How are submarines steered up left right and down?

Answer 1

A Good question from a land lubber. First of all let us consider the older and still functional Diesel-electric and first-generation Nuclear subs. There were three control positions in the Control room. The officer of the deck- a position that rotates, had the (Conn) and controlled the situation with all maneuvering commands. There is a conventional- except it is rigged for blind steering by gyro-compass, etc steering wheel dead center in the control room- the mid-center axis is standard for ships. off to one side,usually starboard are two so-called Ballast or Trim wheels controlling the up and down angle and various instruments such as depth gauges and inclinometers ( which measure the angle on the planes, and the actual up and down angle) On or near this panel are controls for the ballast tanks to let in or take out water, blow the tanks, etc. leave this alone for a while. in the horizontal plane, a submarine is steered like any other ship- Come right to course- 042- Aye sye sir- coming right to course 042. The depth angles are uniquely (Sub) and there are usually two depth wheels- also called Depth rudders by the Germans and incorrectly Ballast Wheels by laymen-One controls the forward or Bow diaplanes, and the other the aft diaplanes- or dive planes, both terms are correct. some early subs only had aft dive planes like fins on bombs and these were called Elevons from the aircraft term the Holland submarine had Elevons only on the stern, did not have bow diaplanes. so a minimum of three men are required on the older type of sub to control progress in the horizontal or lateral plane- steering, and the up and down progression and trim, related to ballast. on the more modern Nuclear subs there are aircraft-like De Haviland yokes that permit one man to control both later and up and down- there are two sets , akin to aircraft dual controls. The older system was/is one steering wheel two up and down wheels- quite serviceable up to about 25 knots when hydrodynamic problems arise that are handled quite well with the yoke type controls. there you have it.