Curious question...

[Zip420]

Total noob question here,
I was just wondering since I have never served in any navy, and have very little "at sea" experience. I just wanted to know from anyone that has served on a sub, if when your sub is hit with active sonar, if you can actually hear it inside? Im Just wondering how LOUD the thing is. Like say you were just floating on the surface in a rowboat, and a sub was 60 feet below and pinged the water if you could hear it.

[SubSerpent]

I've never served on subs, but I did serve on a FFG with an active sonar. Lets put it this way...If a diver was in the water in front of my ship's sonar when it went off it would most likely blow him up into fish chum from the sheer noise of it. The sound vibrations are extemely powerful and amplified underwater so most likely they can be heard inside submarines. Since crewmen are inside the submarine and not in the water the amplification doesn't effect them as much. It might blow a few eardrums out if it was like right next to their hull!

[Zip420]

thats what i wanted to know. So how many decibels would you say? 100? 150? 200+?!?

No wonder those whales and dolphins get lost and end up beached! LOL

[Perilscope]

There are more and more evidence with many beached sea mammals has internal damage, and that doesn't occur naturally in the wild. Of course, the marines say no. biologists say yes.

First link of my search:
http://www.orcanetwork.org/news/shoup.html

Edited Part------------------
Oops! forgot, hello and welcome to Subsim Zip420

[Kapitan]

I would immagine it is loud however in reality no submarine would use active sonar if it was on a mission simply because it gives your position away so easily.

[SubSerpent]

I would immagine it is loud however in reality no submarine would use active sonar if it was on a mission simply because it gives your position away so easily.

That is true Kaptain. I've even seen a picture of a friend of mine sitting at his station in the sonar room onboard an SSN. The "active" sonar switch had a taped piece of paper with a big red circle with a line running through it! LOL!!!:lol:

NO!!! DON'T PRESS THAT BUTTON!!!!

[SubSerpent]

thats what i wanted to know. So how many decibels would you say? 100? 150? 200+?!?

No wonder those whales and dolphins get lost and end up beached! LOL

That info is highly classified! I wouldn't know.

All I can tell you is...

My name is Ben Dover, my SSN is 867-5309, my wife's name is Jenny, my favorite food is green eggs and ham.

This is all I am liberty to say!

[bradclark1]

I would think decibles depend on the power of the system. More powerful more noise, less powerful less noise and I doubt if any two classes of sub are the same.
One way you can get a feel for sonar effects is to fill your tub and pass gas with your head underwater. :lol:

[SubSerpent]

I would think decibles depend on the power of the system. More powerful more noise, less powerful less noise and I doubt if any two classes of sub are the same.
One way you can get a feel for sonar effects is to fill your tub and pass gas with your head underwater. :lol:

LOL! Please tell me you haven't done this! Oh Geez! :nope:

I was thinking more on the lines of taking a hammer or something metal and heavy and tapping that hard on the tub while your head is underwater. It can get a bit loud especially since the water is contacting your eardrums and water weighs more than air! This is why sound can travel further underwater than air. Air tends to "float" away sounds and water tends to "hold" them. It's also got something to do with the "echo" effect. Things underwater travel a long distance and come right back to their sender, hence active sonar pinging.

[Zip420]

Well I found my answer, shoulda googled first. Thats friggin loud!! :rock:

"The council said some mid-frequency sonar systems produce 235 decibels, as loud as a Saturn V rocket at launch."

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Apr/27/ln/FP604270351.html

[Kapitan]

Yeah good old google knows all the answers.......:roll:

[Linton]

In one navy's submarines I believe it takes a key held by the captain to activate the active sonar.

[lesrae]

I would immagine it is loud however in reality no submarine would use active sonar if it was on a mission simply because it gives your position away so easily.

So why do they spend all of the time money and effort developing and fitting it? The true answer is that it would be used if it was needed and circumstances allowed it, but not indiscriminately.

[Kapitan]

Yes thats what i was meaning, you know my english is not very good after all im a billingual illiterate.