What would a thermometer have been used for on a U-Boat?

[captainprid]

Originally Posted by tonyw

...of the soup

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

It would appear that thermometers were designed for acoustic use, called ocean thermometer.
here a link, page 161 and page 162 makes mention of this...
http://books.google.com/books?id=mEI...ometer&f=false

not sure if that thermometer is the same or similar type as shown in your pic

Great bit of research there. Can't think of any other reason

[Feuer Frei!]

A Bathythermograph?
this:
http://uboat.net/articles/index.html?article=45

interesting read

[SteamWake]

Could it be a sling psychrometer?

Although I have no idea what they would use one for other than weather predictions.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

A Bathythermograph?
this:
http://uboat.net/articles/index.html?article=45

interesting read

U boats didn't have that particular piece of equipment, not that it would have mattered in the atlantic anyway. I think wind chill is a more likely explanation.

[caine007]

Determining whether that giant can on the end makes it float or makes it sink would probably be a good start.

If it sinks... maybe it was dropped on a long line to detect thermal layers in the water?

If it floats... that's a bit trickier. Most small, important things on ships and boats have some precautions so they don't sink so it could be used for a number of things.

[Cap.Palla]

Originally Posted by caine007

If it sinks... maybe it was dropped on a long line to detect thermal layers in the water?

I think that is correct...
AND THE REWARD IIISSSSS...... a patrol in the strait of Gibraltar !!!

Ok and now go on with the second question: this strange object was discovered on U-69 , who knows what would it have been used for?


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sorry...i had to do this...

[Reaves]

Originally Posted by Cap.Palla

I think that is correct...
AND THE REWARD IIISSSSS...... a patrol in the strait of Gibraltar !!!

Ok and now go on with the second question: this strange object was discovered on U-69 , who knows what would it have been used for?


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sorry...i had to do this...

I believe that is full of sea men.

i am wondering if it is a joke or a practice?

[captainprid]

Originally Posted by caine007

Determining whether that giant can on the end makes it float or makes it sink would probably be a good start.

If it sinks... maybe it was dropped on a long line to detect thermal layers in the water?

If it floats... that's a bit trickier. Most small, important things on ships and boats have some precautions so they don't sink so it could be used for a number of things.

Seems a good explanation to me. One thing though, if they are sending it down 70m + wouldn't the reading change by the time it was yanked to the surface??

[captainprid]

Perhaps another explanation would be to check on battery operating temperature???

[Pablo]

Hi!

The original website says the thermometer is weighted, and it has an attachment point for a retrieval line, so I would guess that it is intended to be dropped over the side of a ship to measure the temperature of the water.

For a U-boat, I think the application would be to measure water temperature in order to better estimate the density of the water, which the U-boat must take into account when trying to maintain a specified depth in the water.

BTW, there is a North Atlantic thermocline that is associated with the Gulf Stream (see http://cdiac.ornl.gov/oceans/glodap/...haline.web.pdf) that exists within the U-boat operational envelope, but it does not appear that U-boats took any conscious advantage of it.

Pablo

[msxyz]

Originally Posted by Pablo

Hi!
For a U-boat, I think the application would be to measure water temperature in order to better estimate the density of the water, which the U-boat must take into account when trying to maintain a specified depth in the water.

BTW, there is a North Atlantic thermocline that is associated with the Gulf Stream (see http://cdiac.ornl.gov/oceans/glodap/...haline.web.pdf) that exists within the U-boat operational envelope, but it does not appear that U-boats took any conscious advantage of it.

Pablo

We have a winner here

Ocean temeprature was probed regulary to determine its density.

There is some evidence, from the stories told by uboot sailors, that they knew that in certain regions going deep would render the active sonars inneffective. This observation might have stemmed from personal experience. Ie a sub would dive very deep to avoid depth charing and notice that the escorts started dropping bombs in the wrong place or pinging in circles like they lost their contact.

[mcarlsonus]

Weems and Plath hand-held thermometer - the head's wrapped in leather which I suspect could be wetted and used in a similar fashion to a wet-bulb sling psychrometer to determine humidity/relative humidity. Judging from the lanyard, NOT submersible (see, "salinity thermometers" for submersibles)!

[jason210]

Originally Posted by caine007

Determining whether that giant can on the end makes it float or makes it sink would probably be a good start.

If it sinks... maybe it was dropped on a long line to detect thermal layers in the water?

If it floats... that's a bit trickier. Most small, important things on ships and boats have some precautions so they don't sink so it could be used for a number of things.

The website this image appears on describes the large object as a weight.

A problem I see with caine007's theory is that the crew lowering the device would have no way of seeing the gauge change when it hit a thermocline or a thermal layer, so they wouldn't know at what depth they encountered it. The reading is not relayed back to the surface in real-time. The only useful information it could bring back is a minimum or maximum temerparture, which could be achieved by using sliding pins in the tube - as in gardenening thermometers.

To determine the temperature cross section of the first 200' or son, the thermometer would be lowered and raised several times to increasing depths, say at 3 meter intervals, and the min/max temperatures noted.

Seems a bit long-winded, especially if the u-boat is fitted with a a thermometer or a bathythermograph...why not just dive and monitor the temperature changes?

[msxyz]

Of course it cannot be used as a bathythermograph. But to determine salt water density for adjusting trim tanks it would fit the job