Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship

something of an understatement. Called the 'Jimmy Carter memorial submarine base' by many people in the submarine force, it is something of a concession to the power of the State of Georgia, especially to Senator Sam Nunn and former president Jimmy Carter.

The other major facility on the Atlantic coast is the sub base at Groton, Connecticut. Let's go there now and get to know more about 'the home of the dolphins.'

Groton-Home of the Dolphins

If you drive or take a train northeast from New York City, you will come eventually to the quiet seacoast town of Groton, Connecticut. Here in this little New England seaport you will find the institutional womb of the U.S. submarine force, the U.S. Submarine Base. Within a few miles of this base is the EB building yard, as well as the schools and facilities where virtually every U.S. submariner will, at some time or another, spend time. The most important organization based here is SUBGRU 2. Based in a handsome turn-of-the-century building on the waterfront, it is the command organization for all attack submarines on the Atlantic coast. Currently it is commanded by Rear Admiral David M. Gobel, USN. This includes SUBRON 2 with ten SSNs, two support ships, and the nuclear-powered research submarine NR-1; SUBRON 10 with five SSNs and a support vessel; and SUBDEVRON 12 with six SSNs. In addition to the Groton-based units, SUBRON 2 also controls SUBRON 4 in Charleston, South Carolina (ten SSNs and a tender), as well as SUBRON 6 (seven SSNs and a tender) and SUBRON 8 (ten SSNs and a tender) in Norfolk, Virginia.

As you stroll along the Groton waterfront-and I recommend that you have an escort-you will see almost the full range of SSNs in the U.S. Navy, from the old Permit-class boats currently undergoing decommissioning, to the newest 688I-class boats like the USS Miami (SSN-755). At times it is a place of bizarre contrasts, as the beauty of the New England coastline merges with the low, dark, ominous shapes of the boats. Of particular interest is the dock leading to the boats of SUBDEVRON 12. This is the unit tasked with evaluating new equipment and tactics that will be utilized by the rest of the submarine force. For example, USS Memphis (SSN-691) is currently evaluating the first of the nonpenetrating mast periscope systems that will probably become standard on all new submarines built by the United States.

If you walk up the hill you come to the part of the base that houses the various facilities of the Submarine School. As the primary training pipeline for virtually every U.S. submariner, it is held in special reverence by the men of the U.S. submarine force. In the sprawl of dormitory-style housing, classrooms, and other buildings are some of the most sophisticated training devices ever designed. Not only do these facilities support the Submarine School with its new officer and enlisted recruits, they also provide periodic refresher training for submarine crews when they are in port. Many of the skills taught in these trainers are called brittle or perishable, since they may be forgotten if not practiced regularly.

One whole building is devoted to ship control trainers, where officers and men can learn how to control every type of submarine in the U.S. inventory. The trainers can teach you everything from how to do 'angles and dangles'-maneuvering the helmsman and planesman control consoles-to the ever-popular 'emergency blow.' The trainers resemble those used to teach fighter pilots, and are exact replicas of the control rooms of the subs they represent.

Another trainer that will stun the untrained observer is the 'buttercup,' or flooding trainer. This is essentially a huge swimming pool with a replica of a submarine machinery room inside. From a control room in the side of the trainer, instructors can teach a group of men in real-world conditions how to control flooding casualties ranging from pinpoint leaks in pipes to a huge leak, over 1,000 gallons/3,375 liters per minute, in a main seawater flange connection. The idea is to control a series of leaks around the trainer that can fill it in just a matter of minutes. The training scenarios assume the feeling of a frantic fight for survival, and the crews that take the course love it for the confidence it builds and hate it for the discomfort it generates. If they do it right, the water will be roughly up to their waists if, and when, they finally control the flooding. I should say that the water for this trainer comes from a 20,000-gallon storage tank and is very cold.

Of all the trainers at Groton, none is more impressive than the firefighting trainer in the new facility at Street Hall. This new facility is a positive response to the firefighting casualties incurred on the USS Bonefish (SS-582) and the USS Stark (FFG-31) during the 1980s. Where previously firefighting training was conducted inside a large sewer conduit filled with blazing diesel fuel, it is now conducted in a state-of-the-art trainer that can simulate virtually every fire situation and condition that a submarine sailor might encounter. The trainer replicates, much like the flooding trainer, an engine room on an SSN. Placed strategically around the trainer are a series of propane burners designed to simulate hydraulic oil, fuel oil, electrical, and insulation (called lagging) fires.

^{A firefighting team from the USS Gato (SSN-615) practices their skills in the fire-fighting trainer in Street Hall, Sub Base, Groton, Connecticut. JOHN D. GRESHAM}

After the crews don Nomex jumpsuits and select breathing gear-either a hose-fed compressed air mask from the Emergency Air Breathing (EAB) system or a walkaround breathing system called an Oxygen Breathing Apparatus (OBA), which uses a chemical cartridge to generate oxygen for the user-the drills begin. With all the burners lit, the temperature climbs rapidly toward the training maximum of 145degF/67degC, and there is a decided howl from the fire.

^{Firefighting team practice. Note the team leader, who is using a naval infrared thermal imager (NIFTI) to direct the team's efforts. JOHN D. GRESHAM}

Training instructors are constantly supervising the trainees to make sure their equipment is functioning properly and they are breathing regularly, for above 130degF/58degC, the part of the brain that makes a human breathe automatically shuts down, forcing the trainees to breathe consciously on their own. In addition, the instructors add chemically generated smoke, which can reduce visibility down to about 6 inches. It is like something out of Dante's Inferno, and while it is exciting to watch, even the knowledge that it is a drill cannot prevent feelings of terror.

To fight the simulated fires, the trainees are equipped with a variety of fire extinguishers, fire hoses, and a new thermal imaging device called NIFTI (Navy Infrared Thermal Imager-pronounced 'nifty'). This British-built device allows a sailor to 'see' a fire through the smoke by the heat signature of the fire. So sensitive is the NIFTI that a human body can be located by looking for the heat of human metabolism. The fire extinguishers are designed to fight a variety of different fires. The new AFFF extinguishers, which throw a soapy slurry, are the most popular. Finally, there are a number of fire hoses that can be used to fight the simulated fires.

All in all, the Street Hall facility is a model of high-fidelity training, and similar facilities are being built at other naval bases around the United States.

All of these trainers are very expensive to build, operate, and maintain; in a time of declining funding, they are naturally the targets of those who would cut the defense budget. Nevertheless, I would contend that it is better to decommission an SSN or two rather than give up the valuable training that these facilities provide to the force. For while it is tough to get the money to operate and maintain an asset like a Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine, the sub is just a mass of metal without the men qualified to operate and fight her. The facilities at Groton and other bases are a tribute to the old saying that goes, 'If you think training is expensive, try ignorance!'

The Boat: A Tour of USS Miami (SSN-755)