The Los Angeles class was the most numerous U.S. nuclear-powered attack-submarine class, with 62 boats built.
The class was designed during the Cold War for anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, reconnaissance, and attacks against enemy ships and land targets. USS Los Angeles, the lead boat, was commissioned in 1976, and the final member, USS Cheyenne, entered service in 1996.
Los Angeles-class submarines were nuclear-powered, so they could remain submerged for long periods without surfacing for air. Their main practical limits were food, crew endurance, maintenance, and mission requirements rather than battery capacity.
The class was gradually replaced by the Virginia class. Several Los Angeles boats carried Tomahawk cruise missiles, and some later vessels received vertical launch systems. The class served in every major phase of the late Cold War and the post-Cold War period.