The evolution of submarines from purely sea-oriented weapons to multi-mission sea and land strike platforms makes them ideally suited to keep pace with a rapidly changing global mission, and they have become increasingly involved in response to regional tensions. The TRIDENT system is the most secure leg of America’s strategic triad, offering the ultimate in stealth technology they are virtually undetectable in the opaque oceans of the world. The TRIDENTS of SUBPAC operate out of their homeport of Bangor, Wa. Commonly referred to as TRIDENT submarines after the type of missile they carry, these ships are a follow-on to the POSEIDON ships. In August 1982, America’s newest ballistic missile submarine, USS Ohio, arrived in the Pacific. The next major change in submarine capabilities was in 1978 when USS Los Angeles joined PERMIT and STURGEON class ships operating in the Pacific. These ships put strategic deterrence at sea in both the Atlantic and Pacific. In 1959, the Navy commissioned USS George Washington, the first of 41 POLARIS ballistic missile submarines. Nuclear power revolutionized submarine operations by combining improved operating capability with increased speed and remarkable endurance. In 1958, the era of nuclear power came to the Pacific Fleet with the arrival of USS Sargo. Submarine design and development moved ahead rapidly during the war and continued into the 1950s. Fifty-two submarines with 374 officers and 3,131 enlisted men were lost and are considered to be still on patrol. Pacific Fleet submarines accounted for 54 percent (5 million tons) of all enemy shipping sunk during the war. By war’s end, submarines had supported all major fleet operations and made 488 war patrols. It was up to submarines to take the fight to the enemy. The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor decimated the surface fleet, but left the submarine force intact. The inventory in Hawaii continued to grow and by the outset of World War II, 22 of the 51 American submarines in the Pacific were homeported at Pearl Harbor. Submarines returned to Hawaii in 1919 when six R-class boats arrived at Pearl Harbor. They operated out of Honolulu Harbor until they were replaced by four K-class submarines that operated from Kuahua Island in Pearl Harbor from 1915-1917 when they were recalled to the mainland with America’s entry into World War I. The Pacific Submarine Force came to Hawaii in 1914 when four F-class boats were towed from San Francisco to Honolulu.
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