Can submarines dive/ surface at such an angle the crew literally have to hang on to something to stay still?
What I mean is that when you see a sub diver or surface on TV it comes up smoothly and pretty much horizontally.
Can a sub dive or surface at a really steep angle, for example during some sort of emergency, and if so, what are conditions like for the crew inside? Can you actually feel the harsh angle of descent/ ascent, and you you have to hang on to save yourself from tumbling down in to a torpedo tube?! That must be really exciting, like a roller coaster without windows!
http://adjunct.diodon349.com/photopoint/0042/h0002.htm
Picture of my boat doing an emergency blow a couple of years after I got out.
In the summer of 85 we were doing PCO ops with the USS NYC. During a rest period for us on the midwatch the NYC fired a practice torpedo that came into our op area. We did an emergency deep. I was on the throttles and was partially standing on the lower part of the panel.
Skiing and sledding down Ops Middle Level of a 637 class on wool blankets or in socks is a blast but really sucked being in the battery well during a major angle change.
I might be an army brat but if i know the military then i would have to say no. Atleast not the part about the Torpedo Tube. I believe that there is a pretty steep slant but nothing that a seasoned submariner couldnt handle. Now your coffee cup on the other hand….lets just say they probably use plastic.
References :
Son of a SSG (Ret.)
As a submariner the answer is yes, a sub can take an extreme angle to surface, or dive, to the point where you have to hang on to something. But this is not the usual procedure. The torpedo tubes are kept secure so you won’t fall into them. You may slip and bang against one. Yes it is like a roller coaster ride. One of the tricks we used to do is get as close to the bow as possible and when the ship broached, jump up. The result was you would jump up about two feet, but fall 3-4.
References :
Yes, and sometimes it’s called doing "angles and dangles". It is often done to extremes at times when the sub has had extensive work done on it and they want to test it out. The worst possible example of what you are asking is called an "emergency blow". Imagine holding a plastic bottle of air under the water and letting it go. It shoots above the surface. This can be extremely dangerous. For one reason, you don’t know if there are any boats above you that you may hit.
If there is anyone on board most affected by the changing attitude of the sub, it is the galley (kitchen). Imagine trying to cook in these conditions!
The metal in the hull of the sub is very strong but very flexible. As the sub dives deep, the walls of sub close in from the pressure. Because of this, the deck is a few inches from the hull (wall) and actually attached to the hull on swivels that let it move as the hull shrinks. At some points the sailors will tie a cord from one side to the other and as the sub rises again, the walls move out with the relieving pressure and at some point the string finally snaps.
Worse yet, are the problems of underwater mountains. There have been subs that have hit underwater mountains at full speed, even resulting in death. This happened to the San Francisco. One dead, 20 injured at 500 feet under the water.
References :
http://www.ssbn611.org/images/USS%20San%20Francisco/050127-N-4658L-030.jpg
http://adjunct.diodon349.com/photopoint/0042/h0002.htm
Picture of my boat doing an emergency blow a couple of years after I got out.
In the summer of 85 we were doing PCO ops with the USS NYC. During a rest period for us on the midwatch the NYC fired a practice torpedo that came into our op area. We did an emergency deep. I was on the throttles and was partially standing on the lower part of the panel.
Skiing and sledding down Ops Middle Level of a 637 class on wool blankets or in socks is a blast but really sucked being in the battery well during a major angle change.
References :
xEM1(SS)