Where In The World Is Sum1?

Submarine Life

A Semi-Virtual Tour of A Nuclear Submarine

         This entry is inspired by Bikerider 's comment about a Newsfeed post I commented on recently.

         "Note: Three Word Thursday In just three words , gi..."

         I initially provided a three word entry for this post, but decided I would write more, and ask questions about a submarine.  As many of you might know, I served in our Navy for 20 years in the Submarine Force.  So the questions weren't meant to be me looking for answers.  It was meant to make you think about what it's  really like on a submarine.  Bikerider 's comment was that a written tour of a submarine would be interesting.  While this is not a written tour, I really hope he finds this interesting!

         I really think that most of you would find a written tour to be pretty boring. So instead of a written tour, how about a pictorial one?  Explanations provided with each photo of course.

** Image ID #2243064 Unavailable **
This is not a true representation of a submarine's interior, but it will suffice.  Just aft (to the left) of the missile tubes, you see a hatch.  That is how you enter or exit the submarine while in port, and also serves as an escape hatch should it sink.  A quick blurb here about that.  If a submarine sinks, every man on board is most likely dead.  Your chances of actually being able to use that escape hatch are less than the chances of you winning the lottery.  Why?  Most likely the submarine will sink in water far too deep for it to survive, and it implodes.  If it does sink in water that is shallow enough, it must be very close to upright for that hatch to be useful.  I lived (slept really) on the third deck, right under the sail and masts/antennas.  I worked in the Engineroom, which is aft of the hatch used to enter the boat.

** Image ID #2243065 Unavailable **
This is the heart and soul of a submarine.  It is here that the Officer of the Deck (OOD) can raise the periscope and see the world above the waves.  Here is where the men steer the submarine, as well as maintain its depth.  This photo is of a much newer submarine than my first two, and a bit more roomy too.  The man in the foreground (helmsman) is the one who steers the boat according to commands from the OOD.  He also operates the forward planes.  Depending on the class of submarine, these planes are either on the sail, or near the bow.  The other position with that steering wheel looking thing is actually manned (planesman), but you  can't see him right now.  That man operates the stern planes, those which control the angle of the boat underwater.  The man with his hands together in the back of the photo is the Chief Of The Watch.  He is the one who would blow the ballast tanks to surface the boat, when ordered by the OOD.  He also maintains the trim of the boat (along with that second helmsman), by pumping water from tank to tank.  He monitors all external hatches, as well as air banks pressures, etc.  He's a pretty busy guy really.  All three of these men work for the Diving Office Of The Watch.  The 'Dive' (as he's called), maintains the boat's depth as ordered by the OOD.  It does take quite the team to operate something like this.

** Image ID #2243068 Unavailable **
Five photo's of a submarine interior.  Left top:  This is a view of the Maneuvering area in the Engineroom of a submarine.  The panel in the photo is where a man sits and controls the reactor.  The 'shim switch' in the middle of the panel is used to move the control rods in and out.  Contrary to what Hollywood tells you, the Control Rods are very (and I do mean very) slowly.  The rods must be pulled high enough to take the reactor critical.  The reactor then heats the water in the primary plant, which is pumped through the primary piping to the steam generator.  Just like the water heater in your house, the primary piping in the steam generator heats the water on the secondary side.  Steam is formed, which is then sent to turbines to both push the boat through the water, as well as rotate turbines that couple to generators to provide electricity.  That was my job, monitoring and maintaining all the equipment that created the electricity for the boat.  I operated the panel on either side of the central panel there (not at the same time of course), as well as standing watches that allowed me to roam the entire engineroom.  Lower left:  The 'head', or restroom.  You would have 20-25 men in here at once getting ready to go on watch.  You can see the 'privacy' we had on board.    The middle photo is of a submarine going through a major refit.  It's hard to say exactly where in the boat this is.  Right top:  A shower.  Yep, all 3 foot x 3 foot x 6 foot of it.  And that's being generous in describing its size.  Lower right:  A berthing area on a boat.  On my first two boats, if you were more than 6 feet tall, you could not sleep stretched out in your bunk.  Your legs were always curled.  The passageway between those bunks might have been 2 foot wide.

Here's a better photo of maneuvering

         So while all looks so 'cool' on the outside, there's a lot going on inside.  I'm sorry I don't have more photo's to share with you.  If you want an entertaining read, and good photo's of submarine life, I recommend looking for 'Poopie Suits and Cowboy Boots' on Amazon.  Very well done with stories written by people like myself who have served, and may still serve on submarines.  I haven't contributed any to that yet, mainly because I just found out about these books.  If you are curious about this life, please ask.  I'll be happy to tell you what I can of it.



Jim Dorrell