Submarine

A submarine is a specialized boat that travels under water, usually for military or scientific purposes. Most major navies of the world employ submarines. Submarines are also used for marine and freshwater science and for work at depths too great for human divers. U-boat is the abbreviation of Unterseeboot, the German name for German submarines (first commissioned in 1906). Another underwater device for use in underwater exploration and salvage is the diving bell.

The Russian Typhoon is the largest submarine ever built.

Scientific and commercial submarines

In common usage, submarine normally connotes military submarine; vessels with limited mobility, intended to remain in one place during most of their use, such as those used for research or commercial purposes are usually called submersibles. Non-military submarines are usually much smaller than military submarines. A type called a bathysphere lacks self-propulsion. A predecessor of the bathysphere, the diving bell, consisted of a chamber, with an open bottom, lowered into the water.

Tourist submarines work mainly in tropical resort areas. In 1996, there were over fifty private submarines operating around the world, serving approximately two million passengers that year. Most of these submarines carried between twenty-five and fifty passengers at a time and sometimes made ten or more dives a day. In design, these submarines borrow mainly from research subs, having large windows for passengers' viewing and often placing significant mechanical systems outside the hull to conserve interior space. Nonetheless, even the seating aboard tourist submarines can be rather cramped. They are mainly battery-powered and very slow.

A Los Angeles-class nuclear powered military submarine of the United States Navy

A fairly recent development, very small unmanned submarines called marine remotely operated vehicles or MROVs are widely used today to work in water too deep or too dangerous for divers. For example, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) repair offshore petroleum platforms and attach cables to sunken ships to hoist them. Such remotely operated vehicles are attached by a tether (a thick cable providing power and communications) to control center on a ship. Operators on the ship see video images sent back from the robot and may control its propellers and manipulator arm. The wreck of the Titanic was explored by such a vehicle, as well as by a manned vessel.

Military submarines

There are probably more military submarines in operation than any other type of submarine, though it is difficult to obtain exact figures because navies are secretive about their submarine fleets.

Submarines are useful to a military because they are difficult to locate and, when very deep below the surface, also more difficult to destroy. A great deal of attention in the design of a submarine is devoted to making its travel through the water silent to prevent its detection by enemy ships and submarines. As far as short-range attacks are concerned, this also allows them to approach their victim without being detected, then strike at close range.

USS Chicago (SSN-721) at periscope depth off the coast of Malaysia. Submarines at periscope depth are easily detectable by overhead aircraft.

Modern submarines are usually cigar-shaped. This design, officially called a "teardrop hull", was patterned after the bodies of whales. It significantly decreases the friction between the water and the sub, and allows the sub to go much faster than earlier designs. The USS Albacore was the first vessel to use a teardrop hull. With nuclear power they can remain submerged nearly all of the time, surfacing only rarely.

A raised tower on top of a submarine accommodates the length of the periscopes and electronics masts, which can include radio, radar, electronic warfare, and other systems. In the obsolete boat-shaped classes of submarines (see history, below), the control room, or conn, was located inside this tower, which was known as the conning tower. Since that time, however, conn has been located within the main body of the submarine, and the tower is more commonly called the sail today. In another interpretation, conning tower comes from the English verb to con, which means to navigate, indicating the presence of navigational systems in the conning tower. The conn should not be confused with the bridge, which is a small platform set into the top of the sail used for visual observation while running on the surface.

Closeup of the conning tower, showing camouflaged masts and periscope. USS Los Angeles (SSN 688)

Modern submarines use an Inertial guidance system for navigation whilst submerged, however, drift error build up over time is unavoidable. To counter this, the global positioning system will be occasionally used to obtain an accurate position. The periscope is only used occasionally, since the range of visibility below the sea is short.

A typical military submarine has a crew of over one hundred. Their job is one of the most difficult assignments in the navy, for they must work in isolation for long periods, without much contact with their families, since submarines normally maintain radio silence to avoid detection. Operating a submarine is dangerous, even in peacetime; many submarines have been lost in accidents (see history, below).

Submarines have been in use for a long time, but as technology has improved, their role has changed drastically. The common feature has always been their stealth, cloaked by miles of ocean. Even with modern detection systems, submarines can still travel almost invisibly.

Types of military submarines

Military submarines come in two general types: ballistic-missile submarines and attack submarines. (Outside these categories may fall the many smaller midget submarines, used for sabotage, espionage and secretive transport. Note that North Korea's submarine fleet, estimated as the fourth-largest in the world in the 1990s, consists largely of smaller vessels. Also outside the two categories fall the World War II German milch cow submarines: submersible supply vessels.)

SSBNs

Ballistic missile submarines (or boomers, in American slang) carry submarine-launched ballistic missiles, missiles armed with nuclear weapons, for attacking strategic targets such as cities or missile silos anywhere in the world. They are currently universally nuclear-powered, to provide the greatest stealth and endurance. (The 1st Soviet Ballistic Missile submarines were Diesel Powered.) They played an important part in Cold War mutual deterrence: since both the United States and the Soviet Union had the capability (or could contend to have) to heavily strike at the attacking nations should one attack the other, both nations were "deterred".

The US has 18 Ohio class submarines, of which 14 are Trident SSBNs, each carrying 24 SLBMs. The American George Washington-class "boomers" were named for "famous Americans" and the later Ohio class were named for states, with the exceptions that some of the "famous Americans" were foreigners and SSBN-730 gained the name of a Senator.

For Russia, see List of NATO reporting names for ballistic missile submarines.

The British Royal Navy possess a single class of four ballistic missile submarines known as the Vanguard-class. The RN's previous ballistic missile submarine class was the Resolution-class which also consisted of four boats. The Resolutions, named after battleships to convey the fact they were the new capital ships, were decommissioned upon the Vanguards entering service in the 1990s.

France operates a force de frappe including a nuclear ballistic submarine fleet made up of one SSBN Redoutable-class and three SSBNs of the Triomphant-class. One additional SSBN's Le Triomphant class are under construction or planned.

The People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army Navy's SLBM inventory is relatively new. China launched its first nuclear armed submarine in April 1981. The Chinese navy currently has 5 Type 91 Hans at 5,000 tons displacement and 1 Type 92 Xias at roughly 8,000 tons displacement. The Type 91 is outfitted with 6 SLBM launching tubes and the Type 92 is equipped with 12. Chinas SLBM program is built around its JL-1 inventory. The Chinese Navy is estimated to have 24 JL-1s. The JL-1 is basically a modified DF-21.

The Chinese navy plans to replace its JL-1 with an unspecified number of the longer ranged, more modern JL-2s. Deployment on the JL-2 reportedly began in late 2003.

File:USS Greeneville (SSN 772) in Dry Dock.jpg

Los Angeles-class attack sub USS Greeneville (SSN 772) in Dry Dock, showing typical cigar-shaped hull

Attack Boats

Submarines designed for the purpose of attacking merchant ships or other warships are known as fast attacks , hunter-killers , or fast boats. They typically carry torpedoes for attacking naval vessels,and today they generally carry cruise missiles for attacking land-based targets or shipping. The USSR also developed several types of missile attack submarine, which carried a heavy load of antisurface missiles, at a time when most attack submarines used torpedoes only.

Attack submarines use a much wider variety of propulsion systems. The majority use the same diesel-electric combination developed early in the 20th century, many use nuclear power, and a growing number use some other form of air-independent propulsion such as fuel cells or Stirling engines. All of the attack submarines of the United States use nuclear power.

All American attack submarines (that had actual names rather than just alphanumeric designators) used to be named for "denizens of the deep" until the Los Angeles class, which are named for cities—with the exceptions of a few named for politicians, the Seawolf class, which received the traditional name for the first, a state name for the second and a Presidential name for the third (and last), and now the Virginia Class, where the first four are named after states.

Today the role of these Attack boats has changed considerably since the end of the Cold War. U.S. fast boats no longer prowl the deep oceans in the hunt for the elusive Soviet, instead their job today is that of providing cruise missle support, early warning and intelligence gathering, harbor mine clearing, Special Operation Warfare team delivery, and others. The Virginia class submarine was specifically designed for this multiple-mission capability in mind.

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A cross-section sketch of Bushnell's Turtle

History of submarines

The first modern submarines, capable of underwater ocean voyages were designed and built in France in the 1890s.

A far ancestor for a submarine is probably a 17th century Ukrainian Cossack riverboat called chaika (Ukrainian: чайка) that was used underwater for reconnaissance and infiltration missions. Chaika could be easily capsized and submerged so that the crew was able to breathe underneath (like in modern diving bell) and propulse the vessel by walking on the bottom of river. Special plummets (for submerging) and pipes for additional breathing have been used.

The first submarine for which there is reliable information that it was really built, is the one constructed in 1620 by Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel, a Dutchman in the service of James I. Its propulsion was by means of oars. The precise nature of the type is a matter of some controversy, some claiming it was merely a bell towed by a boat. There were two improved types, tested below the surface of the Thames between 1620 and 1624.

Though the first submersible vehicles were tools for exploring under water, it did not take long for inventors to recognize their military potential. The first military submarine was the Turtle, a hand-powered spherical contraption designed by American David Bushnell that accommodated a single man. During the American Revolutionary War, the Turtle attempted and failed to sink a British warship, the HMS Eagle in New York harbor on September 7, 1776.

In 1800, Robert Fulton demonstrated to the French, and then to the British, how to destroy ships with his human-powered submarine Nautilus using a mine, but none of the governments showed any interest.

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Early Submarines

During the American Civil War, the Union was the first to field a submarine. The USS Alligator was the first U.S. Navy sub and the first sub to feature compressed air or air filtration. It was the first submarine to carry a diver lock which allowed a diver to exit to plant electrically-detonated mines on enemy ships. Initially powered by oars, it was later converted to a screw-propeller. With a crew of 20, it was far larger than Confederate submarines. The Alligator was 47 feet (14.3 meters) long and about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter. It was lost in a storm off Cape Hatteras on April 1, 1863 while uncrewed and under tow to its first combat deployment at Charleston.

The Confederate States of America fielded several human-powered submarines including the CSS Hunley. The first Confederate submarine was the 30-foot long Pioneer which sank a target schooner using a towed mine during tests on Lake Pontchartrain but it was not used in combat. It was scuttled after New Orleans was captured and in 1868 was sold for scrap.

The CSS Hunley was used for attacking the North's ships, which were blockading the South's seaports. The submarine had a long pole on the front, upon which was attached an explosive charge. The sub was to sneak up to an enemy vessel, attach the explosive, move away, and then detonate. It was extremely hazardous to operate, and had no air supply other than what was contained inside the main compartment. On two occasions, the sub sank; on the first occasion half the crew died and on the second, the entire eight-man crew perished. On February 18, 1864 the CSS Hunley sank the USS Housatonic in the Charleston Harbor, the first time a submarine successfully sank another ship. Hunley did not survive its maiden mission and was not a major factor in the war. Another Confederate submarine was lost on its maiden voyage in Lake Pontchartrain; it was found washed ashore in the 1870s and is now on display at the Louisiana State Museum.

A replica of Monturiol's wooden Ictineo II stands in Barcelona harbour

The first mechanically powered submarine was the peroxide driven Ictineo II, launched in 1864 by Narcís Monturiol. This submarine was originally built to ease the harvest of coral.

In 1870, writer Jules Verne published the science fiction classic 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, which concerns the adventures of a maverick inventor in the Nautilus, a submarine more advanced than any that existed at that time. The fictional story inspired inventors to build more advanced submarines.

In 1879, a Manchester curate, the Reverend George Garrett built the steam-powered 'Resurgam' at Birkenhead. Garrett intended to demonstrate the 12 metre long vehicle to the British Navy at Portsmouth, but had mechanical problems, and while under tow the submarine was flooded and sank off North Wales.

The first submarine built in series, however, was human-powered. It was the submarine of the Polish inventor Stefan Drzewiecki—50 units were built in 1881 for Russian government. In 1884 the same inventor built an electric-powered submarine. In 1899, the French steam and electric submarine Narval introduced the classic twin-hull design, with an inner hull inside an outer hull.

The Irish inventor John Holland had better luck, and designed and built several quite successful gasoline- and electric powered submarines. Some of his vessels were purchased by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, and commissioned into their navies.

The Spanish inventor Isaac Peral built a practical submarine in 1888, but despite of the success of the trials, the Spanish Navy scrapped the project.

Many more submarines were built subsequently by various inventors, but they were not to become effective weapons until the 20th century.

Submarines during the World Wars

The first military submarines to see effective use were the U-boats of Germany, first introduced in the First Battle of the Atlantic in World War I. The innovation that made the U-boats practical war machines was their use of diesel. More like submersible ships than the submarines of today, U-boats operated primarily on the surface, submerging occasionally to attack. Thus, they were roughly triangular in cross-section, with a distinct keel, to control rolling while surfaced. The sinking of the ocean liner RMS Lusitania by a U-boat was a major factor in bringing the United States of America into the war.

Germany again put submarines to devastating effect against the merchant ships of the United Kingdom and the United States in the Second Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. Although the U-boats were improved, the main reason for their success was the introduction of mass-attack tactics called a pack (in German, Rudel) commonly traveled and fought together. (The term is often translated as "wolf-pack", but the German word does not specify wolves). Germany attempted to maintain a blockade against the United Kingdom, which because of its reliance on imports for food and industry was extremely vulnerable. Winston Churchill wrote that the U-boat threat was the only thing that ever gave him cause to doubt the Allies' eventual victory.

During World War II the Japanese intended their submarines to be scouts. The submarines were fast, large, could operate over 100 days and many carried an aircraft with them. However they lacked radar, were not very maneuverable under water and due to their weak hull they could not dive deep. At the end of the war, the submarines were used to transport supplies to island garrisons.

USS Wahoo (SS 238)

USS Grayback (SS 208))

Meanwhile the US used their submarines to attack merchant shipping, destroying more Japanese shipping than all other weapons combined. While the British and Japanese also fielded attack submarines, they were used in fleet actions where they were almost useless due to their low speeds.

Diesel-fuelled submarines needed air to run their diesel engines, thus they carried very large batteries for submerged travel. These batteries limited the speed and range of the submarines while submerged. The schnorkel was used to allow German submarines to run just under the surface, attempting to avoid detection visually and by radar. The German navy experimented with engines that would carry hydrogen peroxide to allow diesel fuel to be used while submerged, but technical difficulties made this infeasible. On the other side, the Allies experimented with a variety of detection systems, including chemical sensors to "smell" the exhaust of submarines.

Modern submarines

In the 1950s, nuclear power partially replaced diesel-electric propulsion in those nations with access to nuclear technology. Equipment was also developed to extract oxygen from sea water. These two innovations gave submarines so equipped the ability to remain submerged for weeks or months, and enabled previously impossible voyages such as USS Nautilus's crossing of the North pole beneath the Arctic ice cap in 1958. Most of the naval submarines built since that time in the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia have been powered by nuclear fission reactors. Use of nuclear power instead of fossil fuel enables submarines to travel around the world submerged and essentially hidden for months at a time. The most limiting factors in the length of time staying submerged now are food supply and willingness of the crew to remain in the space-limited submarine.

While the greater endurance and performance from nuclear reactors mean that nuclear submarines are the norm, conventional diesel-electric submarines have continued to be produced by both nuclear and non-nuclear powers. Conventional submarines are cheaper to build. When running on batteries they are often quieter than nuclear submarines, giving a tactical advantage.

During the Cold War, the United States of America and the Soviet Union maintained large submarine fleets that engaged in cat-and-mouse games; Russia continues this tradition today. The Soviet Union suffered the loss of at least four submarines during this period: K-129 was lost in 1968, K-8 in 1970, K-219 in 1986, and Komsomolets in 1989 (which held a depth record among the military submarines—1000 m). Many other Soviet subs, such as K-19 were badly damaged by fire or radiation leaks. The United States lost two nuclear submarines during this time: USS Thresher (SSN-593) and USS Scorpion (SSN-589).

HMS Conqueror

The United Kingdom employed nuclear-powered submarines against Argentina in 1982 during the two nations' dispute over the Falkland Islands. The sinking of the antiquated cruiser ARA General Belgrano by HMS Conqueror was the first sinking by a nuclear-powered submarine in wartime.

In 2000, a Russian Oscar II-class submarine (which is the world's largest cruise-missile submarine), the Kursk, sank in the Barents Sea when a leak of hydrogen peroxide in the forward torpedo room caused a spontaneous detonation of the warhead. In 2001, the American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally struck and sank a Japanese ship, Ehime-Maru, killing nine Japanese crewmen. In August 2003, the Russian nuclear November class submarine K-159 sank in the Barents Sea. The submarine was decommissioned, and it had only ten crew on board.

Submarine propulsion

Until the advent of nuclear marine propulsion, most 20th century submarines used batteries for running underwater and gasoline (petrol) or diesel engines on the surface and to recharge the batteries. Early boats used gasoline but this quickly gave way to diesel because of the greatly reduced flammability of diesel. The diesel-electric submarine became the standard means of propulsion. Initially the diesel or gasoline engine and the electric motor were on the same shaft which also drove a propeller with clutches between each of them. This allowed the engine to drive the electric motor as a generator to recharge the batteries and also propel the submarine if required. The clutch between the motor and the engine would be disengaged when the boat dived so that the motor could be used to turn the propeller. The motor could have more than one armature on the shaft — these would be electrically coupled in series for slow speed and parallel for high speed (known as "group down" and "group up" respectively).

In the 1930s the principle was modified for some submarines designs, particularly those of the US Navy and the British U-class. The engine was no longer attached to the motor/propeller drive shaft but drove a separate generator which would drive the motors on the surface and/or recharge the batteries. This allowed much more flexibility, for example the submarine could travel slowly on the surface whilst the engines were running at full power to recharge the batteries as quickly as possible. Despite this flexibility, battery/diesel submarines are required to surface frequently to recharge the batteries, as the diesel engines require oxygen from the atmosphere.

There were other power sources tried—oil-fired steam turbines powered the British K-Class submarines built during the First World War and in following years but these were not very successful. This was selected to give them the necessary surface speed to keep up with the British battle fleet.

Steam power was resurrected in the 1950s with the advent of the nuclear-powered steam turbine driving a generator which is now used in all large submarines. By removing the requirement for atmospheric oxygen these submarines can stay submerged indefinately so long as food supplies remain (air is recycled and water distilled from the ocean). These vessels nevertheless always have a small battery and diesel engine/generator installation for emergency use should the reactor have to be shut down.

At the end of the Second World War the Germans and later the British experimented with Hydrogen Peroxide/Kerosine engines which could be used both above and below the surface. The results were not encouraging enough for this technique to be adopted at the time, but several navies, notably Sweden now use Air-Independent Propulsion boats which substitute liquid oxygen for hydrogen peroxide.

Most small modern commercial submarines which are not expected to operate independently just use batteries which can be recharged by a mother-ship following every dive.

An experimental propulsion system for submarines is the Magnetohydrodynamic drive which has no moving parts and would be extremely quiet, ideal for military use. This system was popularised in the movie The Hunt for Red October based on a novel by Tom Clancy. However, although surface ships have been built with this propulsion system, no known submarine yet uses it.

Personnel

U.S. Navy submarines are manned solely by volunteers from within the Navy. Submarine personnel are accepted only after the most rigorous testing and observation.

Some 5,000 officers and 55,000 enlisted people make up the submarine force. In addition to submarines, these highly skilled people are assigned to submarine tenders, submarine rescue ships, deep-diving submersibles, floating dry docks, shore support facilities, submarine staffs, and senior command staffs.

The submarine force has always been a small fraction of the active Navy. In 1998 only about 7 percent of the Navy's people were submariners. They operated one-third of the Navy's warships, a highly cost-effective employment of personnel.

Today, at the end of the decade, the smaller submarine force of the late 1990s continues to man a significant fraction of the Navy's warships, and some of the most capable and versatile.

Training

After acceptance into the submarine program, candidates undergo a demanding training schedule, which includes attendance by all Officers and and non-nuclear trained enlisted personnel at the U.S. Naval Submarine School New London, located within the U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London, in Groton, Connecticut, (USNAVSUBSCOL at USNAVSUBASENLON) as well as rigorous technical training in different specialty areas.

Pressure and escape training

File:Pressure Chamber.jpg

View from inside the hyperbaric chamber showing Naval dive doctors supervising a pressure test.

Besides their academic and technical training, much of which is Classified Secret, Top Secret or above, all prospective US Naval Submariners, both officers and enlisted personnel, undergo 3 phases of physical training and testing related to the intense pressure differential between the surface and submarine operating depth.

The following descriptions omit details which are classified:

Valsalva maneuver

The first test is for the ability to perform the Valsalva maneuver. Warning: this maneuver can cause serious cardiopulmonary distress, eardrum damage, vertigo and possible death. Do not perform without Medical supervision. The Valsalva maneuver, named for Antonio Maria Valsalva (1666-1723) the physician who first described the maneuver, is performed by exhaling forcefully with a closed glottis, so that no air exits through the nose or mouth. This is done to equilibrate the middle ear pressures when exposed to an environment of increased ambient pressure.

If a submarine training candidate cannot perform the Valsalva maneuver under doctor's supervision at normal atmospheric pressure, that candidate is rejected as unfit for submarine service but may serve on surface ships.

Pressure

In the second phase of testing, called Pressure Testing, candidates who have successfully performed the Valsalva maneuver will be subjected to increased ambient pressure. This test is performed under the supervision of a diving-certified medical doctor. All testees enter a pressure chamber, accompanied by the doctor, and the 'tank' is sealed. Typically, there is in the chamber a somewhat surprising object: an inflated volleyball, water polo ball or similar inflated ball. Upon sealing the tank, pressure is increased, while the testees equalise their eardrum pressure. (if any testee is unable to 'Valsalva', the test stops, and pressure is slowly released.) Pressure builds within the chamber until the chamber is equal to water pressure at "escape depth". At this point, the chamber feels very warm and dry, and the volleyball has become compressed enough that it has become the shape of a bowl, and appears to have been emptied of air, due to the greatly increased air pressure inside of the tank. Sounds inside the tank at pressure sound as if they are "far away".

During the controlled release of pressure from the tank, the air in the chamber becomes quite chilled and a fog forms in the chamber, often precipitating as a sort of dew. (see adiabatic expansion) Once pressure is fully released, the candidates are examined with an otoscope to check for ruptured eardrums. Candidates with ruptured eardrums are either rejected as unfit, or removed from the testing cycle until healed, depending on the severity of the injury.

Escape training

Submarine escape training tower, Pearl Harbor

The third phase of testing for submarine fitness is escape training, utilizing the Steinke hood submarine escape appliance, or more familiarly known as the "Stinky hood". This device is named after its inventor. For detailed information about the Steinke hood, see [1] and [2]. This is a very complex device, but essentially it covers the head and shoulders during ascent from a stranded submarine, allowing air to escape during ascent, which is necessary as the expanding air in the lungs would otherwise cause disastrous injury.

The escape testing proceeds as in the pressure test, except that this time, a hatch in the floor of the pressure chamber is opened. The chamber immediately adjoins a cylindrical tower full of water, tall enough to simulate the depth of a stranded submarine. Because the air pressure inside the chamber is equal to the pressure of the water in the tower, the water does not enter the chamber.

Donning the Steinke hood, the testee, enters the water, and immediately commences a rapid ascent, due to the buoyancy of the escape device. As they ascend, each testee must allow the air in his lungs to escape, this is facilitated by yelling as loudly as possible. Typically they are told to yell "I feel fine!" repeatedly, as loudly as possible. If one does not forcefully and continuously expel air from the lungs in this manner, they may be gravely injured or killed. The air exiting the lungs is allowed to exit the hood through a set of 2 one-way valves, keeping the device inflated but not over-inflated.

Successfully completing the escape training requires two trials, one of them at double the depth of the first. On completion of escape training, testees are now considered bubbleheads, a disparaging but somewhat accurate term used to describe all submariners, a term welcomed from other members of the Sub Service, but often used as a pejorative by members of the Surface Fleet.

(SEIE) suit

As of this writing, the Steinke Hood is slated for replacement with the Mark 10 Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment (SEIE) suit. The Mark 10 will allow submariners to escape from much deeper depths than currently possible with the Steinke Hood. Some US Navy submarines already have the system, with an ambitious installation and training schedule in place for the remainder of the fleet. Modifications are needed to allow fielding of the Mark 10. As they are completed, training is conducted.

While the equipment looks radically different from one another, the development paths and, more importantly, rationale are remarkably similar. The British started working on an escape appliance at about the same time that the US Navy adopted the Steinke hood. The original model resembled the Steinke hood, except it had long sleeves that added buoyancy. British submariners constantly improved and refined their designs and prototypes until they reached the type of full-body suit, the Mark 10 Submarine Escape And Liferaft Equipment (SEALE), they now have. The progress has been evolutionary.

The Mark 8, its predecessor, was a double layer suit, with no life raft giving the wearer an appearance "like the Michelin Man". Escape Instructors felt it was uncomfortable and unsafe floating on the surface for prolonged lengths of time, and determined eliminating one layer of the suit but using that fabric to build a life raft would fit in the same package that the original suit came in, and would expand the suit’s capabilities."

Because it's a full body suit, the Mark 10 provides thermal protection once the wearer reaches the surface, and the British Navy has successfully tested it at six hundred foot depths. Something US Navy submariners will notice is that the Mark 10 is about twice as large as a Steinke hood. The Mark 10 reinforces a fundamental fact for every submarine Sailor. Every Sailor aboard a submarine is worth every penny it costs to save him, if the need arises. That's why escape training programs are extensive and intensive. If they save one life, all the expense is worth it.

The Mark 10 Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment suit is slated to be in place aboard all US Navy submarines by 2007. The navies of twenty-two nations currently use SEIE units of some type.

Tradition

Insignia

Further training and qualification at sea are required before submariners are awarded the coveted "dolphins" - the submarine insignia worn by officers (gold) and enlisted personnel (silver) to demonstrate their achievement.

The insignia of the U.S. Navy's Submarine Service is a Submarine flanked by two dolphins. Dolphins, the traditional attendants to Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea and patron deity of sailors, are symbolic of a calm sea.

CQM Jenkin's Dolphins now worn by MCET Roland Jenkins

Wearing the dolphins is a source of pride. Upon reassignment to "Fleet service", and leaving the submarine service, both officers and enlisted personnel usually continue to wear them with pride. The insignia at right have been worn by two generations of submariners:

While operating in the area southeast of New Britain during her third patrol, USS Argonaut (SS 166), led by Lt. Cmdr. Jack R. Pierce, intercepted a Japanese convoy returning to Rabaul from Lae, on January 10, 1943. Submarine Squadron Two Commander, Commodore James Fife, believed the submarine was capable of combat missions, despite General MacArthur’s desire to use her for special missions only. By happenstance, a U.S. Army plane, out of bombs, was flying overhead and witnessed the battle.

After a severe depth charge attack, Argonaut was forced to surface. The crew of the aircraft saw Argonaut’s huge bow suddenly break water at a steep angle, hanging. One of the depth charges had obviously inflicted severe damage. The Japanese destroyers circled like sharks, pumping shells into Argonaut’s hull. She slipped below the waves, never to be heard from again. One hundred and five officers and men went down with her.

Perishing onboard Argonaut, with his 104 shipmates, was Chief Quartermaster George S. Jenkins. Although Chief Jenkins went down with the submarine, a set of his ‘dolphins’ (submarine warfare insignia) survived the war. In fact they are still in service 57 years later. Chief Jenkins’ grandson, Master Chief Electronics Technician (SS) Roland Jenkins, is the Command Master Chief for Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) and wears his grandfather’s dolphins with pride.

Origin

The origin of the U.S. Navy Submarine Insignia dates back to 13 June 1923. Captain Ernest J. King, USN,Commander, Submarine Division Three (later Fleet Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations during World War II), suggested to the Secretary of the Navy, via the Bureau of Navigation (later known as BUPERS), that a distinguished device for qualified submariners be adopted. He submitted a pen-and-ink sketch of his own showing a shield mounted on the beam of a submarine, with dolphins forward and aft of the conning tower. The suggestion was strongly endorsed by Commander Submarine Divisions, Atlantic. During the next several months the Bureau of Navigation solicited additional designs from several sources. Among the designs were a submarine and shark motif, a submarine and shield, and submarines with ancient dolphins.

A Philadelphia firm, Bailey, Banks and Biddle, which had done work for the Navy previously, was requested to design a suitable badge. In 1928, Mr. George Meale, representing the firm, mentioned to Ensign William Crawford Eddy that they were looking for a design for "Submarine Wings" to denote qualifications in Submarines. Using his original sketches of the 1926 Naval Academy class crest that he had designed, Eddy came up with the present submarine insignia which was adopted by the Navy and is in use today (shown above), abow view of surface submarine, with bow planes rigged for diving, flanked by dolphins in horizontal position, their heads resting on the upper edge of the bow planes. Future Navy Captain Eddy then recommended to the Secretary of the Navy that the design be adopted. The recommendation was accepted by Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Acting Secretary of the Navy. The submarine insignia was to be worn at all times by officers and men qualified in submarine duty attached to submarine units or organizations, ashore or afloat, and not to be worn when not attached.

In 1941 the Uniform Regulations were modified to permit officers and enlisted men to wear the submarine insignia after they had been assigned to other duties in the naval service, unless such right had been revoked. The officer insignia was a bronze gold plated metal pin, worn centered above the left breast pocket and above the ribbons or medals. Enlisted men wore an embroidered silk insignia on the outside of the right sleeve, midway between the wrist and elbow until 1947 when it was shifted to above the left breast pocket. In 1943 the Uniform Regulations were modified to allow enlisted men, who were qualified for submarine duty then subsequently promoted to commissioned or warrant ranks, to continue wearing the enlisted submarine insignia until they qualified as submarine officers when they were entitled to wear the officers submarine pin. A 1950 change to Uniform Regulations authorized the embroidered insignia for officers (in addition to pin-on insignia) and a bronze, silver plated, pin-on insignia for enlisted men (in addition to the embroidered device).

SSBN Patrol Pin

Following the tradition of the World War II patrol pin, the silver Polaris Patrol Pin is worn by SSBN crews both officer and enlisted. It recognizes their sacrifice and hard work in completing strategic patrols. One gold star marks each patrol completed. A silver star marks five patrols. Upon completion of 20 patrols, a gold patrol pin is authorized.

Neptune Award

The person on active duty, officer or enlisted, with the most deterrent patrols is presented with the Neptune Award. That person retains the award until someone else attains more patrols than the current holder or until he retires and it goes to the member with the next highest number of patrols.

The Submarine Verse of the Navy Hymn

The lyrics to the Submarine Verse of the Navy Hymn were written by the Reverend Gale Williamson:

 Bless those who serve beneath the deep,
 Through lonely hours their vigil keep.
    May peace their mission ever be,
    Protect each one we ask of thee.
  Bless those at home who wait and pray,
   For their return by night or day.

Submarine movies

Main article: Submarine film

A special genre of submarine movies has developed. Submarines are popular subjects for films due to the danger, drama and claustrophobia of being on a submarine, and the suspense of the cat-and-mouse game of submarine or anti-submarine warfare. See also list of submarine movies.

References

John Holland: http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/holland.htm
SubNet: http://www.subnet.com/
German Submarines of WWII: http://www.uboat.net
Submarines of WWI: http://www.dropbears.com/w/ww1subs/index.htm
Role of the Modern Submarine: http://www.submarinehistory.com/21stCentury.html
Submariners of WWII: http://www.oralhistoryproject.com — World War II Submarine Veterans History Project
German submarines using peroxide: http://www.dataphone.se/~ms/ubootw/boats_walter-system.htm
record breaking Japanese Submarines: http://www.combinedfleet.com/ss.htm
German U-Boats 1935–1945: http://www.u-boot-archiv.de