Also known as the 688 class (pronounced "six-eighty-eight") after the hull number of lead vessel USS Los Angeles (SSN-688), 62 were built from 1972 to 1996, the latter 23 to an improved 688i standard.

Rickover explained the decision to name the submarines after cities (and occasionally politicians influential in defense issues) by observing that "fish don't vote.

"[8] In the late 1960s, the Soviet Union's advances in submarine technology increasingly threatened the survivability of US Navy (USN) carrier battle groups.

[9] On 1 December 1976 General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) submitted a $544 million claim related to its contract for 18 Los-Angeles-class submarines; the contractor alleged the USN made an undue amount of design changes while the government argued that Electric Boat mismanaged its operations.

[11] The USN and General Dynamics had a further dispute in 1979–1980 when it was discovered that nonconforming steel had been used in the construction of the submarines and thousands of welds were found to be either defective or missing.

This led General Dynamics to file a $100 million insurance claim to cover the costs of re-inspections of the yard's work, "thus, Electric Boat was asking the Navy to reimburse it for its own mis-management."

[10] Los Angeles-class submarines were built in three successive flights:[12] In 1982, after building 31 boats, the class underwent a minor redesign.

[14] According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the top speed of the submarines of the Los Angeles class is over 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), although the actual maximum is classified.

The class was originally equipped with the Mk 113 mod 10 fire control system, also known as the Pargo display program.

The Mk 1 CCS was built by Lockheed Martin, and gave the class the ability to fire Tomahawk missiles.

Trackers are signal followers that generate bearing, arrival angle, and frequency reports based on information received by an acoustic sensor.

Development of the AN/BSY-1 and its sister the AN/BSY-2 for the Seawolf class was widely reported as one of the most problematic programs for the Navy, its cost and schedule suffering many setbacks.

COTS-based processors will allow computer power growth at a rate commensurate with the commercial industry.

The aft compartment contains the bulk of the submarine's engineering systems, power generation turbines, and water-making equipment.

[32] The diesel engine in a 688 class can be quickly started by compressed air during emergencies or to evacuate noxious (nonvolatile) gases from the boat, although 'ventilation' requires raising a snorkel mast.

In the case of a reactor plant casualty, the submarine has a diesel generator and a bank of batteries to provide electrical power.

With a wide variance in longevity, twelve boats were laid up halfway through their projected lifespans, with Baltimore being the youngest to be retired at only 15 years, 11 months.