Virginia class sub suited for the shallow waters off Iran

Senor_Vicente , from what i have read . the "Anechoic tiles " on modern subs are designed to prevent active sonars getting a ` return ` , by absorbing and disapating the pulses . see this wikki article for details

subs are far easier to clad in such energy absorbant matterials than aircraft , as the weight limit is not such a critical factor

one question that springs to mind though is the prop , pictures i have seen show chuffing HUGE props , like this one :




so i have to ask - isnt a peice of phosphor bonze or stainless steel that big - polished with precise pitches is going to be a massive sonar reflector bouncing active sonar pings straight back to the seeker , yes ?

Originally posted by Senor_Vicente
Being quiet only gets you so far; a torpedo will find you using active sonar witch sends sound waves in all directions and then it analyzies the waves bounceing back and follows a route based on it's analysis.

true but if ur too quiet for them to know you are there then they wont launch a torpedo will they.

Justin

That propellor in your picture is a nice propellor..very nice. It just isn't a submarine propellor. While I wont go into specifics...suffice it to say that the one you posted is from a surface ship not a submarine.

Thanks,
Orangetom

If you look at some of the past submarine threads on ATS you will find out that the major western navies use pump jets not propellers on their submarines. Coatings are also used to help reduce the sound and prevent fouling (keeping fouling at bay helps keep a clean flow over the blades which in turn reduces noise and keeps the propeller working efficiently)

prop coatings are now also being trialled on merchant ships.

I didn't know about the tiles, thanks. I did know that being quiet is the biggest thing for a submarine to follow, especially the missile boats. Just out of curiosoty how many people here have been on a Submarine?

You posted: "Just out of curiosoty how many people here have been on a Submarine? "


Sorry ..I just find this very funny.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Originally posted by Senor_Vicente
I didn't know about the tiles, thanks. I did know that being quiet is the biggest thing for a submarine to follow, especially the missile boats. Just out of curiosoty how many people here have been on a Submarine?

Well, I saw a suspicious looking black periscope cutting through the surf a few miles off the Aussie coast once...ing towards a base where LA class subs are known to dock.

Originally posted by Senor_Vicente
Just out of curiosoty how many people here have been on a Submarine?

I've been on two myself, but just as a tourist of course. One was a WW2 era sub that sits out in San Francisco. I forget what type of sub it was exactly. I'm sure it's still there. The other one i've been on is a Russian Foxtrot Class that sits out here in New Westminster, BC.

years ago..I was visiting the Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland Harbor. Outside tied up at the pier was a olde fleet boat with the TigerShark teeth painted on the bow. I knew I had to go on her. Problem is I dont remember the name of the boat.
You couldnt go in all compartments on the boat but some spaces were open ...control room, Aft torpedo room. These boats had smaller torpedo tubes than now days. 19 inch I think. I recognized part of the rudder operating mechanism and what was back in those days a high pressure hydraulic system.
The control room seemed to have two levels...one like todays control rooms and another level up in the sail. IT seems like they shouted or used some kind of headset to communicate between the two levels. As I recall,its been years back, the periscope was on the upper level..which surprised me.
One thing about them that hasnt changed...they too were not spacious accomodations....not exactly the Raddison/Marriot Hotel. A bit better accomodations today but not any more spacious.
Nevertheless it was a good tour. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to briefly step back in to a time warp.

Thanks,
Orangetom

correct me if i'm wrong jra but didn't the edmonton mall have more subs than the canadian navy's submarines with their 3 they have at the mall ( if they still have them that is )

Originally posted by bigx01
correct me if i'm wrong jra but didn't the edmonton mall have more subs than the canadian navy's submarines with their 3 they have at the mall ( if they still have them that is )

haha it's been a while since i've been to that mall. But I think the numbers are close.

EDIT: I just checked. The navy has 4 subs.

[edit on 25-3-2006 by jra]

More subs at the mall than in a navy? heck, I find it funney that the numbers should even be close!

On the other hand, I think the US has more aircraft carriers as museums than most of the rest of the world. combined.

It is true that it is easy to detect a sub when going active on your sonar. But you will then be giving away your position to your enemy as well. Any ASW commander trying to hunt subs should know better than to go active before you have your enemys position triangulated using passive sonobuoys. Its much safer for your ship to go about subhunting this way. Then again, if the subs get below the layer then passive wont cut it.

but if you're hanging out in the litorals, where 'the layer' very well may not exist, or at least be shallow enough to put a towed array under, you've got to go back to step one and try being quieter.