True Max Depth For La688(i)

[whiskey111]

I'm reading the book "Submarine-a guided tour inside a nuclear warship" of Tom Clancy. There are many interesting informations of US subs. One of the most important thing which I have read is that LA688(I) max depth is not more than 950ft (300m). This happened after reduce thickness of hull for obtainment of easiest weight of about 600-800t. This was necessary for mount new propulsion wchich was very big and heavy.
My question is: why in patches or LWAMI mods the true depth for LA is still more than 1500ft (460m) ?

[Kapitan]

the true maximum depth of the 688i is classified, however i would speculate around 1,600 to 1,750 feet.

[Linton]

I have a book called Running Critical-the silent war,Rickover and General Dynamics,by Patrick Tyler.He gives it as 950 feet and blames this on the steels available and the desire for stealth rather than depth.

[Kapitan]

Well the USN has never realy built a sub that can go to great depths for full millatry use, 1,600 feet sounds about right for a submarine of the 688 and 688i the skipjacks and indeed the thresher class i believe could only go down to 1,300 feet so yeah 1,600 sounds right.

[whiskey111]

So... if max depth of 688(i) is classiffied - how do you know that is about 1600-1700ft ? Hmmm... Inormations which had Clancy (to write that book) are more reliability than someone's speculates.
If 688(i) has lower thickness of hull than older US subs (like Permit or Sturgeon class) - it can't dive so deep like them. It's logic for me So 688(i) can't dive so deep as Seawolf or Akula class subs.
It is important becasue every mod which come out from subsim is something like dogma for enyone who play this game. For me too

[Kapitan]

When your in the buisness you know the buisness you know what to expect whats going to happen what can happen and that helps you sleep at night, if your outside the buisness just expect the people inside to spit details to you.

But it seems very logical that the 688i can hit 1,600feet seeing as its russian counter part acctualy hits alot deeper, plus the fact the 688i's are made from HY80 Steel unlike the seewolf's HY100 which allows her down to around 2,200feet.

[sonar732]

First...don't believe everything you read.

Second...I remember watching HFRO in Sonar 'A' school and everyone laughing...

[Kapitan]

why doesnt that surprise me sonar when i heard tupelov scream dive to 900m i laughed theres no friggen way your getting that alfa down that far :rotfl:

[whiskey111]

Ok... I think you have right. Thanks for answer for my qustion.

[DAB]

Originally Posted by whiskey111

I'm reading the book "Submarine-a guided tour inside a nuclear warship" of Tom Clancy. There are many interesting informations of US subs. One of the most important thing which I have read is that LA688(I) max depth is not more than 950ft (300m). This happened after reduce thickness of hull for obtainment of easiest weight of about 600-800t. This was necessary for mount new propulsion wchich was very big and heavy.
My question is: why in patches or LWAMI mods the true depth for LA is still more than 1500ft (460m) ?

The book isn't considered that accurate, and much of it wasn't even written by Clancy allegedly. Certainly, a lot of his 'suggestions' about the Trafalgar are now understood to be wrong. I'd imagine the same is true of the LA boat.

[Kapitan]

Clancy has also got alot wrong about the russian submarines, for a start he quotes that the russian al'fa class can dive to 900 meters when i know for full fact they can only achieve 750meters.

Whats more in an interview about the russian oscar II class submarine notibly the kursk he said the submarine is designed to sink carriers and thats it.

Oscar II submarines are tasked to hunt and kill battle groups not just the carrier as the escorts themselves pose a great threat to a point where the threat is even more greater than the carrier, becuse of aegis the russians would target them ships first ie the ticonderogas and burke DDG.

They would then hurry back to base and let the much oldr charlie class try to keep the rest of the fleet amused while they reloaded and returned to finnish them off.

The Oscar II design is not one that should be taken likely it has 24 nuclear capible missiles it can anilate any vessel afloat, but the thing is if america was to invade you wouldnt just meet one oscar SSGN you would probably meet 3 or 4 of them coupled with a charlie II two victor III's and two or three Akula's nd possibly if close enough two or three kilos as well.

[Kazuaki Shimazaki II]

Originally Posted by whiskey111

I'm reading the book "Submarine-a guided tour inside a nuclear warship" of Tom Clancy. There are many interesting informations of US subs. One of the most important thing which I have read is that LA688(I) max depth is not more than 950ft (300m). This happened after reduce thickness of hull for obtainment of easiest weight of about 600-800t. This was necessary for mount new propulsion wchich was very big and heavy.
My question is: why in patches or LWAMI mods the true depth for LA is still more than 1500ft (460m) ?

I don't trust TC all that much, but seeing he's supported by Polmar and that author of Running Critical, this point is probably as credible as non-classified sources will get on the subject. Besides, Tom Clancy is not one to err on understating the performance of American weapons.

It is very doubtful for the 688 to be able to dive deeper than Thresher. They use the same grade of steel (HY-80). Barring a weak link in Thresher, the only way the sub could possibly gain any depth resistance is to have much lighter onboard equipment, thus allowing the hull to be thickened while maintaining buoyancy. Another alternative is for Thresher to have a much higher reserve buoyancy, and by cutting into that the 688 managed to thicken her hull, but there seems little evidence of this.

Since it is very doubtful this happened, the 688 would be lucky to tie. Rickover wasn't even too desirous of depth - a nice thing to have, but really there are more important things according to him.

IIRC, TC (and definitely Polmar) is referring to test depth, which in the US leaves a 1.5 safety factor before crush depth. So crush depth would be about 1350. If the test depth is 1000 feet, then crush can be 1500, so 460m is on the strong side of crush depth.

It is actually a little optimistic to enter the crush depth as the max depth in the DW database, because above that depth you are simulated to be absolutely safe. But within bounds of plausibility. A better move would have been to use Never Exceed Depth. But, customs choice...

For the Akula, according to Polmar you might push the depths a bit further yet and still be within the valid zone. The AK-32 steel they use is supposed to have a resistance of 100kg/mm^2, which makes it HY-140 equivalent (do the conversion from kg/mm^2 to PSI...). All that titanium cutting was worth it...

If true you can have Akulas with a crush depth of 960m and a test depth comfortably over 600m - you will almost be able to dodge Mk48s simply by outdiving them, and they would be so much slower at Max Depth with LW's new Torpedo doctrines meant to simulate the slowdown of torps with depth...