LA Cycle Tours

The Los Angeles class are nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy. The submarines are also known as the 688 class, after the hull number of lead vessel USS Los Angeles . They represent two generations and close to half a century of the Navy's attack submarine fleet. As of 2018, 35 of the class are still in commission and 27 are retired from service. Of the 27 retired boats, 12 of them were laid up half way through their projected lifespans, and another five also laid up early , due to their midlife reactor refueling being cancelled, and one was lost due to a fire. Seven have been scrapped and two are being converted to moored training ships. A further four boats were proposed by the Navy, but later cancelled. The class has more active nuclear submarines than any other class in the world. Submarines of this class are named after American towns and cities, such as Albany, New York, Los Angeles, California or Tucson, Arizona, with the exception of USS Hyman G. Rickover, named for a US Navy Admiral. This was a change from long-standing tradition of naming attack submarines for creatures of the ocean, such as USS Seawolf or USS Shark. In 1982 after building 31 boats, the class underwent a minor redesign, the following 8 that made up the second flight of subs had 12 new vertical launch tubes that could fire Tomahawk missiles. The last 23 saw a significant upgrade with the 688i improvement program. These boats are quieter, with more advanced electronics, sensors, and noise reduction technology. Externally they can be recognized quickly as the retractable diving planes are placed at the bow rather than on the sail.
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