What are the advantages of submarine simulations?

Answer 1

Submarine simulators have been around for decades. Though primarily used in Submarine School in Groton, CT, to train new submariners, they're also used for submarine veterans in pre-deployment training exercises.

The 2 most common are the dive simulator and everyone's favorite, the wet trainer. The dive simulator simulates a submarine control room, with helm, planes, and ballast control panel stations. The trainer is used to give candidates a hands on experience of dealing with emergencies, without the side-effect of dying. Since the Helm/Planesman stations are the first that most crew qualify on, it's the logical choice for a trainer.

Submarine control room trainers for officers are more complex, as they're taught advanced submarine command, control, and tracking/attack procedures.

The wet trainer is exactly what it implies; it is a simulated room of the engineering spaces of a submarine where pressurized water pipes and manifolds with leaks are activated, and the participants work the simulated emergency. The trainer is designed to prepare crews to deal with pressurized water leaks, rising water, and pipe-patching/flood control procedures. In submarine school, it's also a psychological evaluation to see how potential candidates fare in an emergency situation in a closed environment where water is rising.

For pre-deployment training, simulators can help train crews for specific mission tasks, or refresh/hone target acquisition and tracking skills between the key personnel involved during battlestations.