USS Barbel alone launched a staggering 118 torpedoes throughout the year. While they were all fired during live training exercises, they had great accuracy and proved that they were formidable in every scenario they trained for.

Unfortunately for the Barbel Class, advancements in nuclear-powered submarines deemed the diesel-electric system obsolete, rendering one sub to be decommissioned in 1990, another to be sunk as a military training target in 1989, and the third has been displayed as a museum piece among the National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon since 2008.