AGSS-569 Albacore 1955-1956 - Phase II
Albacore went through design Phase II from December 1955 to March 1956. This conversion changed the control surfaces and made Albacore quieter. Albacore continued her experimental work, with an increasing emphasis on sound reduction. From December 1955 to March 1956, Albacore underwent stern renewal. Until this time, her propeller had been surrounded by the rudder and stern plane control surfaces. With her "new look," she resembled a blimp, with her propeller aft of all control surfaces. During this phase, control surfaces were moved in front of the propeller and arranged to be horizontal and vertical, forming a "+" shape. The dorsal rudder on the sail was deactivated [some sources report the auxiliary rudder on the sail was removed] and the small forward planes were removed not only for the reasons given above, but because they created drag and slowed the boat down. The new design provided excellent high-speed maneuverability.
In another change, the diameter of the propeller was increased from 11 to 14 feet, which could turn more slowly and was quieter, but it proved relatively less effective and was deleted in the next phase. Other tests evaluated a fiberglass sonar dome carrying the BQS-4 sonar and a towed array fitted to the end of the submarine. Noise reduction studies were conducted and noisy machinery was isolated from the hull through the use of rubber pads. The ballast tanks and free flooding areas of the hull were coated with a new material called Aquaplas to absorb machinery noise and dampen flow noise in tanks and the superstructure.
Operation with her new stern configuration started in April 1956 and continued until late in the year. In May Albacore visited New York City and participated in the television production "Wide, Wide World," during which she submerged, with an underwater camera mounted on her forecastle, first live telecast of a submarine while diving.
Soon, the technologies which had thus far proven successful on Albacore were applied in new construction. USS Barbel (SS-580), commissioned in 1959, was the first of a three-boat, conventionally-powered class to incorporate the tear-drop hull design and HY-80 steel. At that same time, the Skipjack (SSN-585) program combined the Albacore's hull shape, single axially-mounted propeller, and HY-80 steel with the nuclear propulsion system that had been pioneered on the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) to create the prototype of the modern attack submarine.
Albacore entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in November for her conversion for Phase III testing.
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