noise on their own. No expense is spared to make the hull clean of anything that might disturb the water flow and create noise. Even the huge seven-bladed propeller, made of a special bronze alloy, is specifically designed to prevent and delay the onset of cavitation.
Sail/Fairwater
If we were to move to the top of the fairwater, we could just squeeze into the tiny bridge area. It is extremely cramped and has only the most basic of navigational aids to support getting in and out of harbor. In the past, submarine captains actually used to fight their submarines from this position. But with the advent of nuclear- powered subs, which spend most of their time underwater-
Just behind the bridge position are the masts containing the various sensors for the boat. These include the attack and search periscopes as well as the ESM, radar, and communications masts. Some of these masts actually penetrate the hull and provide the boat with its eyes and electronic ears to the world topside. In addition, a floating antenna is reeled out from a point on the after part of the fairwater to provide
Control Room
Walking the few feet aft into the control room you are immediately struck by the fact that the air is clean and fresh and the room is brightly lit. And while the room is full of busy people and packed with gear, it is not really confining. One popular misconception is that if you are claustrophobic, you will not be able to live and work on a submarine-on the contrary, the very fact that over a hundred men are working, eating, and living in this confined metal tube can be reassuring.
In the middle of the control room is a raised platform with the periscopes in the middle of it. The forward part is the watch station for the officer of the deck (OOD). Here he has full view of all of
The navigation and plotting areas are at the rear of the compartment. Down the port side of the control room are the various navigational systems, including the new Nav-star global positioning system (GPS) receiver. It is most noticeable by the gap that it sits in. Where before there was a rack of navigational equipment that took up 4 to 6 cubic feet of volume, the GPS system, which gives a three-dimensional navigational fix accurate to within 9 feet/3 meters, is a wonder taking up only about 60 cubic inches. It derives its accuracy from a series of twenty-four satellites operating in low earth orbit. The readouts show the exact latitude and longitude, as well as a number of different useful functions. So accurate is the GPS system that some U.S. Navy ship captains have been able to make blind approaches to piers in heavy fog using only GPS as a reference. The only limitation to GPS is that the
The plotting area, aft of the periscopes, has a pair of automated plotting tables, though most of the movements are plotted by hand. Despite what one might think, most of the plotting of
The periscopes are mounted side by side, with the Type 2 attack scope to port and the Mk 18 search scope to the starboard. The Type 2 is a basic optical periscope with no advanced optics and only a simple daylight optical capability. The majority of the periscope work is done through the Type 18. It is the most advanced periscope currently fitted to a U.S. sub. In addition to its straight optical capability it has a low-light operating mode, which can be projected onto a number of television monitors around the boat. It is also equipped with a 70mm camera for taking periscope photos, as well as the readouts for the Electronic Support Measures (ESM) receiver mounted on top of the Type 18 mast. It also has an antenna for the GPS receiver mounted on it. This is a truly great scope, capable of almost any activity that might be asked of a periscope. The masts for the two scopes go up through the fairwater; they may be coated with a radar-absorbing material (known as RAM) to keep their radar signature down.
The ship control area, located in the forward portside corner, has three bucket seats-with seat belts-as well as room for another person to stand. Normally it is manned by two enlisted personnel who operate the diving planes and rudder (called the planesman and helmsman), and the diving officer and the chief of the watch controlling the ballast and trim. The planesman and helmsman are faced with aircraft-style control wheels, and sit facing a bank of control readouts and instruments. There is no view of the surrounding sea and even if there were, it would do little good. At depths over a few hundred feet very little light penetrates, and the sea becomes, as Jacques-Yves Cousteau calls it, 'a dark and silent world.'