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''Benjamin Franklin'' class ballistic missile submarine

Class Overview
Class Type Ballistic Missile Submarine
Class NameIn honor of Benjamin Franklin
Preceded ByChronologically:
Succeeded ByChronologically:
USS ''Narwhal''
USS ''Glenard P. Lipscomb''
''Los Angeles''-class Attack Submarine
By Type
''Ohio''-class Ballistic Missile Submarine
Ships of the Class:See the list below for the ships of the ''Benjamin Franklin'' class


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 Symbol s.


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