Quote:
Originally Posted by TLAM Strike
partially true. It really depends on who you ask, there are two camps on the subj each with their own supporters. I try to remain impartial.
Nucs at cruise speeds tend to be noisy, not because the are nuclear powered alone but because they have pumps to cool the reactor and turbines to turn the screw. Now there have been experiments to overcome this. There have been US Subs with a turbo-electric drive instead of a turbine (Glenard P. Lipscomb and Tullibee), both were very quiet but the TE drive was complex, and resulted in slower speeds than turbine equipped subs. The Narwhal had a natural circulation reactor with sea water intakes that gets rid of the coolant pumps. Narwhal was quite possibly the quietest SSN ever built. Her natural circulation reactor (but not the sea water intakes) were repeated on the Ohio SSBNs and maybe other submarines. Natural circulation reactors have also been used on Russian Nuc boats and on the French Rubis class attack boats. At low speeds a Natural Circulation boat will run almost as quiet as a SSK on batteries but still be capable of high SSN Speeds on demand. Personally I think Natural Circulation is the best option for submarine population, especially for submarines tasked with ASW.
As for weapon outfits SSN and SSK have much the same weapons capabilities (diesels tend to have more tubes in fact), although some SSNs have VLS tubes. Nuc boats also have space for larger sensors meaning they are better suited for ASW.
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Amazing info TLAM, thank you.
I was wondering if you have an opinion on why the U.S. will not develop a coastal SSK?
From my very ignorant,but learning point of view it would seem prudent for a number of reasons ,for the US navy to do so.
Like to stay current with the technology, & to save $$, (an SSK has to be cheaper than a SSN), just to name a few.
My haunch is that, often the US is makes the best boat politically & not sensibly.
But again, I must confess I know very little about either type of boat, their strengths, weaknesses, tactical abilities etc..Thats why I come here, to learn more. In fact, as of lately I can almost always be found with my nose in a submarine book or here.