The outside water pressure increases with depth and so the stresses on the hull also increase with depth. The hull of a submarine must be able to withstand the forces created by the outside water pressure being greater than the inside air pressure. The depths to which submarines can dive are limited by the strengths of their hulls. We also learned about depth ratings.ĭepth ratings are primary design parameters and measures of a submarine’s ability to operate underwater. It became pretty common to understand that everyone dove together and everyone came back together. The depths we operated in made it nearly impossible to do a free ascent so the only option was to bring the boat back to the surface. It wouldn’t be until I got to my first boat when I would learn that even though there were two escape trunks on the boat, no one would ever actually use them. Frankly, I was as afraid as anyone but made the descent with no problems. It was blow and go from a lock out wearing a Steinke hood. At that point, we even had to go through submarine escape training in the old tower. In sub school, we learned a lot of theory and a generic submarine layout. But once I joined the Navy, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a submariner. Even the loss of the Scorpion occurred before I raised my right hand. I was a young kid when Thresher went down but I was a news junky even at that age and had read every story that I could get my hands on. When I went to submarine school over fifty years ago, we learned about all the things that could go wrong as we operated a modern submarine in a hostile environment. Watching the news stories and understanding basic submarine engineering, I knew from the outset that chances of a rescue were infinitesimally small and even if they could reach the craft (assuming it didn’t implode) how would they be able to rescue any survivors? Even though I write stories about the boats and do a lot of public presentations, I do actually have a pretty full life even in my third retirement. The whole thing has brought back many memories that have long been submerged. I can assure you I have heard the same questions many times since the accident. ![]() I’m willing to bet that if you are someone who was at one point “Qualified in Submarines” and someone around you was aware that you were a submariner, you have been queried about the recent loss of the little submersible that was on its way to see the Titanic. ![]() So you were a submariner? What do you think about…. I love and respect my fellow submariners still on patrol and only publish these generic submarine statistics to make a point. ![]() As always, I do not reveal information from my actual submarine experience. Note: I collected much of the technical information for this story from open source documentation.
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