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Old 03-29-08, 04:11 PM   #1
Platapus
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Default Put a bubble in Safety

In watching my beloved WWII sub movies, this term comes up.

The command is “Put a bubble in Safety”

Does this have to do with the Safety Ballast Tank or is it in reference to something else?

If it does deal with the Safety Ballast Tank, I am still confused as to what this command really means and why you would do it.

The Safety Ballast Tank is a small pressure resistant ballast tank located amidships between the Fuel Ballast Tanks and the Auxiliary Ballast Tanks.

The technical book “The Fleet Type Submarine” states:

“The primary function of the safety tank is to provide a means for quickly regaining positive buoyancy by blowing the tank when submerged. It follows, then, that the safety tank must be fully flooded when submerged, otherwise it can not fulfill its primary purpose”

I can understand that in order to surface very rapidly, the Safety Ballast Tank can be blown. Or if the conning tower or main induction is flooded, the Safety Ballast Tank can be used to compensate for the extra water weight.

What does “Put a bubble in Safety” mean?

Does it mean that a small quantity of air is blown into the Safety Ballast Tank? If so why?

Is the command not to be taken so literally and “put a bubble in Safety” means something else to do with the Safety Ballast Tank? If so what?

Is this not even a real command but some hollywood BS?

Landlubber minds want to know
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