Submarines

Oral family history recounts that my grandfather was in one of a group of submarines which were the first to cross the Atlantic. The submarines had been built in Canada and I have just found his name on a passenger list with many other naval ratings, presumably going to collect the submarines. He was on board SS Missanabie, which arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 17th April 1915, so soon after that date.

In the early days of ASW, active sonar was used quite a bit for trying to locate submarines; however, today active sonar is primarily used only by aircraft, in the form of helicopter dipping sonar. Ships do use active sonar, but modern nuclear submarines are extremely adept at using the ocean environment to their advantage in avoiding active transmissions. The main disadvantage to using active sonar is that a ship automatically gives away their position; this wasn't as big a problem with older boats which used "John Wayne" style torpedoes that required you to be in visual range of a target, meaning you were exposed during an attack. Modern boats use passive sonar tracking, and use torpedoes that can be fired thousands of yards away,without ever getting near a target. Modern torpedoes have their own sonar tracking systems that are extremely difficult to evade once they acquire a target.

Modern submarines' speed and depth capability also means that they can egress an area where active sonar is being used very quickly, or avoid it altogether as it can be detected miles away before a boat ever gets in range of the transmitting sonar.

Active sonar is used by ships to find diesel-electric submarines that are running on the battery, though. Such boats are extremely difficult to detect, even by other submarines at close range. In many cases, active sonar is about the only way to find and track them, but unlike nuclear submarines, once a DE boat is located, they're pretty much history. They don't have the speed and depth capability that nukes do to egress an area if they're caught, but they can still use the ocean environment to their advantage if the sound conditions are in their favor.

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, considered to be the "Father of the Nuclear Navy", realized the potential of nuclear energy for the Navy, and personally oversaw the design, development, construction and deployment of the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the Navy's and the world's first nuclear powered submarine.

Rickover's leadership methods and political savvy are legendary, and all of us who served under him while on active duty learned something from that leadership. Some of my favorite quotes are of Rickover's (on my bio page at the bottom).

His absolute zero tolerance for mistakes in the nuclear community in the Navy continues to this day, and is the reason the Navy enjoys a spotless record of over 55 years of reactor operation.

In World WarII, the germans named it a uboat

As an ingenious new method of sinking warships.

Fiberglass would be the only material for R/C submarines.

it is more economical than diesel power generator but like diesel it is using fossilized fuel and creates pollution in the air

There are 4 people onboard any submarine you want as your best friends:

1. The Doc (Corpsman)

2. The Pork Chops (Supply guys)

3. The Yeoman (Admin)

4. The Cooks

You want the Doc and Yeoman as your friend because they have the power to administratively ruin your life should you make a "bad tactical decision" and make them mad at you (OOPS! Lost your Shot Record - need to redo all your shots!). Chop's are always needed - you cannot survive without them authorizing, or providing, supplies to keep your gear running. Things can always get "lost" if you make them mad.

But the cooks are the heart and soul of any submarine or ship - a bad cook can destroy morale onboard within a very short period, especially if the boat is involved in any particularly stressful operations. On my last major deployment to the North Pole, our cooks really saved us. Having lost our refrigerant/freezing capacity about a month after leaving port, and needing to continue our mission, we survived on the creativity of what the cooks made for us out of the canned food that was still good. Everyone lost weight (some of us were trying to anyway - it just made it easier), myself almost 70lbs during that run. Still, the cooks' ability to maintain a decent meal 4 times a day (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Midnight Rations, or MidRats), kept our spirits up and helped ensure the success of our mission. You would not believe what can be created out of a large can of canned Tamales.

Having said that, I still won't eat to this day a Ham and Cheese sandwich. We were able to save a lot of canned refrigerated items like Ham and Cheese by storing them in an empty Torpedo Tube (the water in the Arctic Ocean is a constant 28 degrees F), which acted as a natural refrigerator. It was one of the few things we had a lot of.

Cooks are also relied upon by the CO and the Doc to maintain proper nutrition and health for the crew. For example, all ships and submarines have an Ice Cream machine. This is not a novelty or morale booster - it is intended to maintain necessary Vitamin D levels in the crew while underway submerged, as fresh milk is used within the first week or two, along with fresh fruit and vegetables. Powdered milk is pretty bad, and most crew won't drink it, so the Ice Cream (soft serve) is used as the primary dairy supply tool. I remember my first CO wanting to 'discipline" the crew for something by taking away our Ice Cream privileges - he was overruled by the Doc, and onboard any Navy vessel, the Corpsman or Doctor is the ultimate authority in health matters, having even the power to relieve the Commanding Officer if deemed unfit for duty.

The problem with that is unfortunately, there aren't any real checks and balances on the Medical branch, and it's a problem.

All cooks are always busy - there are meals to be prepared, dishes, pots, & utensils to be cleaned, trash to be compacted and disposed of (through a tube that goes to the bottom of the boat). In port, supplies must be ordered, obtained, unpacked and stored, and all space is at premium. When a boat is readying for an extended period at sea, a "Stores Load" working party consisting of all hands will move via daisy chain all food items from the pier to the cooks and supply guys. Initially, there is usually more food than there is space to put it, so the crew actually has to "eat" their way through to get the space back over time. Certain "premium items", like Cashews or Hot Chocolate packs intended for the Wardroom, can mysteriously disappear during a Stores Load. We always made sure our own people were positioned in the right spots just in case.

Submarine cooks have it somewhat easier than their surface ship counterparts. I've got friends who were originally surface cooks who volunteered for submarine duty, and who liked the change of pace. Submarine crews are more tight-knit, and cooking for an average of between 50-100 people at a time is nothing compared to 5,000 or more. The quality of cooking is better, and Submariners are afforded the best food available in the service. Submarine cooks are encouraged also to take the initiative and vary the menu to develop their skills. Unlike some services, all Navy personnel are trained to be individual experts in whatever job they've chosen or been given. Most of the cooks on my old boat went on to open their own successful restaurants after leaving the Navy. As a cook, you learn all aspects of the food service industry, from washing dishes to full scale management of a large scale operation.

bathysphere, caisson

join the navy, volunteer for submarine duty, go to A school and sub school, get orders to a boat.

A number of nuclear submarines sank, and the circumstances vary from accident to accident. Wikipedia has a list, and by going there and entering "List of sunken nuclear submarines" you can review that list.

They are actually called "planes" on a submarine and allow it to maneuver underwater. Horizontal "planes" allow the submarine to go up/down, vertical "planes" allow the submarine to go left/right.

If you are speaking of rocket missiles- as torpedoes are technically missiles- as would be bullets or other projectile weapons- there are different types: Polaris, Trident, and of course the various Soviet (now-ex-Soviet) equivalents. There is also a Poseidon nuclear missile designed for submarine deployment, these are fired vertically, not out the torpedo tubes, and have totally separate guidance and fire-control equipment for obvious security reasons. They are different weapons fired out of different types of launching tubes. However some mines can be launched from regular torpedo tubes as was done by the Germans in World War II.

Everything but the actual song is owned by Apple corp and Subafilms (subsidy of Apple). The song is owned by Sony. The Beatles still get royalties (actually, John Lennon and Paul McCartney).

It depends on the real question. If meant literally, then yes, women are allowed on submarines. They can visit some submarines.

If the question is, "Are women allowed to serve/work on submarines?" then it depends on the country. In the Royal Navy (UK) they are not allowed to serve at present. The United States, however, is gearing up to allow some women officers to serve aboard U.S. Navy nuclear submarines.

it was called U-boat

The term submarine combines the term "marine" and the prefix "sub" to form the word. Marine is a term that applies to the ocean or the sea, and the prefix sub means beneath or below. The submarine operates beneath the sea.

Contrary to popular belief and myth, submarines (other than the one at Disneyland) do not have windows or any other means of looking at fish or other creatures in the ocean. Submarines are sophisticated weapons, and fish aren't they're primary mission.

Submarine Sonar Techs (myself included) do hear fish when boats come to periscope depth and biologics (the technical term for sea life) surround the boat. While a periscope can catch occasional glimpses of fish, that's not its primary function.

The notion comes from the old '60's movie and TV show "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", featuring the fictional submarines Seaview. It had transparent hull plates on the very front of the boat. However in reality, submarines don't spend that much time at depths where fish are visible, and even then they don't tend to get close enough to see.

The USS Copperfin depicted in the WWII movie "Destination Tokyo" (one of my favorites, as it is with most submariners) was not a real submarine, nor was the film made aboard an actual navy boat. It was filmed on board a full scale model, with fake interior equipment layouts to confuse any enemy who would see it (remember the film was released in 1943 in the middle of WWII). In 1943 all combat ready submarines were still trying to hold the Japanese from expanding into the Pacific until the fleet could be rebuilt and reinforcements brought to bear. Using an actual submarine for a movie wasn't even considered. Footage of the boat sinking ships is also of models - you can tell from the clarity of the water (it's fresh water, not salt - the ocean is never that clear and bright).

It's only been during the last 15 years or so that the Navy has allowed film crews aboard actual submarines, and even then content is closely reviewed prior to release. I, like many submariners of my era (Cold War) still believe that film crews have no business aboard an actual submarine. In our day you could not take a picture of any submarine, and any personal cameras had to be approved by the CO. Any pictures taken could not show anything that was classified in nature. Anyone caught shooting film of a submarine would be arrested and charged.

The only real major disadvantage is the need to resupply the crew. Unlike surface vessels, which can replenish at sea while underway, submarines must return to port to resupply.

Other than that, submarines have the advantage.

The proper term is "Underway Submerged"