Page 21: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 15, 1984)

GENERAL DYNAMICS

The General Dynamics Electric

Boat Division in Groton, Conn., is the nation's only shipyard dedi- cated solely to the design, con- struction, and support of nuclear- powered submarines for the U.S.

Navy. The yard builds two classes of submarines—Ohio Class mis- sile-firing Tridents and Los Ange- les Class (SSN-688) fast attack boats.

Solid construction performance during the first half of 1984 has culminated in ahead-of-schedule delivery of two attack subs, the

Minneapolis-St. Paul (SSN-708) and the Hyman G. Rickover (SSN- 709), and one Trident, the Georgia (SSBN-729), making a total of eight consecutive submarines de- livered ahead of schedule. This performance reflects the Division's commitment to innovative con- struction and engineering tech- niques such as modular construc- tion and computer-aided design/ computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), which have improved productivity and reduced construc- tion times.

Submarine hull cylinders are produced in an automated welding facility at Quonset, R.I., where they are end-loaded with founda- tions, decks, wiring, piping, and large components. The completed cylinders are then joined to form complete hulls at the land-level submarine construction facility at

Groton.

Recently, the Quonset Point fa- cility has taken on even more sub- marine fabrication work. A$9-mil- lion waterfront improvement project that began full operation early this year has doubled the ca- pacity, to 600 tons. Three basic components comprise the system: a 700-ton-capacity, multi-wheeled ground transporter; a new 195-foot barge with jackup legs; and under- water concrete pads at both plants to receive the legs for docking.

At present, Electric Boat has 16 ships under construction—seven

Tridents and nine SSN-688s.

Among the Tridents, the Henry M.

Jackson (SSBN-730) is undergoing sea trials prior to a scheduled de- livery this fall; the Alabama (SSBN-731) was launched in May this year and will be delivered in the spring of 1985; and SSBN-732- 736 are in various earlier stages of construction. (General Dynamics recently received a Navy contract to accelerate fitting the ships with even longer range Trident II missiles).

Among the ships in the yard's attack submarine program, the

Augusta (SSN-710 is being pre- pared for sea trials; the Provi- dence (SSN-719) was launched on

August 4 this year and is sched- uled to be delivered in the spring of 1985; and the remaining seven ships are in various earlier stages of construction. Of special signifi- cance are SSN-791 and SSN-720, first in their class to feature the

Tomahawk cruise missile vertical launch capability.

The U.S. Navy has authorized

Electric Boat to accomplish pre- liminary design work on a new class of attack submarine that is planned to counter the growing threat posed by advanced Soviet submarine designs. This design work was completed in June this year, and it is expected that the

Navy will shortly initiate the next phase of competition, which will ultimately be geared toward se- lecting a contractor to serve as de- sign agent for this all-new submarine.

The Quincy Shipbuilding Divi- sion of General Dynamics in Mas- sachusetts is participating in the

Navy's Maritime Prepositioning

Ship (T-AKX) program under a $775-million contract for the con- struction of five ships.

The only newly built vessels in the T-AKX program, the 645-foot ships will displace 40,800 tons fully loaded, and be powered by

Stork-Werkspoor diesel engines with a total output of 26,000 bhp.

Each of these ships will be ca- pable of carrying 25 percent of the equipment needed to support a

Marine Corps brigade. In addition, each will carry 1.6 million gallons of petroleum products in bulk and 81,000 gallons of potable water.

The Quincy yard has laid the (continued on page 24)

From this in '42

Launching of the White Pine I and II ...to 1,200-plus since. That's

Marinette.

When we built and delivered our first vessels 40 years ago. the U S Maritime

Commission learned what many other customers have since discovered:

Marinette's production line philosophy of modular shipbuilding means highest quality, within budget, and on-time delivery always

Why else do customers return to us, for whatever their needs? It's our superior manufacturing techniques, our modern NC equipment, computerized system management, enclosed facilities for year-round work, full line of engineering design services, technical orientation to custom requirements

Since '42 we've built a modern shipyard and a large staff of professional architects, engineers and construction specialists, all dedicated to demands of our customers. Not once have we failed them nor will we, as we expand our operations, facilities and performance record in the years ahead

Look into Marinette Marine. Todayl /Marinette /Marine

Marinette. Wisconsin 54143

Telephone 715 735-9341

TWX 910-270-1388 * l^Ll "v

T-ATF naval fleet tug YRBM berthing ]

August 15,1984 Circle 317 on Reader Service Card 23