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amicktd The likeliness of underwater military bases are slim to none.
amicktd
reply to post by SadistNocturne
I just understand the extreme difficulty it would require to drive into a hidden cave, underwater gate, or whatever entrance they may have with no eyes. The only capability we have underwater for navigation is charts and sonar. Just to park a submarine at a normal pier on the surface requires tons of training and practice. Not to mention the assistance from tug boats and a pilot onboard. Based on your story of him just all of a sudden being parked at an underwater base at 400ft. Sorry its not gonna happen. Just to maneuver through the channel on the surface requires everyone onboard to be stationed for the maneuvering watch and is a big deal. It takes a 120 people to complete the things we do on submarines not just a few.
miniatus
I can totally believe underwater military bases exist.. and if they don't I'd be surprised because it makes perfect sense, it also makes them extremely difficult to detect, it protects them from satellite imaging and it also makes them extremely difficult to attack with conventional weapons.. We'd be fools if we didn't have bases like that.
Bedlam
GargIndia
I know for sure that rescue submersibles can dock with submarines. These are used for bringing up crew if a submarine is struck.
A small number of crew can be exchanged while sub is underwater using a docking submersible.
In that case, the submersible docks to the sub. Subs are not way maneuverable. If you're going to pull off an underwater base, you'd likely have to have something on the order of a hole in an underwater cliff wall, with a large chamber inside filled with air. It couldn't be very deep, though, or you'd have hellacious problems with people's health over time with nitrogen.
It is a fact that submarines have been used in tapping undersea communication cables. In such an operation, it is likely that sub needs anchoring.
A nuclear sub is ideal for things like laying listening devices on sea floor or tapping communication cables.
Well, sure, but in that sort of case what you use is a DDS, you put the sub near the bottom and the spook divers lock in and out of the DDS, and all their equipment is in there. If you're going to be intentionally grounding the sub, they used to be able to fit the thing out with seabed skids but I'm not sure they've done that since the '70s, since it screws up the noise profile.
amicktd
reply to post by SadistNocturne
Lol, I always like a good hug. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful or rude by any means, just trying to put a perspective on the situation and give my opinion on the subject.
amicktd
reply to post by MystikMushroom
That would have been something the USS Parche or now the USS Jimmy Carter would do. From what I have heard the USS Parche did have some type of robotic arm or crane type of thing built into the submarine. The problem is that if you were not part of the USS Parche crew. You were not even allowed to see the submarine, no matter what clearance you have. I have been told by friends that were on the Parche that it had that capability, but never witnessed it myself.
SadistNocturne
So awhile back, I'm talking to a friend. They had a TS clearance on board a US Navy nuclear submarine previously while serving back around the turn of the century. He was a cook, and I said to him "wow, that must have been fun!". And then he decided to tell me the following...
"Well, yeah...but you get a chance to observe and learn things. Like, take for instance, we were undersea for a good period of time (I think he said about a week, if I remember correctly), and suddenly we got the signal that we were "docked" over the intercomm. I was desperate to see some sunshine, so I bolted to go get above deck. One of the other crew grabbed me by the arm and said "look at the depth gauge"...it showed us as being some 400ft below the surface of the ocean. I thought this was strange, but went on about my duty. The next morning, I noticed that two or three people who had been on the submarine the entire trip were not in line that morning, and I also noticed two new people onboard, who hadn't reviously been through the mess hall. I asked if anyone had seen the crew I observed to be missing, and all I got was (and I, the OP am paraphrasing here) "it's above your paygrade". I kept an eye open, and never saw those two or three folks I'd noticed missing ever come back through the food line."
My friend went on to tell me that he thinks there is a high chance we have underwater military bases, and that he was part of a team at that time to perform staff rotation on one particular underwater military base.
I just thought this was rather interesting. I'd always heard about D.U.M.B's, but never underwater military bases.
Anyone have anything they can add to this ?
- SN
sneeze100
Been a submariner i would say this is not true. You cant fly them around like a air plane and land on a dime. So to dock with a underwater facility would be nails. And everyone on board knows what you are doing more so for safety as that's the main priority. The sea is a cruel mistress.
Wrabbit2000
reply to post by SadistNocturne
OP, I'm probably going to sound like an idiot for asking ...but given how secretive and 'silent' the "Silent Service" tends to be, I won't feel too bad. Do submariners on modern submarines not have a general awareness of their position in the world? Obviously, in decades past, such information would have been a pain in the butt just to pass along, if no other concern existed about it. These days though?
Or is that just the movie version of what life on a modern sub is like?
I'm just wondering what Ocean and area, if he knew? Even a ballpark idea? A week travel makes for a big big circle of uncertainty...but 400 foot of depth narrows it considerably.
Sacri
A rather interesting read OP. I have always wondered why people working on subs need a TS clearance, its the same here in Australia, as far as I am concerned.
SadistNocturne
I, the OP am paraphrasing here) "it's above your paygrade".
f4andHALFtoads
I love that the fact that a week without sunlight is a 'hole',
in the OP story...
We can only 'believe' what we can believe; based on our own experiences, life is not explicable FACT!
I wouldn't tell lackies that I had underwater bases
CommandoJoe
On "normal" subs, everyone has a Secret clearance at a minimum - if you work in a more sensitive areas(communications as someone else said) then you are required to have a Top Secret clearance... And to confirm what amicktd said, on special OPs subs like the Parche everyone will have a TS clearance. The Parche was stationed at the same Base as my sub, but they had their own little dock separate from everyone else... Looks like it has since been decommissioned though. If your friend was on the Parche, I think that would be something of note he would have mentioned since they handle most of the super secret black ops missions and that would be a point of pride for most people.