Mobeus USS Skipjack (SSN-585) in 1/72 Scale

USS Skipjack (SSN-585) was the lead ship of a class of six “fast attack” submarines built for the United States Navy.  She was commissioned on 15 April 1959.  With an Albacore streamlined hull and S5W nuclear reactor, she established what was to become the standard configuration for submarine designs which followed.   The class were the fastest submarines in the U.S. Navy until the introduction of the Los Angeles class.  The Skipjack design was modified to become the USS George Washington (SSBN-598) class ballistic missile submarine by lengthening the hull by 130 feet in order to carry 16 Polaris missiles.  The Royal Navy used the design for the after hull and propulsion section in their first nuclear submarine, the HMS Dreadnaught. 

The third ship in the class, USS Scorpion (SSN 589) was lost with all hands in the North Atlantic on 22 May 1968.  The cause of her loss has never been officially determined.

There are relatively few parts to this kit, but it definitely has “shelf presence”.  Length is just under 42 inches (106.5 cm).  I added crew figures to the sail to give the viewer a sense of scale.

Scratchbuilt Los Angeles Class submarine here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2019/05/21/uss-indianapolis-ssn-697-fast-attack-submarine-in-1-72-scale/