In 2000 the US Navy?s Submarine Force celebrates its centennial, commemorating the launch of SS 1 USS Holland, in 1900. The history of submarines in America, however, goes back to the Civil War. The Confederate States Navy launched the CSS Hunley, a submersible hand-propelled craft with a crew of eight, all of whom perished with their only victim, the USS Housatonic. The Navy?s submarines built a formidable reputation during the Second World War, particularly in interdicting Japanese naval and merchant ship movements in the Pacific Theater. The submarine force today consists both of attack submarines, fulfilling the traditional submarine role, and ballistic missile submarines, which provide an undersea platform for ballistic missiles.
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