USS Triton (SSRN-586) - Combat Systems Overview

Combat Systems Overview

Triton's main air search radar was the AN/SPS-26 electronically scanned, three-dimensional (3-D) radar system. The SPS-26 had a range of 65 nautical miles (120 km; 75 mi), and it was capable of tracking aircraft up to an altitude of 75,000 feet (23,000 m). Since it scanned electronically in elevation, it did not need a separate height-finding radar system. When not in use, the SPS-26 radar was lowered into its fairwater housing for stowage within Triton's massive sail. A submarine version of SPS-26, designated BPS-10, was under development at the time of Triton's construction, and it was slated for eventual installation on the Triton.

Triton's active/passive sonar detecting-ranging set was the AN/BQS-4, which had a listening range up to 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) for surfaced or snorkeling submarines, optimized to 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) with target tracking capability within 5 degrees of accuracy. The hull-mounted passive sonar AN/BQR-2 array supplemented the BQS-4 system, with a range up to 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) and a bearing accuracy of 1/10 of degree, allowing the BQR-2 to be used for fire control in torpedo attacks.

Triton's target fire-control system (TFCS) was the Mark 101, a post-war development that incorporated target tracking and ranging data into a position keeper, with a pair of analyzers that automatically revised torpedo gyros and settings as the target position changed. This automation greatly simplified a targeting solution for a plotting party. Previously targeting solutions were manually estimated target bearings and then feed them into the Torpedo Data Computer (TDC) system initially introduced in fleet submarines prior to World War II. However, while entirely capable of providing efficient fire control solutions against post-war non-nuclear hunter-killer submarines, the Mark 101 proved to be less responsive to the rapid changes associated with nuclear submarine operations.

Triton's torpedo system consisted of six Mark 60 torpedo tubes, four bow and two stern. The Mark 60 system was a 249.8-inch (6,340 mm)-long hydraulic-launch tube that did not have power handling capability. The standard torpedo carried by Triton was the Mark 37, with a weapon load of ten forward and five aft. Triton's first commanding officer, "Ned" Beach, noted the torpedo load in the forward torpedo room could have been doubled with the removal of a single support girder.

The Number One periscope was Triton's navigational periscope, and it had a built-in sextant developed by the Kollmorgen Optical Company that allowed navigators to observe celestial bodies to order to obtain an accurate star fix to plot the ship's course and position.