Triton was laid down in 1956, launched in 1958, and commissioned in November 1959, after her role had been discussed since the late 1940s. A 1955 proposal envisaged five carrier groups with two radar-picket submarines each. Rising costs led to a different allocation in 1957, after Triton's construction had begun. Four nuclear radar-picket submarines would support a single nuclear carrier group, while each of four conventional carrier groups would receive two diesel-electric pickets. The nuclear formation was conceived alongside Enterprise. Triton's large conning tower housed the AN/SPS-26 three-dimensional air-search radar, which retracted when it was not in use.
Notable Point · 52:53-55:15
Rising costs reshape the radar-picket submarine force
The proposed force shifted from two pickets per carrier group to four nuclear submarines supporting one nuclear group, with diesel-electric pickets assigned to the conventional groups.