ussvi central texas base july 2020 · chief of the boat bill scott 512-826-8876...
TRANSCRIPT
July 2020 Page 1
USSVI Creed
Section 1: To perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country that their dedication, deeds, and supreme sacrifice may be a constant source of motivation toward greater accomplishments. And to pledge loyalty and patri-otism to the United States of America and its Constitution.
Camaraderie
Section 2: In addition to perpetuating the memory of departed shipmates, USSVI shall provide a way for all Submariners to gather for our mutual benefit and enjoyment. The common heritage as Submariners is strengthened by camaraderie. The USSVI supports a strong United States Sub-marine Force.
Perpetual Remembrance
Section 3: The organization engages in various projects and deeds that bring about the perpetual remembrance of those shipmates who have given the supreme sacrifice. USSVI also endeavors to educate all third parties it comes in contact with about the services United States submariners performed and how the sacrifices of lost shipmates made possible the freedom and lifestyle Ameri-cans enjoy today
THE DECK LOG
USSVI Central Texas Base
july 2020
USS Pittsburgh SSN 720
July 2020 Page 2
Table of Contents
============================= Creed ---------------------------------------- 1
Table of Contents ------------------------- 2
Points of Contact -------------------------- 2
Publication, Web Site, Base Mtg ------ 2
Links------------------------------------------ 3
Silent Running ----------------------------- 4
27MC Base Announcements ---------- 5
Base Commander’s Report --------- 5
Base Meeting Minutes ---------------- 8
Base Treasurer’s Report ------------- 8
Birthdays --------------------------------- 8
Membership ----------------------------- 8
Binnacle List----------------------------- 8
Chaplain’s Corner---------------------- 9
Kap(SS)4Kid(SS) -------------------- 10
Calendar of Events ------------------ 10
Storekeeper Corner ----------------- 10
Underseas Warfare News ------------ 11
USSVI Official Business News ------ 27
History ------------------------------------- 28
Once Upon A Time --------------------- 29
Sea Stories ------------------------------- 30
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USSVI National Commander
Wayne Standerfer 972-298-8139 [email protected]
USSVI National Senior Vice-Commander
Jon Jacques 615-893-7800 [email protected]
USSVI Central Regional District Commander
Tom Williams 512-632-9439 [email protected]
USSVI Central District 4 Commander
Bill Scott 512-826-8876 [email protected]
Central Texas Base Officers
Commander Rick Mitchell 512-639-0035 [email protected] Vice-Commander Gene Hall 512-864-2860 [email protected] Yeoman Frank Abernathy 512-426-3427 [email protected] Chief of the Boat Bill Scott 512-826-8876 [email protected] Treasurer Joe Keller 512-626-3202 [email protected] Base Support Appointments
Chaplain - Bob Steinmann 512-255-5250 [email protected] Memorial - Gene Hall 512-864-2860 [email protected] Storekeeper - David Paulson 512-940-1112 [email protected] Membership - Chuck Malone 512-694-5294 [email protected] Newsletter Editor - Bill Scott 512-826-8876 [email protected] Webmaster - Chuck Malone 512-694-5294 [email protected] Parade Chairman - Tom Sprague 858-755-6071 [email protected]
K4K Chairman - Shawn O’Shea 702-682-9170 [email protected] Fundraising– Jeff Lindner 512-966-8237 [email protected]
Editor’s Desk
The Deck Log is a monthly publication of the Central Texas Base, United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. It is delivered via email in Mi-crosoft Publisher PDF format to the Base Mem-bership. A copy is printed and mailed via USPS to those shipmates not having email.
Deck Log Editor
Harold W (Bill) Scott II, STSCS (SS) USN Ret. Holland Club, Life Member USSVI Central District 4 Commander SS-242, SSN-612, SSN-595, SSN-596
512-826-8876
Web Site: https://ussvicentraltexasbase.org/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ussvicentraltexas/
Base Meetings - Base meetings are held on the third Wednes-day of the month at M/SGT Ben D Snowden VFW Post 8587, 1000 N College St, Georgetown, TX 78626. We hold a quarterly social in lieu of a Base Meeting in March, June, September and December.
July 2020 Page 3
National Information Sources
A listing of Internet information addresses of the various organizations as places to obtain information on national items of interest. Shipmates, you are invited to add to the list (just let me know via email of any you use), so over time it would become more comprehensive.
https://www.ussvi.org/home.asp http://www.ussvi.org/base/CentralTexas.asp http://www.csp.navy.mil/
http://www.navytimes.com/ http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp http://www.military.com/
http://www.med.navy.mil/pages/default.aspx http://www.fra.org/ http://defensetech.org/
http://www.subvetstore.com/index.php http://www.subforce.navy.mil/ http://www.vfw.org/
www.navyleagueaustin.org www.navyleague.org http://www.usni.org/
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/n77.html www.military.com/military-report/ www.moaa.org
www.shiftcolors.navy.mil http://www.va.gov/
http://www.submarinesailor.com http://www.public.navy.mil/BUPERS-NPC/Pages/default.aspx
http://isausa.org/ WWW.DESIGNED4SUBMARINERS.COM http://www.dfas.mil/
http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ http://www.ausn.org/ https://www.facebook.com/ussvicentraltexas/
July 2020 Page 4
TOLLING OF THE BOATS – JUNE
“I can assure you that they went down fighting and that their brothers who
survived them took a grim toll of our savage enemy to avenge their deaths.” Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, USN
We Remember For those who gave their lives in the defense of our country We Remember
USS Herring (SS 233)
Lost on June 1, 1944 with the loss of 83 men near Matsuwa Island. Herring was
on her 8th war patrol, conducting a surface attack. Spotted by a shore battery and
made 2 direct hits on her conning tower causing her loss. Before being sunk, she
had sank a freighter and a passenger-cargoman. Herring was the only US subma-
rine sunk by a land battery.
USS R-12 (SS 89)
Lost on June 12, 1943 with the loss of 42 men near Key West, FL during a
practice torpedo approach. The cause was probably due to flooding through
a torpedo tube. The CO and 2 other men on the bridge survived, as did 18
crew members on liberty at the time of the accident.
USS Golet (SS 361)
Lost on June 14, 1944 with the loss of 82 men. On her 2nd war patrol, Golet was
apparently lost in battle with antisubmarine forces north of Honshu.
USS Bonefish (SS 223)
Lost on June 19, 1945 with the loss of 85 men when sunk near Suzu Misaki.
Winner of 3 Navy Unit Citations, Bonefish was on her 8th war patrol. After sink-
ing a passenger-cargoman, Bonefish was subjected to a savage depth charge
attack.
USS O-9 (SS 70)
Lost on Jun 20, 1941 with the loss of 34 men when it foundered off Isle of Shoals, 15 miles
from Portsmouth, NH. O-9 submerged at 0738 to conduct deep submergence tests, the sub
did not surface thereafter but was crushed by the pressure of the water 402 feet below.
USS Runner (SS 275)
Lost between June 26 and July 4th with the loss of 78 men. Runner was on her
3rd war patrol probably due to a mine. Prior to her loss, she reported sinking a
freighter and a passenger-cargoman off the Kuriles. The boat's last known ship
sunk was on June 26th, so she probably hit the mine on or after that date but be-
fore July 4th, when she was scheduled back at Midway.
USS S-27 (SS 132)
Lost on June 19, 1942 when it grounded off Amchitka Island. She was on the sur-
face in poor visibility, charging batteries and drifted into the shoals. When she
could not be freed and started listing, the captain got the entire crew to shore (400
yards away) in relays using a 3-man rubber raft. The entire crew was subsequently
rescued.
July 2020 Page 5
Hello Shipmates.
Pay attention now because this is a no sh……. I did not know it at the time but what was to be my last mission, yes on my boat we went on missions, not deployments or patrols, we had a few delays in getting home. We figured before we left, we would be doing what we do and be home in 70-80 days or so. We did the standard 90 day load out and said our goodbye’s and headed out to do what we do. Well things did not work out like we planned, and a few extra days turned into a few extra weeks and ultimately it turned into 122 days submerged. At first it was no big deal but after a while it got to be pretty old but ultimately, we returned
home and now it is a badge of honor, sort of. The reason I bring this up is as you all are very much aware of we seem to be stuck in this holding pattern we are currently in due to the pandemic and it not wanting to go away. Well, it will eventually and when it does I’m sure we all will have stories to tell and before long it will be another one of those things we tell our kids about when they start complaining about some inconvenience they are facing. I hope and pray that every one of you are safe and getting through this in the best way pos-sible. Even though we are stuck in a pandemic and have many other discouraging things going on in the world I see lots of good news also so let us talk a little about that.
Did you notice our base is still growing? We recently added 2 new members for a total of 76. Welcome aboard to Michael Goodnight. Michael and his wife Stephanie currently call Fredericksburg home. Michael qualified on the USS Daniel Webster SSBN-626(B) in 1985. He shared with us at our last Base Zoom Meet-ing that he was also onboard the USS Tennessee for their infamous D5 missile shot (not) https://youtu.be/7Z-3fjg4dYY Michael was a FTG. Welcome aboard Michael. And just last week we added Curt Webber. Curt qualified on the USS Olympia SSN 717 in 1989 and served also on the USS Henry M Jackson SSBN 730. Curt and his wife Laurie currently reside in Lakeway and Curt spends much of his time around Dripping Springs at his brewery, Last Stand Brewing. Curt was a RM and swears he never doctored the news and sports or ever conducted any funny business behind those closed doors. Welcome Aboard Curt.
Did you hear about shipmate Bill Bellinghausen. Bill underwent some difficult back surgery then got stuck in the rehab center with no visitors for what he calls a 40-day Fast Cruise. Well he’s out now and still has room for improvement but is getting out and about getting a little better every day. By the way how many USSVI Eagle Scout Certificates do you think Bill handed out in 2019? Exactly! He gave out 31 Certs, Bravo Zulu Bill for your efforts supporting this worthwhile effort.
How about Bill Snyder out there in Cedar Creek. Stopped by to visit Bill and his wife Majorie and they are doing well and Bill is getting around better and looking forward to starting to attend meetings again. Now all we need to do is have a meeting.
Of course there’s none other than Hubert Jackson out in Burnett. Had a little go round with some Prostrate Cancer but is recovering pretty well. So well in fact he is busy driving from Burnett to Hutto and all around with some side jobs. He and Linda also cut, split and stacked about 4 chords of firewood. They are just ma-chines I tell you.
Larry Walts is still receiving treatments for his fight with the big C but he and his wife Sandy are staying out of trouble at least that’s what they said and in good spirits and doing well up in Belton.
Anyway the point is we can concentrate on what we don’t have or look for the good in things (kinda sounds like shipmate Jack Odom doesn’t it) and celebrate what we have. Hope to hear about your good stories soon. I’m not sure when our next in person meeting will be or when we will have our social but the E-board and I are keeping an eye on things, listening to you and trying to get a plan out to you all soon. We will have a base meeting though this month on the 3rd Wednesday, July 15th. In person or Zoom to be determined.
Have a HAPPY 4TH of JULY everyone. Hope you all get to celebrate in some way the fact that we still live in the best country in the world! A few pictures attached for your enjoyment.
Rick Mitchell
July 2020 Page 6
The above referenced infamous D5 missile launch, pic courtesy of Michael Goodnight.
Shipmate Curt Weber 2nd from left in back row in Dripping Springs entertaining a few shipmates..
July 2020 Page 7
Shipmate Don Adkins in front of the Ca-sita he built. Really nice work Don!
Hubert and his wife Linda looking good as ever.
Bill presenting VSSVI Eagle Scout Recognition to Nathaniel D. Yates, a new Eagle Scout..
July 2020 Page 8
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USSVI CENTRAL TEXAS BASE MONTHLY MEETING
No meeting was held in June.
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BASE TREASURER’S REPORT
20 June 2020
Financial Report for Period Ending 5/31/2020
RBFCU Checking (General Fund) Ending Balance $16,353.09
RBFCU Savings (Memorial Fund) Ending Balance $1,989.61
Uncleared checks -$200.00
Ending Balance $16,694.13
Submitted: Joe Keller, Treasurer
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BINNACLE LIST
Please keep us informed of any person who should be listed. These are the people that we know about, so please e-mail any E-Board member if you know of any member or his family that might be in crisis. Also please keep the Base Chaplain, Shipmate Bob Steinmann informed as well.
Shipmate Hubert Jackson recovering from surgery for Prostate Cancer. Keep him and his wife Linda in your prayers.
Good news from Shipmate Larry Walts: “We have good news, test results were Cancer free, but I will have blood test every three months and cat scan every six months for two years"
Shipmate Byron Sage continues to deal with an issue with his immune system and prayers go out to him and his family.
Shipmate Bill Bellinghausen recovering from surgery and is in rehab.
We ask Lord, in your Son’s Name, that you be with our Brother’s and Sister’s who are sick and ask that you hold them in your arms and heal them so that they might again join us around our table. In your Son’s name, We pray, Amen.
MEMBERSHIP
Report presented to Base Commander w/copy to Yeoman.
Members listed in Central Texas Database 76 Regular Annual Members listed in Central Texas Database 29 Associate members w/paid Base and National dues 1 Central Texas Base Life Members 29 Central Texas Base National Life Members 37 Members in Holland Club 36 Dual Members 5 Prospective Members: 1 War Veterans 66 Members pending: 0
Submitted: Chuck Malone, Membership
JULY 2020
BIRTHDAYS Rick Mitchell - 8
th
Joe Kruppa - 9th
David Stephens - 10th
James Gee - 12th
Jeff Lindner - 24th
July 2020 Page 9
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CHAPLAIN’S CORNER
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Wisdom From a “Young Lady”
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?'
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a giant squeeze.
'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?' I asked.
She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..'
'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
'I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk non-stop. I was always mesmerized listening to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.'
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, ' We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!
There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody! Can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.'
She concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The Rose.'
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose fin-ished the college degree she had begun all those months ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.
July 2020 Page 10
When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get. We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
'Good friends are like stars... ...You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.'
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KAP(SS) 4 KID(SS)
I have been staying in touch with the Children’s hospitals since I saw you last. Due to the Corona-virus they have canceled all volunteer visits until further notice. I am checking with them monthly to reschedule as soon as it is safe to do so for the children and our volunteers. Any questions please do not hesitate to call me at 702-682-9170. Stay safe and be well. Thanks for all your support.
Shipmate Shawn O’Shea, Chair, Kap(SS)4Kid(SS)
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
15 July 2020, Monthly meeting Central Texas Base, VFW Post #8587, 1000 N College St., Georgetown, TX 78626, 1800 for movie time, 1900 meeting. This meeting may be using the Zoom.us App. Details to be pro-vided by the BC.
19 August 2020, Monthly meeting Central Texas Base, VFW Post #8587, 1000 N College St., Georgetown, TX 78626, 1800 for movie time, 1900 meeting. This meeting may be using the Zoom.us App. Details to be provided by the BC.
16 September 2020, Monthly meeting Central Texas Base, VFW Post #8587, 1000 N College St., Georgetown, TX 78626, 1800 for movie time, 1900 meeting. This meeting may be using the Zoom.us App. Details to be provided by the BC.
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STOREKEEPER CORNER
The Central Texas Base (CTB) Supply Store is open for business. The Supply Store can obtain most of the items you need for memorabilia, your vest, gifts for others, etc. You can order them from the Storekeeper at a meeting or online at [email protected]. CTB can often get items at a lower than normal price, so you save money. The SK can search the net to find out-of-the-ordinary items, for all branches of the service. When requesting a ship’s patch, tell the SK which coast you served on board, as the patches are often different for each coast. The following items are now available in Ship’s Store:
Base Ball Caps $12.00
Buckles, Dolphin $18.00
Buckles, Plain $10.00
License Plate Holder (Chrome) $10.00
License Plate Holder (Blue Plastic) $4.00
Stars for Pins $1.85
24 oz Glass mugs $15.00
12 oz Glass mugs 12.00
Parking Sign $20.00
Decals (Outside window) (four styles) $3.00
Black Leather Vest, Sub Vet Embossed $65.00
USSVI 50th Anniversary Patch and Coin set. Patch and coin purchased separately are $22.
$20.00
2019 USSVI Calendars $10.00
Sub Vet Embossed T-Shirts (Limited qty & size) $18.00
Sub Vet Embossed Denim Jackets (Limited qty & size) $31.00
Various T-Shirts $18.00
Boomer Patrol Pin $7.00
Patches (many) $6.00
Golden Anchor Patches $3.00
Dolphins (large) $8.00
Dolphins (medium) $5.00
Vests w/patch $38.00
Vest Clips (shiny or oxidized) $30.00
Koozies $5.00
Web Belts $7.00
July 2020 Page 11
The following selected articles are part of Undersea Warfare News weekly news bulletin emails dur-ing the month of June 2020.
“No content is created in the production of this Newsletter. These press clips and broadcast summaries are collected from multiple sources and are prepared by the command public affairs office to inform key personnel of news items of interest to them in their official capacities. It is not intended to be a substitute for newspapers, periodicals or public af-fairs programming as a means of keeping informed on news developments. Article selection or distribution does not imply endorsement and cannot be guaranteed for accuracy. Further reproduction for private use or gain is subject to original copyright restrictions.”
http://www.subforce.navy.mil/
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US Navy USS Missouri SSN 780 Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine ready for operational deploy-ment
Navy Recognition staff, Navy Recognition, June 3
After two years of maintenance and modernization at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, the US Navy USS Missouri (SSN 780) the seventh Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine is now ready for operational deployment.
It began its maintenance period almost 24 months ago. Since then, more than 2.2 million work-hours and more than 20,000 individual jobs were required to keep the boat fit for service. The availability officially ended on May 21, 2020, following the submarine’s successful sea trials and certification.
The U.S. Navy’s submarine force has unique access to a critical undersea domain. The ability to rapidly deploy is a key component to the Pacific Fleet’s ability to respond to crisis and conflict throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
While underway, the submarines are conducting combat readiness training and employing undersea warfare capabili-ties in support of a wide-range of missions. The shipyard’s ability to complete complex maintenance operations and de-liver submarines back to the fleet on time, or even early, ensures that our submarine force remains ready and respon-sive for any tasking.
The USS Missouri submarine, homeported at the historic submarine piers in Pearl Harbor, was commissioned on July 31, 2010, and is the fourth ship named in honor of the state of Missouri. It is the seventh commissioned Virginia-class submarine.
The Virginia class, also known as the SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered cruise missile fast-attack subma-rines in the U.S. Navy.
The USS Missouri Virginia class submarine is fitted with 12 Vertical Launching System (VLS) able to fire BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile. A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of cells, which can hold one or more missiles ready for firing.
The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is an all-weather, long-range, subsonic cruise missile used for deep land attack warfare, launched from U. S. Navy surface ships and U.S. Navy and the United Kingdom Royal Navy submarine.
The Tomahawk Block III Conventional variant (TLAM-C) contains a 1,000-lb class blast/fragmentary unitary warhead while the Sub-munition variant (TLAM-D) includes a sub-munitions dispenser with combined effect bomblets. The Tom-ahawk Block IV (Tactical Tomahawk, TLAM-E), conventional variant, which entered the Fleet in2004, adds the capabil-ity to reprogram the missile while inflight via two-way satellite communications to strike any of 15 pre-programmed alter-nate targets or redirect the missile to any Global Positioning System (GPS) target coordinate.
The Block IV missile is capable of loitering over a target area in order to respond to emerging targets or, with its on-board camera, provide battle damage information to warfighting commanders. Tomahawk Block IV is currently in Full Rate Production (FRP). it has a maximum firing range of 1,600 km.
July 2020 Page 12
The USS Missouri Virginia class submarine has also four 533 mm torpedo tubes able to fire the Mark 48 ADCAP torpe-do. The MK 48 ADCAP torpedo is a heavyweight acoustic-homing torpedo with sophisticated sonar, all-digital guidance-
and-control systems, digital fusing systems, and propulsion improvements. Its digital guidance system allows for repeat-ed upgrades to counter evolving threats through software upgrades.
The MK 48 ADCAP Mod 6 torpedo combines two significant enhancements: one in guidance and control (G&C Mod), and the other in the torpedo propulsion unit (TPU Mod). The G&C Mod improves the acoustic receiver, replaces the guidance-and-control hardware with updated technology, increases memory, and im-proves processor throughput to handle the expanded software demands required to improve torpedo perfor-mance against evolving threats. The TPU Mod provides a significant reduction in torpedo radiated-noise sig-natures.
The latest version of the MK 48 ADCAP is Mod 7 Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System (CBASS) which is optimized for both the deep and littoral waters and has advanced counter-countermeasure capabili-ties.
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Why the U.S. Navy's Virginia Class Submarines Keep Getting Better
Kris Osborn, National Interest, June 3
The U.S. Navy is making progress in the early phases of building a new Block V variant of Virginia-class at-tack submarines which massively increase firepower, incorporate advanced new sonar technologies and lev-erage the latest advances in automation and AI. The development deal took a large step forward last Decem-ber through a $22-Billion contract between the Navy and General Dynamics Electric Boat. Eight of the new Block V deal are being engineered with a new 80-foot weapons section in the boat, enabling the submarine to increase its attack missile capacity from 12 to 40 on-board Tomahawks.
While many of the technical specifics regarding emerging attack submarines are naturally not available for security reasons, new innovations will build upon cutting-edge systems now deployed on the most advanced attack submarine ever to deploy—the USS South Dakota. The South Dakota, which is now operational, be-gan as a prototype, test-bed platform to evolve new technologies.
What all of these USS South Dakota innovations amount to is that, Navy officials say, they are informing cur-rent engineering regarding Block V as well as early conceptualdiscussions for a new Block VI submarine to begin in 2024.
While many details are not available, generally speaking the USS South Dakota is engineered with additional engine-oriented quieting technology, advanced antennas for reconnaissance and less-detectable external “coating” for the submarine, Navy developers explain.
Looking at the multi-year trajectory of Virginia-class development; each Block has incorporated several im-pactful new technologies not yet present when the previous boats were built. For example, unlike Blocks I and II, Virginia-class Block III boats significantly increase firepower with the introduction of what’s called Virginia Payload Tubes, adding new missile tubes able to fire 6 Tomahawks each. Block III also includes a new Large Aperture Bow “horseshoe-shaped” sonar, which switches from an “air-backed’ spherical sonar to a “water-backed” array, making it easier to maintain pressure, according to a 2014 report in “NavSource Online.”
The LAB sonar, which is both more precise and longer range than its predecessor, also advances the curve in that it introduces both a passive and “active” sonar system.
Passive systems are used to essential track or “listen” for acoustic pings to identify enemy movements. This can help conceal a submarines position by not emitting a signal, yet can lack the specificity of an “active” so-nar system which sends an acoustic “ping” forward. The submarine’s technology then analyzes the return sig-nal to deliver a “rendering” of an enemy object to include its contours, speed and distance. In concept, sonar works similar to radar except that it sends acoustic signals instead of electronic ones.
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Commentary: Jackson’s Namesake Sub Marks Two Milestones
Cmdr. Nathan Luther, Herald Net, June 2
May 31 marked the 108th anniversary of the birth of U.S. Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson. In a fitting tribute to his legacy, his namesake ship, USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730), the Defender of Freedom, is deployed on its 100th strategic deterrent patrol.
July 2020 Page 13
The Jackson is one of the first Ohio-class submarines to reach that historic milestone.
It is fitting that the senator’s namesake is making naval history. Jackson, an Everett native, played a key role in the development of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarine force.
As a newly elected senator in 1952, he was a crucial advocate for the retention of Capt. Hyman G. Rickover, who was on his way to a forced retirement, having recently been passed over for promotion to rear admiral. In part because of Jackson’s advocacy, the Navy reversed course, promoting Rickover who subsequently led the successful development and construction of the first nuclear powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN 571), and the growth of the nuclear Navy over the following 30 years.
The support of Adm. Rickover and his role in the birth of the nuclear Navy, would have been enough to make Jackson a hero for the submarine force, but his advocacy did not stop there. In his role on the Senate Armed Services committee, Jackson went on to play a leading role in the development of the Ohio-class submarine and Trident ballistic-missile programs, significantly upgrading the range and stealth of the Navy’s survivable strategic deterrent capability.
The importance of Jackson to our submarine force is why Henry M. Jackson is the only Ohio-class submarine not named after a state. When the senator died unexpectedly in September 1983, USS Rhode Island (SSBN 740) was scheduled to be launched the next month.
Recognizing Sen. Jackson’s importance to the force, President Reagan, in true bipartisan spirit, made the decision to change the name of USS Rhode Island to USS Henry M. Jackson, just in time for the launching ceremony.
It was a remarkable chain of events, and to this day a framed set of tickets to the launching ceremony are displayed in the wardroom alongside the updated tickets with the ship’s new name.
Recently, the crew of Henry M. Jackson has again found themselves a part of remarkable events. During the crew’s preparation for the historic 100th patrol, as a nation we found ourselves facing a new challenge in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, just like other challenges we have faced, the submarine force has respond-ed. The crew was isolated on the ship, in port, for two weeks prior to departing and subject to several rounds of testing to minimize any possibility of an outbreak while underway.
This was a challenging period for the crew. They took numerous precautions, changed working schedules to maximize social distancing, and cleaned the ship top to bottom numerous times. In the end, and in the spirit of our namesake, they succeeded. They got the ship underway from its maintenance period, on time, to sup-port our nation’s strategic deterrence mission.
As always this mission will continue, just like the legacy of Sen. Jackson. Jackson spent his life working and supporting the defense of our country. It gives me immense pleasure and honor to be a part of the Henry M. Jackson team who, as I type this, is somewhere in the Pacific Ocean on their 100th strategic deterrent patrol, still defending the country Jackson worked so hard to serve.
Happy Birthday, Sir.
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With Russia keeping watch, US Navy subs ventured back to the high north to train where there's 'no safe haven'
Christopher Woody, Business Insider, June 11
This year's Ice Exercise was nothing new of the Seawolf-class fast-attack sub USS Connecticut, which also participated in the 2018 version of the biennial Arctic exercise.
The 2018 iteration started just weeks after the Defense Department released its National Defense Strategy, which cited the reemergence of "long-term, strategic competition" with "revisionist powers" — namely, China and Russia — as the central challenge to US security.
"The Arctic is a potential strategic corridor — between Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the US homeland — for ex-panded competition," and ICEX 2020 was an opportunity for the Navy's Submarine Force to "demonstrate combat and tactical readiness" for sustained operations in the challenging environment there, sub force com-mander Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle said when the exercise began.
That competition was on display when Connecticut and Los Angeles-class fast-attack sub USS Toledo surfaced on an ice floe near Camp Seadragon, the exercise's temporary base, named for the first sub to sail through the North-west Passage and under an iceberg.
July 2020 Page 14
On March 9 and March 14, Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance planes flew through the area, lingering near the camp and the subs, accompanied by US and Canadian fighter aircraft, which scramble frequently for such missions.
Those encounters underscore the need "to be able to react appropriately" to send a strategic message and to "actually defeat any threats" should they arise, Air Force Gen. Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, head of US North-ern Command, said days later.
Down on the ice, however, the Russian presence didn't interrupt the work at hand. "We were aware of the overflights," the Connecticut's commanding officer, Cmdr. Cameron Aljilani, told Insider in an interview at the end of May. "It did not affect any of the operations we were conducting."
US Navy subs have done more than 100 Arctic exercises over the past 70 years, dating back to August 1947, when the USS Boarfish made the first under-ice transit of an ice floe.
But this year's version of the exercise, centering on an ice floe 150 miles north of Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope, was a first for Aljilani.
"I've operated in the Western Pacific as far west as Singapore, as far south as Australia," Aljilani said. As ex-ecutive officer on East Coast-based Virginia-class attack sub USS North Dakota, Aljilani sailed as far east as the Mediterranean Sea, but, he said, "going north to the Arctic Circle is a first for me."
Aljilani took command of the Connecticut in August 2019, and even though he was new to this kind of exer-cise, his crew was not.
"I was fortunate," Aljilani said. "Some of my department heads were here two years ago as well as about 40% of my crew. So that local, resident knowledge was very effective in making me successful."
The Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory, based in San Diego, is the lead organization for ICEX and has the service's resident experts on Arctic operations.
"They maintain our tactics, techniques, and procedures, and during my transit and then up at the ice camp we had Arctic operations specialists, we call them ice pilots," Aljilani said. "They embarked on the ship, and they helped us as we navigated through the Bering Strait and up into the Arctic."
he Lab set up on a moving ice floe to provide a platform where a tracking range, sensors, communication equipment, and personnel could be safely moved to and from the subs taking part.
Personnel from Canada, Norway, the UK, and Japan were also on hand for the exercise, shortened this year to three weeks from five in 2018 and 2016. The Connecticut surfaced about a mile from the camp, Aljilani said. "They were able to have these really interesting planes that could take off in like 150 yards. It was pretty amazing. So they would fly from ice camp" and land about 100 yards from the sub.
The Connecticut took on some distinguished visitors during the exercise, but it didn't take on cargo since it had a maximum load of food and parts — "so much food the crew was walking on cans ... of food throughout the ship," Aljilani said — as part of endurance tests that including keeping radio silence and doing repairs at sea.
The exercise took place in early March, before the coronavirus pandemic had rapidly expanded across the US. But the sub still took health precautions.
"When we started to get information about the coronavirus as we were on our transit up to the Arctic and as personnel were coming on board, they were screened in accordance with CDC guidance at the time," Aljilani said.
"Personnel were screened when they got on board and then they debarked, and then we were instituting our own screening protocols on board after the fact with no displays of symptoms."
The Connecticut, commissioned in 1998, is one of only three Seawolf-class subs, along with the USS Seawolf and the USS Jimmy Carter. The subs were designed to be the Navy's most capable in order to stay ahead of Soviet technology, but the service stopped building them after the Cold War ended.
But the Connecticut's sophisticated features, included with the Cold War in mind, still make it uniquely suited for Arctic operations.
"We have an improved sail that allows us to surface through the ice," a feature that has been included on Virginia-class subs, Aljilani said.
The sub also has a "very capable" sonar system. "I would say that's the capability that they made the best possible
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to go up there," Aljilani added. "When we went up ... two years ago, we had a version of the sonar system that now is about four, five years old, and we just got an upgraded system over our past dry-docking availabil-ity" in mid-2019.
The sonar system, like other technology on the sub, is constantly upgraded, and that "ability to continually update us technically makes it easier for us to" operate in the Arctic, Aljilani said.
As suited as those systems are for the Arctic, the sailors manning them still need training for the conditions there, which are markedly different from those in other parts of the world.
"We have shore-based simulators that can model how the ship will react" to differences in salinity and temper-ature and other factors, Aljilani said.
Nor is the vertical surfacing that subs do during ICEX part of the standard submariner skill set. "Normally we would ascend to periscope depth having speed in the water. Due to under-ice operations, you can't be mov-ing forward. You have to go up at zero speed and straight to the ice. That's one thing that we would practice," Aljilani said
Similarly, dealing with the ice canopy requires special preparation, including training to spot ice pinnacles with sonar and maneuvering to avoid them.
"For normal operations on the open ocean, there's nothing overhead ... so for us, we have to learn how to de-tect and avoid ice fields that can go as deep as 200 feet in some areas," Aljilani said.
Surfacing through an ice floe may be ICEX's most well-known event, but under-ice transits are also important.
The Bering Strait, where sea ice is typically at its greatest extent in March, is a very shallow operational area. While in it, most of the sub's control party is focused on navigating safely, Aljilani said, but north of it, inside the Arctic circle, "it actually gets very deep."
In the strait, there is "a three-dimensional problem," Aljilani said. "I'm worried about the ground below and the ice above, and so that skill really is about being able to avoid the ice canopy or pinnacles that are coming down."
Open ocean allows the crew to practice more skills, such as operating deeper, coming shallow, weapons de-ployment, and sonar tracking — "all the skills that submarines have to have," Aljilani said.
Climate change is making the Arctic more accessible for transit as well as resource extraction, drawing more attention from the world's navies
But the region has long held advantages for US submarines. The ice canopy can prevent detection from the air, and distances across the Arctic are shorter, allowing subs to move between the coasts quickly, aiding cri-sis response.
But those features cut both ways.
"The disadvantage is there's no other traffic there. So if you detect a contact under the ice, it is most certainly a submarine, and they can probably detect you as well," Aljilani said. "It's so quiet that we could actually de-tect a snowmobile that was driving by, probably about 5 miles from where we were at, on top of the ice."
Conversely, the constant grinding of ice and other background sound "raises the ambient level of noise" and affects a sub's ability to hear specific things. "In general it's hard to detect discrete sounds in that environ-ment," Aljilani said.
"When we go out and operate off of Washington state or San Diego, at any time most of our casualty proce-dures are based on the ability to conduct an emergency blow and proceed to the surface. That is not an op-tion when you're under the ice," Aljilani said.
That changes the risk calculus, forcing Aljilani to rethink potential responses. During a fire aboard, the normal procedure would be respond to it and then surface to conduct emergency ventilation after the fire was out.
But in the Bering Strait, doing that "could run [the sub into] 20 or 30 feet of ice, damage my sonar, damage my sail, and really impact the ship," Aljilani said. "So actually a safer option would almost be to accept the fact that we're flooding and maybe just settle on the bottom and then recover the ship."
"There is no safe haven" in the Arctic, Aljilani added. "So you have to think carefully [about] how you're going to execute emergency procedures. Because if a sailor takes an action that would be normal under normal op-erating conditions, that actually may hazard the ship more."
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Advanced nuclear-powered sub to enter service with Russia’s Navy on June 12
Not Attributed, TASS (Russia), June 8
MOSCOW -- The improved Project 955A (Borei-A) lead nuclear-powered submarine Knyaz Vladimir will enter service with the Northern Fleet’s 31st submarine division on June 12, a source in the domestic defense indus-try told TASS on Monday.
"The ceremony of raising the flag aboard the Knyaz Vladimir that will signify the underwater cruiser’s official inclusion in the Fleet’s combat structure is scheduled for June 12. The submarine will operate in the 31st sub-marine division," the source said.
TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet.
Currently, the Project 955 (Borei) lead submarine Yuri Dolgoruky and also the Project 667BDRM (Delfin-class) subs developed during the Soviet period are operational in the 31st division of submarine forces.
The nuclear-powered submarine completed its state trials in late 2019 but the sub’s delivery to the Navy was delayed over faults revealed. After the faults were removed, the underwater cruiser held final trials in the White Sea on May 12-21 and then returned to Severodvinsk. The sub’s acceptance/delivery certificate was signed on May 28.
The Knyaz Vladimir is the improved Project 955A strategic missile-carrying underwater cruiser, which repre-sents the fourth generation of nuclear-powered subs built for the Russian Navy. It was floated out in Novem-ber 2017. According to the data of Russia’s Defense Ministry, the sub Knyaz Vladimir is less noisy and fea-tures improved maneuvering, depth and armament control systems.
All Borei-class submarines can carry 16 Bulava ballistic missiles. They are also furnished with 533mm torpe-do tubes.
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How Do America and China's Newest Nuclear Missile Submarines Compare?
Kris Osborn, National Interest Online, June 8
While there is likely little known about the exact technological make-up of the emerging Chinese Jin-class SSBN, it might not rival the emerging U.S. Columbia-class submarine. After all, the new, now-in-development Columbia class may be the quietest undersea boat ever to exist. It uses a quiet, efficient electric-drive and a differently configured X-shaped stern, among other technologies.
What is known about the Chinese Jin-class is that it will be armed with the extremely lethal, 5,600 mile range nuclear-armed ballistic JL-3 missiles, according to a May 2020 Congressional Research Service Report called “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities.” Moreover, a 2018 CSIS report states the Chinese have already test-fired the weapon which, by any estimation, could easily hold the conti-nental U.S. at great risk.
The Columbia class is to be equipped with an electric-drive propulsion train, as opposed to the mechanical-drive propulsion train used on other Navy submarines.
In today’s Ohio-class submarines, a reactor plant generates heat which creates steam, Navy officials ex-plained. The steam then turns the turbines that produce the sub’s electricity and also propels the ship for-ward. This propulsion is achieved through “reduction gears” which are able to translate the high-speed energy from a turbine into the shaft RPMs needed to move a boat propeller.
“The electric-drive system is expected to be quieter (i.e., stealthier) than a mechanical-drive system,” a Con-gressional Research Service report on Columbia-Class submarines from last year states.
The submarines are designed to be 560-feet long and house sixteen Trident II D5 missiles fired from 44-foot-long missile tubes.
The “X”-shaped stern will restore maneuverability to submarines; as submarine designs progressed from us-ing a propeller to using a propulsor to improve quieting, submarines lost some surface maneuverability, Navy officials explained.
Navy developers explain that electric-drive propulsion technology still relies on a nuclear reactor to generate heat and create steam to power turbines. However, the electricity produced is transferred to an electric motor
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rather than so-called reduction gears to spin the boat’s propellers.
The use of an electric motor brings other advantages as well, according to an MIT essay written years ago when the electric drive was being evaluated for submarine propulsion.
Using an electric motor optimizes the use of installed reactor power in a more efficient way compared with mechanical drives, making more on-board power available for other uses, according to an essay called “Evaluation and Comparison of Electric Propulsion Motors for Submarines.” Author Joel Harbour says that on mechanical drive submarine, 80-percent of the total reactor power is used exclusively for propulsion.
“With an electric drive submarine, the installed reactor power of the submarine is first converted into electrical
power and then delivered to an electric propulsion motor. The now available electrical potential not being used for propulsion could easily be tapped into for other uses,” he writes.
Research, science and technology work and the initial missile tube construction on Columbia-Class subma-rines have been underway for several years. One key exercise, called tube-and-hull forging, involves building four-packs of missile tubes to assess welding and construction methods. These structures are intended to load into the boat’s modules as construction advances.
The Columbia class also incorporates a number of technologies specifically developed for the Block III Vir-ginia-class attack submarines, such as a computer-driven joystick navigation system, fly-by-wire technology and fiber-optic periscope technology. The automated navigation enables the submarine to automatically set depth and speed, while allowing a human operator to remain in a command and control role.
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U.S. Navy SSBN USS Maryland Conducts Full At-Sea Crew Exchange
Martin Manaranche, Naval News, June 16
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/06/u-s-navy-ssbn-uss-maryland-conducts-full-at-sea-crew-exchange/
Last week, the U.S. Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) USS Maryland conducted a full at-sea crew exchange to prevent sailors from possible COVID-19 exposure. At-sea crew transfer is quite unusu-al. Transfer of the entire crew of a submarine is even more exceptional.
Ballistic missile submarines main rule is to remain undetected in order to maintain credibility in its nuclear de-terrence mission. By surfacing, and remaining idle for a relatively long duration (the time needed to swap the crews), the submarine increases the risk of detection. However, the risk of seeing the virus spread among the crew while on patrol represents a way greater security threat. After all the crew transfer likely took place not far off Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, and under the watch of U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard patrols.
Naval News‘ regular contributor and submarine expert H I Sutton said about this exceptional event that:
The only advantage is that the crew transfer can be managed better from a COVID-19 perspective. The disadvantages are many. Transferring people and stores at sea is comparatively difficult and dangerous. The U.S. Navy is more than capable of doing it of course. The U.S. Navy do practice at-sea resupply and re-armament, so they have some practice.
Another disadvantage is that any in-port maintenance that needed doing will be postponed.
H I Sutton added: “Presumably the fresh crew was pre-quarantined. Pre-quarantine generally makes patrols harder for the crew and their families. It will make them feel longer. The social isolation of a patrol is already a challenge for recruiting and retaining submarine crews, before adding a couple of weeks of isolation before the patrol.”
USS Maryland (SSBN-738) is the 13th of 18 of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, and has been in commission since 1992.
About Ohio-class SSBN
According to the U.S. Navy, ballistic missile submarines, often referred to as “boomers,” serve as an unde-tectable launch platform for submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). They are designed specifically for stealth and the precise delivery of nuclear warheads.
Each of the 14 Ohio-class SSBNs originally carried up to 24 SLBMs with multiple, independently-targeted warheads. However, under provisions of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, each submarine has had
July 2020 Page 18
four of its missile tubes permanently deactivated and now carry a maximum of 20 missiles. The SSBN’s stra-tegic weapon is the Trident II D5 ballistic missile.
SSBNs are specifically designed for extended deterrent patrols. To decrease the amount of time required for replenishment and maintenance, Ohio-class submarines have three large-diameter logistics hatches that al-low sailors to rapidly transfer supply pallets, equipment replacement modules and machinery components, thereby increasing their operational availability.
The Ohio-class design allows the submarines to operate for 15 or more years between major overhauls. On average, the submarines spend 77 days at sea followed by 35 days in-port for maintenance. In 2014, USS Pennsylvania carried out a record 140 days patrol. Each SSBN has two crews, Blue and Gold, which alter-nate manning the submarines and taking them on patrol. This maximizes the SSBN’s strategic availability, reduces the number of submarines required to meet strategic requirements, and allows for proper crew train-ing, readiness and morale.
General Characteristics, Ohio Class
Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat Division
Propulsion: One nuclear reactor, one shaft
Length: 560 feet (170.69 meters)
Beam: 42 feet (12.8 meters)
Displacement: 16,764 tons (17,033.03 metric tons) surfaced; 18,750 tons (19,000.1 metric tons) submerged
Speed: 20+ knots (23+ miles per hour, 36.8+ kph)
Crew: 15 Officers, 140 Enlisted
Armament: Up to 20 Trident II D-5 SLBMs, Mk48 torpedoes; 4 torpedo tubes
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America's most secret submarine undocks from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Josh Farley, Kitsap Sun, June 16
BREMERTON — An elite submarine that performs some of the military's most secret missions has just un-docked from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard following nearly two years of maintenance work.
The USS Jimmy Carter still has about four months of testing to go after departing the shipyard's fifth of six dry docks June 2. But shipyard officials said numerous challenges -- not the least of which was the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic -- made the maintenance work tougher.
“We leaned on a motivated team of mechanics, engineers, ships force and project management, who drove the work to completion despite multiple obstacles," said Stuart Avery, the deputy project superintendent for the shipyard's ocean engineering department.
Crews faced pressure to get the work done, even during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The last dry dock period, completed in 2014, for the boat ran about eight months behind schedule.
The shipyard declined to release the cost of the overhaul because it has not yet been completed.
Work began in July 2018. Like everything around the Carter, whose work and capabilities are largely classi-fied, the exact nature of the maintenance was not revealed by shipyard officials. Known as an "Extended Dry-Docking Selected Restricted Availability," project managers did acknowledge "there was a significant amount of work discovered as we completed disassembly," Avery said.
The onset of COVID-19 made completing the mission with available resources difficult but the shipyard tapped additional managers from its submarine program office. They were also able to make the sub habita-ble for its crew some four months ahead of undocking "
"This not only supported the significant effort to meet undocking, but also set us up for success during the end-game" Avery said.
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New Mystery Submarine May Have Been Found In North Korea
H.I. Sutton, Forbes, June 16
July 2020 Page 19
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/06/16/new-mystery-submarine-may-have-been-found-in-north-korea/#56ff496d1013
A 50-foot-long object on the quayside at a secretive North Korean Navy base appears to be a small subma-rine. It could even be an extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV). The discovery by Western ob-servers comes at a time when North Korea has shut off communication with the South and threatened to mo-bilize the country’s military against South Korea. In dramatic fashion, today it reportedly blew up a joint liaison office with the South.
The unidentified object was found in high resolution satellite imagery and was first reported by North Korean analysis website 38 North. There are several possibilities, from the mundane to the explosive. One sugges-tion is that it is a new class of submersible.
The location, at Sinpo on North Korea’s East coast, is a secret naval base where new submarines are built and tested. The object is just yards away from where the country’s first ballistic missile submarine, the Gorae Class, is normally tied up. It is also where the follow-on ‘Romeo-Mod’ missile boat is being built. That was shown off in state media on July 23, 2019, but does not appear to be in the water yet. Unlike the Gorae, which is seen only as a test platform with limited operational capability at best, the larger Romeo-Mod will likely be the backbone of the Hermit Kingdom’s at-sea nuclear deterrent.
The new submarine, if that’s what the object is, is much smaller. At around 50 to 55 feet, it is what would typi-cally be known as a midget submarine. North Korea builds a large number of midget subs, but most are much larger than this.
One possibility is that it is something roughly equivalent to the U.S. Navy SEAL’s dry combat submersible. North Korea has used its midget submarines to infiltrate agents and potentially commandos into South Korea before. Several have been caught in the act. But the known designs are dated so a new model wouldn’t be surprising. However, the greater emphasis of North Korean submarine building appears to be ballistic missile boats.
Another more tantalizing possibility is that it is an extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV). this would be a surprise move since the North’s capabilities in this field are generally doubted. North Korean sub-marines are extremely crude and low-tech compared to modern navies, but they try to compensate by num-bers, robustness and aggressive captaining.
However Iran, a country with close military technology ties with North Korea, has recently unveiled its own XLUUV. That vehicle appears crude, but is potentially impactful. It will be years before it is an operational sys-tem, but these underwater drones are a natural path for countries relying on asymmetric warfare. They could potentially be used more aggressively than the current crewed vessels. While they would lack the sophistica-tion to complete complex missions, they could lay mines or attack surface vessels in a specified area where identification of friend-or-foe (IFF) was not an issue.
Of course the object may be something much more mundane. It does not look like a truck, and it is too large to be a missile, but until we have more images we are kept guessing.
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Commentary
Nukes, Nubs And Coners: The Unique Social Hierarchy Aboard A Nuclear Submarine
Aaron Amick, The Drive, June 16
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/34104/nukes-nubs-and-coners-the-unique-social-hierarchy-aboard-a-nuclear-submarine
Living in a machine with over 100 sailors requires a person to be flexible socially and sometimes physically. I spent two decades on United States Navy submarines performing sonar duties among eccentric personalities in incredibly stressful situations. When sailors report to their first submarine, they are joining a work culture unlike any other. Surrounded by crew members busily moving about tight spaces and narrow walkways, an-nouncements over the circuit boxes, roving watchstanders, equipment humming to 400hz fans, it can be anxi-ety-inducing to any sailor.
That is why every new crewmember starts as a NUB. But, if they work hard and learn the systems, they will earn their dolphins and become a member of another entirely unique subculture within the grander social hi-erarchy that exists within the confines of the submerged tube they call home for months on end.
Here’s is what is expected of a new crew member and a bit about the various 'unique' groups of people aboard the submarine, one of which the NUB will find themselves an integral part of once they get minted a submariner.
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The NUB
A new crewmember is a Non-Useful Body, or NUB. He or she uses our limited supply of space, water, food, and oxygen. They are not welcome, but BUPERS (Bureau of Personnel) keeps sending them. The NUB is easily identifiable as he will be the only crewman wearing a command ball cap with the ship's name and no Dolphins symbol on the front. They have their qualification card in their rear pocket at all times and had better have a small notebook in their hand for studying. They do not have movie privileges unless they are a "Hot Runner." Hot Runner refers to a torpedo self-starting despite the fact it hasn’t been launched yet. Very dangerous, but Submariners like that kind of initiative in the NUB.
Everyone, officer or enlisted, is a NUB when they report to their first submarine. They are treated with contempt. In the case of the officer, it’s respectful contempt, sir. The NUB is expected to qualify in submarines within 12 months. This can be extended a few months if there are outside circumstances that delay qualification opportunities.
Qualification on a U.S. submarine is a formal process completed in phases. The first phase introduces all the major sys-tems around the boat. This orientation phase is purposefully designed to ease the NUB through the culture shock of liv-ing inside a machine the Navy sends to submerge in the ocean for weeks on end. This introduces the NUB to their fellow crewman, one watch station at a time. This first impression will affect how difficult their qualification path is because the crew decides if you are to become a submariner or not. They must earn their confidence. They must prove that they can perform emergency actions without direction and with confidence during a 'casualty,' when something goes wrong.
Phase two of submarine qualification is the most difficult. It requires detailed knowledge of every system on the boat, from the nuclear powerplant, to ventilation, to electrical and hydraulic systems, to simple atmosphere scrubbing and gravity drains. The Non-Useful Body must memorize every system, be able to draw it from memory on command, and know the initial actions they must perform if a causality occurs to that system. Even if it’s not their assigned equipment, they must know how to prevent a failure from cascading into a major casualty that could be catastrophic for the boat.
Phase three of submarine qualification is the most physically demanding. This is the walkthrough phase. The NUB will walk through every level of every compartment one at a time with a qualified crewman. During this tour, they may be dressed in full protective gear like a Fire Fighting Equipment (FFE) asbestos bodysuit and wearing breathing protection. This physical discomfort compounded with an oral interview answering detailed system-specific operational questions simulates a small, but important amount of stress compared to what they would endure during a real casualty situation.
Phase four is ‘The Board.’ This is the end phase of the submarine qualification and is more difficult to schedule than it is to pass. The NUB must find at least three
submarine qualified crewmen who have three to five hours of off-watch time at the same time to be part of an oral inter-view board. There must be at least one submarine qualified officer, one senior enlisted man, and one system expert on the Board.
It is customary for the qualifying crewman to bring a small snack to the Board. Usually, there is a bowl of Jolly Rancher hard candies, but I have seen a cook make a full dessert platter with pastries and a cake. The Board members can’t ask hard questions when they are enjoying some sugary treats!
A sailor checks a radar display while another studies a chart inside the control room of the USS Florida (SSGN-728).
If a Board interview is failed, a crew member can reschedule a second board when they are ready. He or she is only re-stricted by the time constraints of the qualification schedule. If they fail a second board they may be removed from sub-marine service, but this is very rare. Good submariners can be built if given enough time by the crew to help them. I have seen both enlisted and officers wash out of the submarine qualification program and in each of those cases it was for the better. It very possibly saved their lives and ensured the safety of our ship.
The final phase is a one-on-one interview with the Executive Officer and the Commanding Officer. Every submarine qualified sailor is awarded their dolphins with the full confidence and trust of the submarine Captain. By this time, the crewman has earned the respect of their shipmates and demonstrated that they know the basics to keep the submarine in fighting shape, no matter the circumstances.
U.S. Navy Master Chief Jeffrey Bottoms, chief of the boat for the USS Rhode Island, far left; Navy Cmdr. Robert J. Clark, commanding officer for the Rhode Island, and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Paul Pampuro, far right, watch as Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class William Corring speaks at a ceremony in the Rhode Island crew’s mess as the submarine patrols in the Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 16, 2010. Corring received his Dolphin pin during the ceremony.
After achieving the approval of the crew and getting one's dolphins, they get categorized into one of two groups—Nukes and Coners.
The Nuke
Crewmen who work in the engine room are called Nukes. They are made up of high school graduates who loved Star Trek so much they decided to role-play their science fiction fantasy in real life. Incredibly smart and able to digest vol-umes of information in a short time, these mystical figures often whisper of powerband constraints and millirems amongst themselves. They use math so much in their daily routine they ran out of numbers and added some Latin letters to their measurement logs. They are best avoided at mealtime and are given their own table in the crew’s mess next to the Chief Petty Officers.
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Nukes come in three varieties:
The Reactor Operator is likely the stereotypical 90-pound geek who maintains a World of Warcraft account despite being underway for 10 months of the year. He’s wiry, lanky, and a little jittery from energy drinks. Despite his excitement, he is the smoothest Reactor Operator in the nuclear program and can catch a power spike like he’s dimming the bedroom lights next to his waifu body pillow.
The Nuclear Electrician is the most chameleon-like and may be difficult to spot in a crew photo. He often has average height and build allowing him to blend in with the ‘Coners’ if left unchallenged. He gives himself away by always having a Sudoku puzzle book tucked inside his poopy suit and a faint odor of ozone follows him around.
The Nuclear Mechanic is the protector and enforcer of the engine room. These sailors are often very large compared to their fellow Nukes. They have oil-stained fingers and faded blue poopy suits that have seen more underway time than was intended. They eat at the Nuke table in the crew’s mess with gusto, filling their frames with enough carbs to make it through the next six hours in the hot engine room.
Life in the engine room is routine at sea. No matter what the mission or our deployment location they serve one purpose: Push the Cone.
The Coner
Coners live in the Cone. That’s any space forward of the engine room. They make up the rest of the crew. A grab bag of cultures and backgrounds, from small-town USA to big city living, the Cone represents a microcosm of the United States’ young men and women. This mix of people come together at the needs of the Navy and perform well despite their differ-ences.
The Radioman is the most elusive of the Coners. He spends his time locked in his ‘Radio Shack’ both off watch and on. This limited access space offers a small amount of privacy not seen anywhere else outside the Captain's stateroom. From this room, messages are dispatched around the boat. Radiomen are the gatekeepers of all message traffic from the most sensitive top-secret orders to routine personal messages. No matter what is happening or planned, the Radi-omen know about it first.
The Quartermaster, or “QM,” could be mistaken for a militant artist with his bandolier of colored pencils and erasers. He is the ‘Keeper of the Chart.’ Hunched over a plotting table for six hours at a time, he is constantly calculating and verify-ing the ship’s position.
Off watch, they are preparing charts for the next day or next mission. A modern, Neo-QM has turned in his colored pencils for a tablet pc and paper charts for their digital replacement, but their fixation for geolocating and browsing rules of the aquatic road remains a constant.
Sonarmen, sometimes referred to as “shower techs” or “sonar girls,” are the most eccentric of the crew zoo. In a world where every evolution from flushing the toilet to firing up the kettle has a written procedure, the so-narman works in the most liberal and creative of environments.
Sonar is a talent-based skill that varies from sailor to sailor and some of the best are also some of the most unstable personalities to be awarded a secret clearance. They are most likely encountered in or near the shower as they have an affinity for bathing underway.
Missile Technicians, “MTs," are the stewards of ‘Sherwood Forest.’ Rising between levels in the missile com-partment, 24 large orange trunks fill the nuclear ballistic submarine like an apocalyptic orchard. MTs rove around the ballistic missile tubes checking temperatures and pressures, ensuring their precious reentry vehi-cles and the nuclear warheads nested inside them are very comfortable.
Auxillarymen, or an “A-Ganger,” is a hostile creature and the natural predator of the sonarman. A combination of ‘Nuke Waste,’ a sailor who failed nuclear power school, and a backyard diesel mechanic, the A-Ganger is the gruffest, foul-mouthed sailor onboard any United States Navy vessel. They are responsible for scrubbing the atmosphere clean, managing the waste tanks, and keeping the sweet Fairbanks Morse diesel engine run-ning smoothly. They appear to be a less evolved Nuclear Mechanic whose smell is as rank as their language.
The Torpedoman can always be found in the torpedo room. Both on watch and off watch, the torpedo room is the crew’s social center on an attack submarine. A master of small arms and heavy explosives, the Torpe-doman is the weapons master of the crew. They are always cleaning rifles and polishing the torpedo tubes to a new level of brass brightness. They are often found in pairs due to their reader-worker routines, checklist and grease pencil in hand. If you find yourself in the torpedo room, look for the most heavily armed person there and that is your Torpedoman.
The Cooks, or Mess Specialists, are the most liked persons of the submarine crew. They dish out 1,000 calo-ries of happiness every six hours, every day and keep the crew fueled.
While every crewman has their watch team and circle of friends, everyone knows the cooks. Clad in very dis-
July 2020 Page 22
tinctive white chefs outfits and paper hats, they manage to serve up chow with a smile and light banter to keep morale up.
Anyone who has spent time at sea respects the cook.
Yeomen are crewmen with a very specific skill. They can type. Commonly found in the ‘Yeomen Shack’ hunched over a keyboard like Schroeder on the piano or in the torpedo room yammering about how they don’t have to stand watch because they work so much. The Yeoman is the Executive Officer’s right hand and has a chest full of Navy Achievement Medals to prove it. He or she processes the paperwork bureaucracy that keeps the Navy afloat and flowing in the right direction.
Doc, the submarine’s Corpsman, also known as the “Pecker Checker,” keeps everyone healthy or at least can identify when someone is not. From dispensing the Navy’s universal cure, Motrin, to the ‘morale check’ (a slap on the crotch), the Doc makes sure everyone has absorbed enough radiation for evolutionary mutation and is ready to stand watch.
This is the American Submarine crew. On their own, they may be goofy and socially awkward, but as a crew, this band of misfits becomes the best warfighters I have ever had the honor of serving with.
Life on board a submarine is rewarding because it is a demonstration of what a diverse group of people can achieve under incredibly difficult conditions.
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Inside the 'silent service': An interview with the Navy's top submarine admiral
Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner, June 23
The Navy's submarine force remains the world's most technically and professionally capable undersea com-bat force. With an impressive penchant for aggressive but calculated risk-taking, U.S. submarine crews deter threats, collect vital intelligence, and stand ready to defeat adversaries.
The top line officer responsible for this "silent service" is Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of submarine forces. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the Washington Examiner.
Washington Examiner: Considering rising Russian undersea competency and capability, how confident are you of confidently being able to track the Northern Fleet's nuclear ballistic missile submarines from their de-parture to return?
Caudle: I am extremely confident that our anti-submarine warfare forces are able to respond to any subma-rine threat we face. No undersea force, past or present, can match today’s U.S. submarine force. That said, it is imperative that we recognize and decisively counter the operational threats posed by our potential adver-saries as they improve their capabilities. We continue to prioritize those threats to make the right investments to ensure we maintain our competitive advantage.
Washington Examiner: How are you grappling with the challenge of operational needs regarding China, Rus-sia, and other contingencies?
Caudle: Our undersea forces are deployed globally and stand ready to answer the nation’s call with persistent lethality. The mission of our undersea forces is to execute the mission of the U.S. Navy in and from the under-sea domain. In addition to integrating and multiplying added capacity to Naval forces, the submarine force, in particular, is expected to leverage the special advantages that come with undersea concealment to permit operational, deterrent, and combat effects that the Navy and the Nation could not otherwise achieve. These effects may be delivered within the undersea domain or across domain boundaries; they may be delivered from submarines far-forward or in broad ocean areas; they may be the result of carefully coordinated opera-tions with other forces or achieved by independent operations; and they may be accomplished in peacetime, a time of tension, or during conflict.
Washington Examiner: To what degree do you anticipate a greater evolution towards unmanned undersea combat and sensor platforms?
Caudle: Unmanned systems will play an integral role in the future of undersea warfare. We are working close-ly with the defense industrial base, academia, and our warfare development centers to study, develop, and field the right mix of unmanned platforms and sensors, as well as how to best employ them. In planning for the future of undersea innovation and dominance, we are also looking for where artificial intelligence, ma-chine learning, and big-data analytics can be used to work more efficiently at fleet scale to improve the speed and quality of our decision-making process.
July 2020 Page 23
Washington Examiner: How and why has the Navy's submarine force retained such a continued comfort with high-risk operations? As an example, the latitude given to commanders to take significant risks in where they travel (such as into the White Sea)?
Caudle: We are never comfortable with high-risk operations; however, we are confident that our submarine crews and commanding officers are highly trained and ready to successfully execute the complex tasks we give them. Our submarines go through an extremely rigorous training and certification process before they deploy. It is also about trust — we trust our commanding officers and crews to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct and competency at all times. They have spent their careers preparing to do the chal-lenging missions that our nation asks them to do. So, when you combine that trust with a rigorous training and certification process, we have the confidence that our warriors have the right skills and decision-making abili-ties to get their jobs done safely and effectively.
Washington Examiner: How important will the Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines be in re-taining an effective unseen nuclear deterrent capability? I.e., do rising Sino-Russian sensor-kill capabilities pose a threat of rendering the Ohio-class obsolete as credible strategic deterrent platforms?
Caudle: Our ballistic missile submarines are the most survivable leg of the nuclear triad, providing the nation with an assured response capability unmatched by any other country. The Ohio-class has been a workhorse for our nation for several decades, and I am confident that it will continue to provide a reliable and credible deterrent until Columbia comes online. The Columbia-class submarine is the most important Navy acquisition program and represents a significant investment in maintaining our strategic deterrent into the future. We will continue to drive affordability, technology development, and integration efforts to deliver Columbia [class-submarines] on time to ensure we seamlessly provide strategic maritime forces to deter aggression from any adversary.
Washington Examiner: Considering the Navy's confirmation of unidentified aerial phenomena in proximity to carrier strike groups, would you foresee a change away from the submarine force's reflexively identifying su-percavitating sonar tracks as sensor glitches? Instead, identifying some tracks as unidentified undersea phe-nomena?
Caudle: We routinely train our crews to track every sonar contact, then rigorously evaluate that contact to identify what it is — merchant, warship, submarine, fishing vessel, or just environmental noise like whales, fish, or weather. Our highly proficient crews and our extraordinary sensors are the best in the world, and our training is constantly evaluated and updated to account for changes in the environment. I don’t foresee any changes to the way we identify, classify, track, and evaluate contacts as a result of the issue you mention.
Washington Examiner: How concerned are you that unprofessional Russian undersea activity, such as high-speed runs towards U.S. submarines, might result in a critical incident?
Caudle: Our submarines are extremely quiet with the most advanced sonar and combat systems in the world — an advantage that allows us to operate clandestinely around the globe. As a result, we don’t assess the type of unprofessional behavior to which you’re referring as a significant risk. That said, the United States, NATO, and our regional partners reserve the right to operate freely, consistent with international law, and we expect safe and professional conduct by all nations, including Russia, in international waters and airspace.
Washington Examiner: What would be the benefits to NATO of European member states being willing to de-ploy their submarine forces in greater frequency?
Caudle: Our allies and partners, including NATO, are extremely important to ensuring regional stability and will be critical in resolving any potential conflict. We routinely operate with European submarine forces in ex-ercises and real-world operations. Just like our Navy, the more their forces are able to be at sea and train for their wartime mission, especially when integrated with our forces, the more prepared we will be if called upon to respond to a crisis. In my view, more is always better when it comes to at-sea operations.
Washington Examiner: Anything else you wish to add?
Caudle: Our submarines are deployed globally and stand ready to answer the nation’s call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. What our undersea forces accomplish every day is vitally important to our nation’s defense. The submarine force is a critical part of global maritime security and the nation’s nuclear triad. It is submarine sailors, and their families who support them, that make that happen.
I'm grateful to the Navy, Caudle, and his team for their time. If interested, you can read more of my writings on China and Russia here and here.
July 2020 Page 24
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House panel OK's plan to build 2nd Virginia-class sub, first Columbia-class sub
Mike Gooding, 13NewsNow.com, June 24
WASHINGTON — Under a draft approved this week by the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee, the Navy would get a second Virginia-class attack submarine in the 2021 National De-fense Authorization Act.
"This reverses one of the most confounding elements of the budget elimination of the Virginia-class subma-rine, which would have disrupted the two-a-year build rate for the first time in a decade," said Rep. Joe Court-ney (D-Connecticut).
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Virginia, 1st District) added: "With the Navy proving the industrial base has the capacity to execute this submarine, and the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gilday indicating this is his number one unfunded requirement, it is imperative that the Congress moves to alleviate this sharp reduction in overall at-tack submarines."
Additionally, the same panel OK'd the Navy's first Columbia-class ballistic sub.
"With the construction of 12 Columbia class submarines in a timeline-constrained effort and a proposed in-vestment of almost $110 billion, we must get this right," said Wittman.
Much money is at stake; a Virginia-class sub costs around $2.8 billion while the Columbia-class sub will cost about $8.8
billion. And that work and money would be divided between the two companies which build the vessels in a unique partnership: General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, and Newport News Shipbuilding.
"The announcement of the pending appropriation for the submarines is significant in that even for Newport News, it's a multi-billion dollar deal. It translates into thousands of jobs," said Tidewater Community College Business Professor Peter Shaw. "So if you've got big paychecks in the hundreds of millions or billions of dol-lars being pumped into the economy, this is definitely a positive event for Hampton Roads, especially given the pandemic economy climate we're in now."
"This is good news for the nation, good news for the Navy. It's good news for Virginia, for Hampton Roads and certainly for Newport News Shipbuilding," said retired Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, who is executive di-rector of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance.
Beci Brenton, Corporate Director for Public Affairs for Huntington Ingalls Industries, parent company of New-port News Shipbuilding, said in a statement to 13News Now:
"This is the first step in a long and complex budget process, and we will continue to work closely with the Navy and Congress as the process moves forward. The addition of a second Virginia-class submarine, and the required advanced procurement, maintains the current two ship per year build rate which supports the critical submarine industrial base.”
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The Navy’s New Columbia-class Submarine is Destroying the Navy’s Budget
Caleb Larson, National Interest, June 24
The Navy’s number one officer and chief of naval operations, Adm. Michael Gilday, said that the U.S. Navy needs more money.
The primary reason? The yet to be built Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
The Columbias are to replace the aging Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarines which first entered service in the early 1980s. Gilday drew parallels to the Navy’s budget in the 1980s, which was proportionally larger than today’s naval budget. Speaking at a naval symposium, Gilday said, “One percent of the DoD budget would be $7 billion per year in the shipbuilding accounts,” he explained. “If I make some comparison from today and I go back to the 1980s, there are some similarities there.”
Proportionally, the Columbia-class just costs more than the Ohios did, Gilday explained, saying “Now, let’s go back to when we were building Ohio in the 1980s: It was about 20 percent of the shipbuilding budget. Right now, Columbia is about 20-25 percent. In FY26-30 it’s going to be about 32 percent. That’s a lot of dough. In the 1980s, the Navy’s percentage of the DoD budget was 38 percent. Right now, it’s 34. So, I think historically I have a case to make.”
July 2020 Page 25
Overall, the Columbia program will cost a whopping $109 billion and is the Navy’s number one priority. Bal-ancing the costs of the Columbia program against other, lesser priorities will be a challenge.
The case for an increased naval budget makes sense. China’s PLA Navy is building up — and fast. Accord-ing to some, the Chinese fleet is the fastest growing in the world. In order to counter the threat China’s navy poses to U.S. interests, more boats might be needed.
The Trump administration’s policy of building a 355-ship Navy by 2034 is intended to better meet the chal-lenge in the Pacific, but the way in which the Navy reaches that target has been criticized. To meet the 355-hull requirement, a number of upgraded but decidedly aged Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are to supplement the Navy’s fleet numbers. Due to the class’ age, they may prove to be of limited usefulness in modern naval warfare, especially as lasers, directed energy weapons, and other more advanced capabilities are improved and put into operational deployment. The Arleigh Burke-class simply cannot produce the necessary energy output to power these weapon systems with the limited onboard space they have.
The Columbia-class is rightly the Navy’s top priority and will ensure the Navy can field a capable replacement to the Ohio-class. Still, balancing the Columbia program with naval fleet expansion will be extremely difficult at current budgetary levels without preventing a loss in capabilities. To prevent the Navy from becoming a hollow force, Congress may need to shift resources seaward.
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Columbia-Class: The Most 'Stealth' U.S. Navy Submarine Ever?
Kris Osborn, National Interest, June 24
The very first nuclear-armed Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine will hit the wide ocean in 2031, mark-ing an enterprising beginning to a new era of undersea strategic deterrence.
The move will bring new levels of navigational, command and control, weapons and quieting technologies to undersea warfare, as the Columbia-class will possibly be the stealthiest submarine ever to exist. The concept is both clear and well known: patrol the vast ocean in striking positions with submarine-launched Trident II D5 nuclear-armed missiles to ensure a catastrophic second strike in the event the U.S. mainland is subject to nu-clear attack.
Early construction, science and technology efforts, prototyping and advanced electronics for the submarines have been underway for several years, and now the Navy is taking a new, vigorous step to expedite the arri-val of the new platforms. The Navy has awarded a Columbia-class submarine construction deal to General Dynamics Electric Boat for an amount possibly up to $10 billion to build the first two of twelve planned boats.
Immediate work, as stated in DoD’s announcement, will include work on the U.K. Strategic Weapon Support System Kit as well as “continued design completion, engineering work and design support efforts.” The deal is also intended to help fortify the industrial base, the contract announcement states.
The contract will support ongoing “tube and hull forging” to prepare the submarine’s missile tubes for integra-tion into the boat, and also greatly accelerate current work on Columbia’s state-of-the-art, cutting edge elec-tric drive propulsion system.
In today’s Ohio-class submarines, a reactor plant generates heat which creates steam, Navy officials ex-plained. The steam then turns turbines which produce electricity and also propel the ship forward through “reduction gears” which are able to translate the high-speed energy from a turbine into the shaft RPMs need-ed to move a boat propeller.
The electric-drive system is expected to be quieter (i.e., stealthier) than a mechanical-drive system,” a Con-gressional Research Service report on Columbia-Class submarines from earlier this year states.
Designed to be 560-feet long and house sixteen Trident II D5 missiles fired from forty-four-foot-long missile tubes, Columbia-Class submarines will use a quieting X-shaped stern configuration. The “X”-shaped stern will restore maneuverability to submarines; as submarine designs progressed from using a propeller to using a propulsor to improve quieting, submarines lost some surface maneuverability, Navy officials explained.
Navy developers explain that electric-drive propulsion technology still relies on a nuclear reactor to generate heat and create steam to power turbines. However, the electricity produced is transferred to an electric motor rather than so-called reduction gears to spin the boat’s propellers.
The use of an electric motor brings other advantages as well, according to an MIT essay written years ago when electric drive was being evaluated for submarine propulsion.
July 2020 Page 26
Using an electric motor optimizes use of installed reactor power in a more efficient way compared with me-chanical drive submarines, making more on-board power available for other uses, according to an essay called “Evaluation and Comparison of Electric Propulsion Motors for Submarines.” Author Joel Harbour says that on mechanical drive submarines, 80-percent of the total reactor power is used exclusively for propulsion.
“With an electric drive submarine, the installed reactor power of the submarine is first converted into electrical power and then delivered to an electric propulsion motor. The now available electrical potential not being used for propulsion could easily be tapped into for other uses,” he writes.
The Navy plans to ultimately build twelve Columbia-class submarines.
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Why the U.S. Navy Needs More Virginia-Class Attack Submarines
Kris Osborn, National Interest, June 24
Many in Congress are hoping the Pentagon receives enough funding to secure the acquisition of more Virgin-ia-class attack submarines on a faster timetable to help offset an anticipated submarine shortage, best lever-age the many technical advances contained in the submarine and optimize the fast-growing execution of un-dersea reconnaissance missions.
The House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces announced its proposals for the mark-up of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021; the subcommittee recommends the restoration of a second Virginia-class submarine and the required advanced procurement to maintain the two-per-year build rate, as reported by Seapower Magazine.
Additional attack submarines promise to bring new levels of undersea firepower, drone control and stealthy reconnaissance technology in the nearer term.
While firepower and attack weapons are naturally still a major area of focus for Virginia-Class submarines, the expanding ISR mission scope made possible by new technologies has provided key inspiration for senior Na-vy developers and members of Congress who have been working vigorously to increase the size of the attack submarine fleet.
Land weapons, port activities and other enemy movements in coastal or island areas are more difficult for deeper draft surface ships to access, often complicating surveillance missions – without giving away their po-sition. Surface ships and the drones or aircraft they operate could, in a variety of operational environments, would be more “detectable” to enemy radar and sensors when compared to attack submarines. Given these and other variables, Virginia-class submarines are becoming increasingly critical to clandestine “intel” mis-sions beneath the surface in high-risk areas.
Virginia-Class submarines are engineered with “Fly-by-Wire” capability which allows the ship to quietly linger in shallow waters without having to surface or have each small move controlled by a human operator. With this technology, a human operator will order depth and speed, allowing software to direct the movement of the planes and rudder to maintain course and depth. The ships can be driven primarily through software code and electronics, thus freeing up time and energy for an operator who does not need to manually control each small maneuver, Navy program managers have told the National Interest.
This technology, using upgradeable software and fast-growing AI applications, widens the mission envelope for the attack submarines by vastly expanding their ISR potential. Using real-time analytics and an instant ability to draw upon and organize vast databases of information and sensor input, computer algorithms can now perform a range of procedural functions historically performed by humans. This can increase the speed of maneuverability and an attack submarine's ability to quickly shift course, change speed or alter depth posi-tioning when faced with attacks.
“The most important feature for maneuvering in littoral waters is the fly-by-wire control system, whereby com-puters in the control center electronically adjust the submarine's control surfaces, a significant improvement from the hydraulic systems used in the Los Angeles-class,” a 2016 Stanford University “The Future of Nuclear Submarines” paper by Alexander Yachanin writes.
The U.S. Navy’s 2018 “Commander’s Intent for the United States Submarine Force,” writes - “We are unique-ly capable of, and often best employed in, stealthy, clandestine and independent operations……. we exploit the advantages of undersea concealment which allow us to: Conduct undetected operations such as strategic deterrent patrols, intelligence collection, Special Operations Forces support, non-provocative transits, and re-positioning,” the Navy strategy document writes.
July 2020 Page 27
Virginia-class subs are armed with Tomahawk missiles, torpedoes and other weapons able to perform a range of missions; these include anti-submarine warfare, strike warfare, covert mine warfare, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance), anti-surface/ship warfare and naval special warfare, some-thing described as having the ability to carry and insert Special Operations Forces. Future Virginia-Class submarines provide improved littoral (coastal waters) capabilities, sensors, special operations force employ-ment, and strike warfare capabilities.
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USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS
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USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-039
NEWS-01: USSVI Voting information / instructions
Submitted by: Tom Conlon, PNC, Election Master on 6/16/2020
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Shipmates,
Online voting will begin at 0001 on June 18, 2020 and continue to 2359 on August 17, 2020. When voting begins, login to the USSVI web site (ussvi.org) with your user name and password. Click on “Vote in Poll” and the 2020 National Ballot, make your sel for the various Officers and C&B Proposed Amendments and cast your ballot. You may also write in a candidate’s name for any elected office, It’s that easy!
To vote by paper ballot, login to the USSVI web site, click on the GREEN “Documents” button (fourth button down), click on “Organization,” then click on “Next” to get to the second page. Then click on “2020 National Ballot.” You can download or print a copy of the ballot.
As always, you can use the ballot printed in The American Submariner.
If you vote by paper ballot, I must receive your ballot no later than August 17th, If I receive any ballots after August 17th, I will not count them.
Base Commanders: You may print as many copies as necessary and bring them to a Base meeting. You can send your Base’s ballots as a “package” to me
Remember, each member must complete his own ballot. Members may not complete ballots for other mem-bers (proxy voting).
Once your ballot is complete mail it to me.
Tom Conlon, PNC USSVI Election Master 8 Davis Ave. Harrison, NJ 07029
Your vote is your voice in the operation of our organization.
Best Regards, Tom Conlon, PNC Election Master
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USSVI OFFICIAL BUSINESS: SubVet News - #2020-040
July 2020 Page 28
NEWS-01: New Chaplain's Manual
Submitted by: Carsten Stigers, National Chaplain on 6/21/2020
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Shipmates,
The new Chaplain’s Manual is now posted online. To access it, go to the website, www.ussvi.org and click on the green “Documents” button on the left side of the home page. Next, click on the blue “Manuals” button. Page forward to the third page. The manual is the third item on that page.
Carsten Stigers National Chaplain United States Submarine Veterans
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The following selected history articles are part of Undersea Warfare News weekly news bulletin emails during the month of June 2020. This day in Undersea Warfare History
http://www.subforce.navy.mil/
June 1, 1939 | Capt. Hollis M. Cooley, director of the Naval Research Laboratory, proposes research in atomic energy for future use in nuclear powered submarine.
June 2, 1943 | USS PC 565 sinks German submarine U 521 off the Virginia capes. The German sub had sunk four Allied merchant vessels, including two U.S. vessels: tanker Hahira (Nov. 3, 1942) and merchant Molly Pitcher (March 18, 1943).
June 3, 1949 | Midshipman Wesley A. Brown becomes the first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.
June 4, 1942 | The Battle of Midway begins. During that morning, after sending planes to attack the U.S. base at Midway, the Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga and Soryu are fatally damaged by dive bombers from USS Enterprise (CV 6) and USS Yorktown (CV 5). Later in the day, USS Yorktown is abandoned after bomb and torpedo hits by planes from Hiryu. The latter is, in turn, knocked out by U.S. carrier planes. Com-pelled by their losses to abandon their plans to capture Midway, the Japanese retire westward. The battle is a decisive win for the U.S, bringing an end to Japanese naval superiority in the Pacific.
June 5, 1794 | The first officers of the U.S. Navy under the new United States Constitution are appoint-ed: John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale, and Thomas Truxtun. They are also asked to supervise the construction of new ships.
June 8, 1943 | USS Finback (SS 230) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks auxiliary minelayer Kahoku Maru about 100 miles north of Palau.
June 9, 1959 | USS George Washington (SSBN 598), the first U.S. Navy nuclear-powered fleet ballistic mis-sile submarine, is christened and launched at Groton, Conn.
June 10, 1945 | USS Skate (SS 305) sinks Japanese submarine (I 122) in the Sea of Japan.
June 11, 1871 | During the Korean Expedition, Rear Adm. John Rodgers squadron lands a party of 650 Ma-rines and Sailors to attack and capture Fort McKee (also known as the Citadel), Korea. Fifteen receive the Medal of Honor for their action during the capture of the Korean fort. June 12, 1957 | More than 100 ships from 17 nations take part in the International Naval Review at Hampton Roads, Va. in honor of the 350th an-niversary of Jamestown, Va.
July 2020 Page 29
June 15, 1864 | During the Civil War, the side-wheel steamer, USS Lexington, commanded by Lt. George Bache, and a boat crew from the side-wheel steamer, USS Tyler, capture three steamers aiding Confeder-ates off Beulah Landing, Miss.
June 16, 1945 | In heavy seas, USS Devilfish (SS 292) attacked an enemy submarine carrying a midget sub-marine on its deck.
June 17, 1944 | USS Flounder (SS 251) In the Philippine Sea during the assault on the Mariana Islands, Flounder made a sound contact which resulted in her sinking a 2681-ton transport. Escorts immediately be-gan a persistent, vigorous and ineffective counter-attack.
June 18, 1957 | Adm. Arleigh A. Burke, chief of naval operations, approves the ship characteristics of the fleet ballistic missile submarine. June 19, 1943 | USS Gunnel (SS 253) damages Japanese gunboat Hong Kong Maru (ex-Philippine Argus), and sinks freighter Tokiwa Maru and costal minesweeper Tsubame off Shi-rase, Japan. Also on this date, USS Sculpin (SS 191) sinks Japanese guardboat No.1 Miyasho Maru and ar-my cargo ship Sagami Maru off Inubo Saki, Japan.
June 22, 1963 | The nuclear-powered submarines USS Tecumseh (SSBN 628), USS Daniel Boone (SSBN 629), USS Flasher (SSN 613), and USS John Calhoun (SSBN 630) are all launched in one day, emphasizing the Navy’s accelerated nuclear-submarine construction program.
June 23, 1945 | USS Parche (SS 384) sank several trawlers by gunfire.
June 24, 1944 | Navy submarines USS Grouper (SS 214), USS Redfin (SS 272) and USS Tang (SS 306) at-tack Japanese convoys off the coast of Japan, sinking seven enemy vessels.
June 25, 1942 | USS Nautilus (SS 168) sinks the Japanese destroyer, Yamakaze, southeast of Yokosuka, Japan. June 26, 1945 | USS Devilfish (SS 292) attacks an escort ship. During this patrol, she acted as life-guard for strikes accompanying the Okinawa operation, and rendezvoused several times with other subma-rines to take off medical cases and rescued aviators.
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Do you have a short story, food for thought, or funny story to share? Let me know at [email protected]
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A wonderful uplifting story!!!
A balding, white haired man walked into a jewelry store this past Friday evening with a beautiful much young-er gal at his side. He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend. The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $15,000 ring.
The man said, 'No, I'd like to see something more special. Price is immaterial.
At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over. 'Here's a stunning ring at only $140,000’ the jeweler said. “It’s the famous Azure Blue which belonged to a Maharajah.”
The lady's eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement. Seeing this, the old man said, 'We'll take it.'
The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the man stated, 'By check. I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I'll write it now and you can call the bank Monday to verify the funds; I'll pick the ring up Monday afternoon.'
July 2020 Page 30
On Monday morning, the jeweler angrily phoned the old man and said 'Sir...There's no money in that ac-count!’
''I know,' said the old man...'But let me tell you about my weekend.”
Not All Seniors Are Senile…
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Down at the Retirement Center
80-year old Bessie bursts into the rec room at the retirement home.
She holds her clenched fist in the air and announces, "Anyone who can guess what's in my hand can have sex with me tonight!!"
An elderly gentleman in the rear shouts out, "An elephant?"
Bessie thinks a minute and says, "Close enough."
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Old Friends
Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades. Over the years, they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards.
One day, they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me... I know we've been friends for a long time but I just can't think of your name. I've thought and thought, but I can't re-member it. Please tell me what your name is."
Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her. Finally she said, "How soon do you need to know?"
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Sea Stories
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Do you have sea stories to share? Please send them to me for future Deck Logs. Your Editor,
When trying to upload another sea story from the www.olgoat.com (After Battery) website, It no longer is
available and no explanation was provided. I found another source for Sea Stories: see http://
www.submarinesailor.com/stories/
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Clear Baffles
http://www.submarinesailor.com/stories/ClearBaffles.htm
A new Ltjg was on the conn alone, possibly his first or second time. I was on watch in the sonar shack and picked up a 50hz tone on the towed array that might have been a possible Russian. I turned to Chief Kennelly who was the sonar sup at the time and said "Chief we may have something here".
He reported the contact to the conn, and was recommending some immediate course changes to confirm my contact.
The OOD, this new LTjg, walked from Conn to the sonar shack and said with a cocky tone in his voice "Are you sure we have to make a course change now?"
At this point Chief Kennelly barked at the young officer "HEY!.... I may not be GOD, but I am qualified to stand the watch! Now get out there and do a baffle clear NOW!" The officer did not speak a word, he turned and walked back out to Conn, and could be heard loudly saying HELM come right 90 degrees!
I will not confirm or deny any 50hz contact or how and when we performed baffle clearing maneuvers. I *WILL* confirm though that Chief Kennelly could chew a new asshole into any officer or enlisted that doubted his abilities to perform his job as a sonarman. He *WAS* damn good and he taught us to be that good too. :)
Jim Combs ex STS1SS USS George Washington Carver SSBN656 Gold