Salute !!!

This course in steering and helmsmanship is fascinating !!! Now how about this question....

What happens when our boat is submerged. I know that a certain amount of speed is required to keep depth, but what are the ramifications of backing?

In game, if I am too close to the target track I will not reverse because I think that it is unrealistic and that the boat would probably swing too much as steerage way is lost and then regained and also holding periscope depth would be very hard.

Am I right?

Thanks,
AD

Andrewsdad, according to Dick O'Kane (who was there), Mush Morton did it in a US fleet boat. I always felt it was not prototypical to run astern or to back engines to slow the boat, until I read Wahoo.

To slow the boat, maybe, but it sounds like we're talking about stopping and backing up while submerged.

Yes...no...maybe...
 

AD - Yes, you are correct. As SS noted, backing down is normal and is the only good method to slow or stop the ship or boat in a reasonable distance; doing so can be done either surfaced or submerged. Running astern is OK in certain circumstances when surfaced, but you would never - ever - run astern submerged. IIRC, Morton "backed down" while diving to avoid an attacking aircraft on his first patrol as CO of "Wahoo", but that did not bring the boat to have stern-way on, it merely made the stern "squat" to fix a bad situation caused by the stern planes jamming at the start of the dive. Those of you who have read Dick O’Kane’s book “WAHOO” (my copy was autographed by the author while we sat down to have a cup of coffee, the third time I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to RADM O’Kane) should recall that they jammed the rudder when "Wahoo" tried to run at full speed astern, on the surface, to get into a good firing position on a tanker during that same first patrol with Morton in Command. Similar to the rudder(s), the planes are equipped with mechanical stops and any amount of sternway could put hydrodynamic forces on the planes that could easily overcome the hydraulic rams and jam the planes in a very undesirable position. The planes and rudder(s) are designed to be balanced when running ahead; running astern puts water flow around them that soundly defeats that design feature. Now, having said that, if you're "in extremis" in a tactical situation, you throw the book away and improvise as needed to carry out the mission (and survive!).

Hey SS...I knew the Brinkley Bass...one of my old shipmates did his Mid'n 1st Cl. cruise in DD-887 during the summer of 1970 and she participated in a few exercises in the NW and Hawaiian OP Areas in the early 70's. Not a really "small world" situation, but we're certainly within three degrees of separation!

Aktungbby - If I could get a half-barrel of Hamm's around here, I'd run it down to the Bay Area and we'd do the counseling on our way out through the Golden Gate. :Kaleun_Cheers:

Okay, now I officially hate you. :D Not really, of course, but envy is the next best thing.

At the 2008 Subsim Meet in Houston I got to sit next to Captain Zeb Alford at lunch, and he actually listened to my sea stories!
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...0&postcount=68
(Scroll down to the very short part labelled "Lunch")

Quote:

Now, having said that, if you're "in extremis" in a tactical situation, you throw the book away and improvise as needed to carry out the mission (and survive!).

Best advice I've heard all day.

Quote:

Hey SS...I knew the Brinkley Bass...one of my old shipmates did his Mid'n 1st Cl. cruise in DD-887 during the summer of 1970 and she participated in a few exercises in the NW and Hawaiian OP Areas in the early 70's. Not a really "small world" situation, but we're certainly within three degrees of separation!

Cool! I was aboard during that period. What's his name? I might have known him. Or not- I got out in December. We came back from Vietnam in July and spent the rest of the year doing a major overhaul, with a couple of training excercises thrown in.

Game on! :salute:

Hello again SailorSteve, Aktungbby and others,

Steve; his name was Lew McIntyre (still is, I suppose :shifty:) but I might have mixed up his 1st Class Summer Cruise with his initial duty station after graduation...that danged memory issue again! Anyway, he was in "Brinkley Bass" either in '69 or '70. If you need more reason to officially hate me (or even if you don't), during my Midshipman days and early career, I had the pleasure and honor of meeting not only Dick O’Kane, but George Grider, Gene Fluckey, Creed Burlingame (met him during a visit to the "Silversides" when it was still in Chicago), Slade Cutter, Ned Beach, and Jim Calvert, among others. Admirals Calvert and Fluckey were the only ones still on active duty, but the others weren't all that old, yet, and they participated in USNA speaking engagements and visits to Alumni Assoc. events, which were popular even with the dark clouds of Viet Nam hanging over everything "military" in those days. I can recall one or two conversations turning from interesting stories of wartime experiences (though not all of them talked much about that, especially RADM O'Kane) to comments about how nice we “kids” had it, and what luxury liners the new boats were, etc., etc.

Aktungbby...be careful of what you wish for...with or without that half-barrel of Hamm's, I could be tempted to get in the wagon and drive...especially with winter upon us for real. I can see you've got the courses plotted and I'm betting you'll not be "buoy hopping", as practiced by many weekend boaters encountered on the few trips into/out of the Bay that I made way-back-when. If the opportunity arises, I'll be in touch!

No, I don't recall the name, so we probably didn't meet. Still, it's a small world.

Wow! That is impressive! :rock: