re: Has Anyone here ever been in a submersible?

One time. Navy sub, a fairly large nuke and it was fricking miserable.

We spent about 60 hours on it to get dropped off somewhere. I would desert before I went back on a sub.

Fixed it.

quote:

---

I hear they are imploding in popularity

---

On the surface this response made me burst out laughing, then my buoyant spirit sank displaced by the gravity of the depths of the subject.

Did the one in Kona also.. it was fun… little fans going for temp but still warm.. never thought about any danger but you were not far down.. fish and wrecks..

Only bad part is when it was at top and getting into the submersible the square “chute” caught every wave and rocked you bad until all part of it were below water… I get seasick easy and warm sub… was glad to get back on land.

Early in my engineering career (e.e.) I started riding what became about 20 nuclear subs on new build and post dry dock sea trials. My job was to help calibrate the navigation systems and their interface to the Sonar and Missile Control Center compartments.

They are the most complex and impressive machines I've ever personally been aboard, with classified technology that is amazing in its capability to navigate subsea and listen to faint, far away sounds in the ocean. Wish I could say more about how that works, or how the missiles are initialized for launch to target. Amazing technology.

During the sea trial deep dive exercise, sailors are deployed around the boat at key areas potentially subject to water intrusion. They all have headsets plugged into an open ship-wide intercom system called the 1 MC.

Around twenty minutes at deep test depth on one sea trial, a sailor screamed out on the 1 MC "flooding in lower level ops" an area in the bottom of the sub, near where the Thresher was thought to fail and sink.

The captain gave the emergency blow command, sailors started slamming compartment hatches closed and the boat slowly started rising. In just a few minutes it got faster and faster, eventually hauling arse to the surface. I'm in NavCenter just behind the bridge watching the keel depth indicator.

What I didn't know is as the sub breached the surface, due to inertial velocity it then began submerging again. Scared the shite out of me, afraid I can't say how far down but enough to think WTF is going on here. She then began slowing coming back up to the surface.



It turned out to be a nothing burger but you can't blame the sailor for doing his job.

I was fortunate to tour the Nautilus in Groton, CT shipyard before she was decommissioned. It's a tiny boat compared to todays subs, especially the Ohio class boomers. The Nautilus being the first to travel under the north pole ice cap took much skill, and a very large set of balls.

Like most civilians I collected the sub's patch for every one I rode.



My time was in the 70's and 80's and one of the most enjoyable parts of my 45 year career.

To all you Bubbleheads out there, you have my utmost admiration for your skill and professionalism.

TLDR: Nuclear Subs are Awesome

quote:

---

Early in my engineering career (e.e.) I started riding what became about 20 nuclear subs on new build and post dry dock sea trials. My job was to help calibrate the navigation systems and their interface to the Sonar and Missile Control Center compartments.

They are the most complex and impressive machines I've ever personally been aboard, with classified technology that is amazing in its capability to navigate subsea and listen to faint, far away sounds in the ocean. Wish I could say more about how that works, or how the missiles are initialized for launch to target. Amazing technology.

---

It sounds like you might have been at Electric Boat and we might have even been on a sub together if you were doing sea trials on boomers. I recall having upwards of 400 people on the sub while we were doing sea trials, mostly contractors plus the ships crew of 170 or so. We had mattresses stuffed into every nook and cranny on that boat. I was actually sleeping in the MCC when we did a planned emergency blow.

I also remember the first time we went down to test depth during sea trials. It was one of my scariest moments in the Navy; listening to all of the creaks and groans hoping everything was going to hold together. We had a few things that didn't work properly at depth but no major issues.

I went on the sub at the USS Alabama a few years back and the smell brought back so many memories.

almost everyday.

quote:

---

. I recall having upwards of 400 people on the sub while we were doing sea trials, mostly contractors plus the ships crew of 170 or so. We had mattresses stuffed into every nook and cranny on that boat.

---

What the frick?? Subs are crammed as is, compared to CV/CVN and LHA, which I got to ride on as a kid. I can't comprehend 400 on a sub. Wouldn't that suck even on an Ohio? My grandfather was on a Gato class in WWII, and watching Das Boot when I was under 10 probably sealed the deal that I wasn't going that direction.

5 years on a fast attack, split between a refueling overhaul and the fleet. We got modified for SEAL operations so quite often we were packed TIGHT with 25 or so seals on board + the normal crew.

I believe once the SSGN conversions were complete, they took those missions, but I was out by then.