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Submarines
Submarines are naval craft that can operate for an extended period of time underwater. They are used primarily as warships, as well as for business, scientific and other purposes. Submarines are different from submersibles, which only have limited underwater capability.
2,056 Questions
What US submarine was used to film the movie Destination Tokyo?
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.
What are some disadvantages to submarine warfare?
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.
Which Navy was the first to fire a torpedo to a target from a submarine?
"Shooting" a torpedo is the proper term; the word "Fire" means only one thing aboard a submarine, and it has nothing to do with launching weapons.
While the Nordenfelt-designed Turkish submarine Abdülhamid (1886) was the first submarine in the world to shoot a torpedo while submerged, it did not shoot at a designated target.
The first submarine credited with shooting a torpedo underwater at a designated target (albeit a missed shot) was the Royal Hellenic Navy's (Greek) submarine Delfin, on December 22, 1912. The Delfin was shooting at the Ottoman light cruiser Mecidiye, at a range of 800m.
How can you see out of a submarine?
Ignoring the classic joke that says you look out through the screen door, there are a number of ways of "seeing" outside.
Some submarines (especially small submersibles, research subs, and "tourist subs") do have glass windows.
Most submarines do not. They use other means.
A. On the surface, they have periscope (either direct sight or fiber optic). They have navigational radar. They have direct vision from the bridge of the sub (if it is fully surfaced and not simply at periscope depth).
B. Underwater, they have active sonar and passive sonar. Active sonar is like what bats use to echo locate what is in front of them. Passive Sonar is like using sound to figure out what is coming your way (like using your ears to safely walk around town with your eyes covered). Another primary method is Inertial Navigation. Using inertial navigation equipment tells you how fast you are going and in what direction. As long as you know where you start from, combined with good ocean charts, you know what is in front of you, above you, below you, behind you, and on each side of you. Fathometers (a lot like active sonar) can tell you how far you are above the bottom of the ocean, while pitot tubes can tell you how fast you are moving and how deep you are.
Combining all of these different sensors can be quite powerful. Much more powerful than looking out through a big glass window... you would not be able to see very much anyway.
"Spooks" in cold war US military usage meant "secret stuff" like the CIA, etc.
What does SS mean on a navy ship?
The designation "SS" for Submarines means "Submersible Ship". SS is also a warfare designation for sailors who are qualified in submarines.
For older Navy surface vessels and current merchant ships, the "SS" designator means "Steam Ship", referring to it's power source.
How is fish and a submarines al Ike?
Same body designs to swim through the same environment-water. In addition, WWII US Navy subs were named after fish.
How is submarine cable constructed?
Submarine cable is constructed in much the same way direct bury cable is made. The major differences involve "what" is done rather than "how" it is done. What is done is that a whole lot of extra armor and waterproof jacketing is added. Check out the information posted by our friends at Wikipedia by using the link. The pictures alone are worth the time.
Which navy is bigger china or US?
The United States currently has the largest blue-water Navy on the planet. China's Navy is largely coastal more than anything else, and though they seek to expand, having ships and submarines and knowing how to use them strategically is another story. Even the Russians, who had a substantial blue-water Navy during the Soviet years, have substantially curtailed their global naval operations over the last 15 years after the breakup of the USSR.
The United States has Carrier Battle Groups or Task Forces in every major regional area of the globe, most of which are standing fleets that are rotated on a regular basis. For areas that don't have standing fleets, the speed capability of a CBG or CTF ensures that it can be within striking distance within 24-48 hours.
What did the union use submarines for?
The union used there only submarine to combat the hunley that the confederate built.but it also would have ben used to stack confederate ships and ports along tge coast
What country's submarines were known as U-boats?
Germany - the term is an abbreviation of the German word for submarine, "Unterseeboot", or "Undersea Boat".
Can large submarines go through the Panama Canal?
Absolutely, and they do so more often than people realize.
All submarines are designed with many strategic variables in mind, including passage through strategic waterways such as the canal.
What does The US Navy name its submarines?
It depends on the type of submarine.
Fast-Attack submarines are normally named after fish or previous submarines; Ballistic Missile submarines were originally named for famous Americans in history, though today they are named for States of the Union. This is done in no small part to foster good will and political support.
Some attack submarines are also named for famous politicians who have been more than kind to the Navy over their years of service in Congress or the White House, and the USS Hyman G. Rickover is named for Admiral Rickover, "Father of the Nuclear Navy".
The word "submarine" simply means "under the sea". (Sub meaning below, marine meaning sea)
Why did the treaty of Versailles forbid Germany from using submarines?
They were smart, they put it in writing; they didn't want them repeating World War One. Then they became "un-wise" (a diplomatic nice word) and let them do it all over again for World War Two. There's a saying, "...do it once, shame on you (meaning you're at fault); do it twice, shame on me (meaning I'm at fault for letting you do it again)." Shame on Britain (since they were the only ones fighting in Europe/Russians had things under control) for being "un-wise" (again, these are diplomatic words) after they should have learned their lesson the first time in WWI.
How much attack power did the German U-boats have?
Same as subs from other nations. The first German U-Boats, such as U1 (launched in 1906) which originated from a batch of subs sold to Russia during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 had one torpedo tube. By WWII some subs had 6 tubes, plus a deck gun.
Can women serve on british submarines?
Very soon they will.
The Americans, ever the firm and steadfast allies of the British, have recently allowed women to serve on a combat submarine.
The USS Maryland, whose current skipper (Feb. 2011) is Commander (CDR) Jeffrey Grimes, is an American ballistic missile submarine whose compliment and crew lately includes female sailors.
The United States Navy has also benefited lately from a complete repeal of the DADT (don't ask, don't tell) rule, which had previously endangered the careers of many good sailors who happened to be gay or lesbian and would not shut up about it. It seems we may finally understand that a good sailor is a good sailor, and that is that. The Brits have us Americans beat on that account, having accepted gay soldiers and sailors for some time now.
I served, as an enlisted sailor, under Jeffrey Grimes aboard the attack submarine USS San Juan, circa 1997. He was a lieutenant then, and the Weapons Officer of the San Juan. I found him to be professional, unflappable, likeable, and decisive.
I am not surprised he was chosen to command, or to command the first American submarine with female sailors. I believe that very soon the United States Navy will be completely unrestricted as to the sex or sexual preference of any volunteer who wishes to serve on any vessel, submarine or otherwise.
And Great Britain, ever the example of reason and democracy, will not long suffer the upstart "colonies" to whip them in the arena of who may or may not serve on submarines.
When was Russian submarine Alexander Nevsky created?
Russian submarine Alexander Nevsky was created in 2012.
The modern military submarine is used in a number of roles. Note that the word submarine for the larger vessels that operate independently for extended periods. The smaller ones are more correctly called submersibles, and not submarines. The "true" submarines are generally divided into two types, with one being the larger, missile carrying one, and the other the smaller "attack" submarine that is designed as a hunter-killer of other submarines as well as surface ships.
The submarines (called boats by their crews) go on patrols. Boats with missiles basically "hide" in the ocean as a silent and "unfindable" deterrent. The attack boats patrol the oceans looking for other submarines so as to follow them around. This is the "meat and potatoes" of submarine operations, and took up most of the patrol time of the US and Russian submarines during the cold war. But there were some other operations that the boats were involved in.
Submarines were used to insert and pick up special forces groups on distant shores in hostile environments. They were also used to "sneak and peek" in places where we needed a closer look at surface ships, shore installations, or some electronics intelligence that we could gather by sticking an electronics mast up above the surface in a place where we couldn't get information in another way. The use of submarines to lay "electronics packages" that permit the US to tap into communications made on undersea cables is still mentioned now and then.
The uses of the modern military boats (submarines) to patrol the oceans, and to gain Intel and for other "hushed" projects is not something you'll read about in the paper or catch on the news -- at least if everything goes according to plan. The best policy, at least as far as the military and the submarines and their crews is concerned, is just to keep submarine operations (all of them) under wraps. This is largely what happens, too.
Was peter max involved in yellow submarine?
No, Peter Max was never involved with the making of the movie, "Yellow Submarine." He's oftentimes falsely credited for the animation. The film was designed by Czech artist and designer Heinz Edlemann, who along with his American contemporary Milton Glaser, pioneered the psychedelic style that Max later employed in his work. It can be said that Max's 1960s work is an homage to the work of Edelmann and Glaser, though Max later develped a more original style of his own.
The above is wrong... the word "never" is incorrect.
PETER MAX DID DO THE ORIGINAL ARTWORK FOR THE BEATLES "YELLOW SUBMARINE".
By the time it went into full production he was too busy to complete the project and it was passed on to Heinz. Look at Peter Max's artwork previous to the "Yellow Submarine" and tell me it wasn't him and that he copied Heinz. Do your research before posting answers. Or better yet ask the Beatles. FYI- John Lennon was the one who asked him to do it.
What was the name used in a US Cold War nuclear attack submarine for the sonar controller?
If you're referring to Sonar personnel such as myself, Sonar on most Fast-Attacks comprised of a division of about 12-15 Submarine Sonar Techs (STS). All Sonarmen were minimum 6 year enlistees, as Basic Sonar and Advanced Sonar typically took around 18 months from Boot Camp to their first afloat command. That included BT, Submarined School, Basic Sonar, Basic Electricity/Electronics, and Advanced Sonar Maintenance. A Sonarman's desired career path generally chooses which systems he'll train on for advanced training since FBM and Fast-Attacks typically have different systems, and they have different missions. For a true Sonar career, a Fast-Attack is the only real choice.
Sonar watch comprises several crewmembers, who are overseen by a Sonar Supervisor. The Sonar Sup is typically a 2nd or 1st class STS, and has been through advanced acoustic and sonar training, as well as having been a veteran of key deployments. Aside from the Contro Room personnel, the Sonar Supervisor is considered one of the most important underway submerged positions on the boat, being responsible for reporting the acoustic tactical situation to Control.
Under normal watch, Sonar was comprised of the Supervisor, Passive Operator (primary) Passive/Active Operator (normally run in secondary Passive on the Active console), Narrowband and Auxiliary systems Operators. Watch was rotated between personnel so ears remained fresh, and most importantly for coffee runs. For Battle Stations or Tracking Parties (key targets), typically senior Sonarmen were assigned to the main consoles in Sonar, while others were assigned to Damage Control duties. I was the Primary Passive Sonar Stack operator during Battle Stations on my boat for about 2 years, the key operator for the boat. "Hot Seat" doesn't even come close to a description during those days.
If you're referring to Sonar equipment, the Sturgeon class and its variants were initially outfitted with the BQS-11/12/13 Series Sonar suite and BQR-7 as its primary sonar systems. After upgrades, all boats were eventually outfitted with the BQQ-5 Sonar Suite, which was an Analog/Digital hybrid of the original BQS-13 system. The other significant upgrade was a retractable Towed Array - original boats had a fixed TA which had to be deployed by a support Mike boat when the boat left port, and manually hauled in by a support boat when it entered port. This limited a boat's port call choices. LA Class boats were outfitted with the BQQ-5 system from the start, receiving upgrades as time went on. The biggest difference between the BQS-13 and BQQ-5 is that the 13 system was primarily an analog system, with fixed Passive and Active consoles. The Q5 was a computer core driven system that could load any stack program into any one of the consoles, though the configuration was typically standard throughout the fleet based on previous BQS-13 layout.
Few jobs in the Submarine Force at the height of the Cold War were as cool and stressful as being a Submarine Sonarman on board a Fast-Attack. I experienced things before I was 30 that few people ever think about. My own cousin followed in my footsteps about a year after I joined the Navy - he was a Sonar Tech in my Squadron on another boat, and a good one to boot.
To give you an idea of what we were required to learn, aside from the electronics maintenance and repair aspect, I remember going to a class called "Enlisted Sonar Principles". Naturally, those of us who went figured it was going to be a gravy week. That was blown when we walked in and saw 2 notepads, a box of #2 pencils and a Math textbook. As it turned out, the course was how to perform by hand all of the oceanographic geometry and math calculations that the Sonar systems do automatically, accounting for all physics and enviromental variables. To this date it is the hardest course I have ever taken.
If you saw Hunt for Red October, it's not even close to reality as far as Sonar goes. Though I can't confirm or deny any events in Blind Man's Bluff (I'm still bound by security oath), I can say it's a "fairly accurate" account. While I and others of that era aren't happy with how the Submarine community has opened up some of its secrets, there is at least some material that my family can read to get an idea of what I used to do that I've never been able to specifically tell them about.
You should also Google AZORIAN or Project Jennifer, which are the names of the CIA sponsored project to raise the Soviet Golf II submarine K-129 using the Hughes Glomar Explorer. A DVD was released last week documenting the project, which took place in 1974. It shows you the lengths at which our nation was willing to go to maintain the acoustic edge over the Soviet submarine fleet.
If you're wondering, my old boat was USS RAY (SSN-653). Though now gone, it was then the most decorated boat in the Atlantic Submarine Fleet. You can see some pics on my bio page.
Does a submarine have an anchor?
Yes. all except some specialized spy and observation types ( which are normally overseen by a submarine tender ( ship, not a job title!) have some form of anchoring device. location may be different than surface ships as there are conflicts with built-in ballast tanks, ballast vents, diaplanes ( called by the Germans the Depth Rudder and the French call the rear ones Elevons ( takes her up and down!) also torpedo tube openings- the location poses some problems. all modern Navy subs have some form of anchor, though.
