How Big Is a Submarine?
An Ohio-class submarine in 3D next to a person and a blue whale.
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The numbers
- Ohio-class submarine: 560 ft long, 42 ft wide. That is about 97 times the height of a 5 ft 9 in person. Source: U.S. Navy fact file.
- Blue whale: typically 75 to 90 ft long, up to about 100 ft. That is about 14 times the height of a 5 ft 9 in person. Source: NOAA Fisheries.
The 3D view draws each one at the size listed. Animals vary between individuals, and prehistoric sizes are estimates.
Ohio-class submarines, the largest submarines in the US Navy, are 560 feet long and 42 feet wide. That is close to two football fields long, and the hull is about as wide as a four-story building is tall.
A blue whale, the largest animal on Earth, is less than a sixth of that length. Most of a submarine sits below the waterline at sea, so in port you only ever see a small part of it.