Real Submarine (Questions / Answers ) Thread

William516 · 09-06-06, 08:22 AM

Due to some UBI regulations that I think are silly I'm moving over to this my questions to this forum as well for some help. Granted I have NOTHING against any member in the UBI forums and many of them have been a great deal of help however I am hoping to get some answers to these questions here as well. Feel free to look at the thread in the UBI forum for past information and answers if you wish. There are some really good answers there especially from a gentleman named Danelov (Spelling sorry).

It never hurts however to post in more then one spot. Below is the orginal questions from my first post. Hope to get some more answers as well from you guys
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I wanted to throw this out there as a thread where people could come and post questions about silly things that are never shown or talked about in movies or books. For example take some of my questions.

If someone knows the answer to any of the questions posted please include the qoute/ original question.

1. Bathrooms on the submarine, how did this work? Did the submarines have storage tanks or overboard dumping (no pun intended)

2. The use of a snokel to run the diesel engine in the game is very easy and if im correct will also recharge the air in the submarine. How did this work in real life. In order for the engine to be run, you need O2, I understand that the snorkel brings in the oxygen to the engine, but how is it possible to recharge the oxygen supply for breathing. Also where does the engine exhust go? If it were explelled out the rear if would leave a huge bubble trail sorta like a inboard/outboard engine. Just wondering how this is done

3. Internal submarine communications. How did the men communicate between compartments durring regular (non-silent) running. The movies show phones but on the bridge and in other compartments in the game it shows metal pipes or (something like that)?

4. Spare parts, with very limited space on a submarine how were repairs accomplished. For example if a submarine were to get a damaged or a destroyed prop, could it be fixed. The movies show very little of where or how repairs are made. Das-Boot does show a little of the repairs done but they had spare wire and other items on board. Guess im just wondering how all this is done.

5. If a submarine suffers hull damage from a depth charge or a shell how is this repaired. Another quick example, if a submarine has a shell pentetrate the hull can this be repaired at sea. In Sh3 when your hit with a shell it leaves a black mark on the ship, however in real life I could only assume that the shell would pentrate the skin of the sub leaving a gapping hole. With limited supplies i dont see how it would be possible to fix the outer hull of the boat. further more if the shell penetrated the hull the sub could no longer dive, there would be no way to keep compressed air in the ballast tanks.

6. US submarines have a galley and everything including air condition, did the German U-boats have any of this or was it all strictly buisness?

7. How long could a submarine battery last for before they had to be pulled out and completly replaced. The rule with batteries are that they will never fully recharge again so I would assume that after an extended period of time the batteries would need to be replaced because they would not hold a charge. I would also guess this would be a hell of a job to do because of how big they are and where they are located.

8. Extra torpedoes mounted on the top deck? Is this something that UBI decided to give up or was it possible in real life. Looking at several pictures of submarines I cant seem to find a spot where the torpedoes were mounted. They certainly must have been enclosed, I dont think they would have torpedoes strapped down in plain site.

9. How many electrical back up systems does a sub generaly have onboard

10. What kind of activities did submarine crews do for enjoyment and to stay in shape on these long trips?

11. Where submarine vs submarine battles common as portrayed in some movies? If so are there any records of a sub sinking another sub while submerged in a confrontation

12. Other then visual sighting how could a submarine determine friend from foe? Was there a secret code or transmission that a sub could send out and wait for response, or was it a simple "look first then fire"

13. How destructive was a ww2 torpedo, video has shown a modern torpedo blowing a ship to pieces with an under keel shot, are the topedoes in sh3 correct when it comes to power. Of course movies show one torpedo taking out a ship (cough cough U-571) but was it possible with a good shot or simply all holywood glamor?

14. Is it true that every crew member is trained to do anyones job, or is this another myth I have heard? I mean can an electrician operate the radio or repair an engine.

15. How does a submarine pump out water when flooded and being submerged. In Das-Boot there was a scene where they layed on the bottom and had a bucket brigade empty water to be pumped out. Just wondering how this was done.

I talked to a few people and came up with some more questions along with a few of my own to post again.

16. If a crew member was killed at sea What was done with the body. I dont see them bringing the body back home because of the risk of disease. So im guessing the bury them at sea? Or there is always the U-571 Movie way of putting them out the tube. I dont think they did this. If the body was burried as sea, did they call services for each member of the crew who died?

17. Keeping on the same track here, if a crew member was injured or got severly sick what would happen? To what extent could a doctor on a submarine care for a crew member. Simply not enough space onboard for all the medical equipment needed for all injuries.

18. This was a good one I wish I thought of this. In the movies you constantly see piped breaking or bolts busting and shooting across the way, Is this real or again holywood magic? It would seem to me that the hull of a submarine would compress but the designers would have allowed for the compression. The guages are also shown breaking under such pressure.

19. Are there any records of a submarine being struck by its own torpedo? This seems to occur in SH3 with the acoustic torpedo if you fire it and keep on same course and depth with engines running, It will come around and strike you. Just wondering if it ever happened in real life.

20. How does a submarine navigate once underwater? This question also was thought up by someone else and he referenced the movie. "The Hunt For Red October" There is a scene in the movie where they are navigating an underwater trench, using a stop watch and map. Is this how it is done today? Two part question here. (5a) How often did submarines run aground? The maps couldn't be very accurate back in WW2, so it must have been very hard to navigate and dangerous.

Well here is a couple more questions for everyone to answer, again I welcome anyone to join in and participate. There is a ton of things that we have yet to ask that someone may have an answer to.

When posting an answer please copy the original question. This will make it easier for members or visitors to look at the replies and answers.

William
Captain
U-66
"Tiger Shark"

If you would like a copy of the story I have been writing and continued updates please feel free to PM me. I will send you what I have.

------------------------------------------------
Feel free to answer any of these questions that you can. I also encourage any member of the community to post any questions they wish to have answered as well. Maybe you will find an asnswer here.

Good Hunting
William
Captain
U-66
"Tiger Shark"

09-06-06, 08:22 AM	#2
William516 Gunner Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 92 Downloads: 30 Uploads: 0	Due to some UBI regulations that I think are silly I'm moving over to this my questions to this forum as well for some help. Granted I have NOTHING against any member in the UBI forums and many of them have been a great deal of help however I am hoping to get some answers to these questions here as well. Feel free to look at the thread in the UBI forum for past information and answers if you wish. There are some really good answers there especially from a gentleman named Danelov (Spelling sorry). It never hurts however to post in more then one spot. Below is the orginal questions from my first post. Hope to get some more answers as well from you guys ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wanted to throw this out there as a thread where people could come and post questions about silly things that are never shown or talked about in movies or books. For example take some of my questions. If someone knows the answer to any of the questions posted please include the qoute/ original question. 1. Bathrooms on the submarine, how did this work? Did the submarines have storage tanks or overboard dumping (no pun intended) 2. The use of a snokel to run the diesel engine in the game is very easy and if im correct will also recharge the air in the submarine. How did this work in real life. In order for the engine to be run, you need O2, I understand that the snorkel brings in the oxygen to the engine, but how is it possible to recharge the oxygen supply for breathing. Also where does the engine exhust go? If it were explelled out the rear if would leave a huge bubble trail sorta like a inboard/outboard engine. Just wondering how this is done 3. Internal submarine communications. How did the men communicate between compartments durring regular (non-silent) running. The movies show phones but on the bridge and in other compartments in the game it shows metal pipes or (something like that)? 4. Spare parts, with very limited space on a submarine how were repairs accomplished. For example if a submarine were to get a damaged or a destroyed prop, could it be fixed. The movies show very little of where or how repairs are made. Das-Boot does show a little of the repairs done but they had spare wire and other items on board. Guess im just wondering how all this is done. 5. If a submarine suffers hull damage from a depth charge or a shell how is this repaired. Another quick example, if a submarine has a shell pentetrate the hull can this be repaired at sea. In Sh3 when your hit with a shell it leaves a black mark on the ship, however in real life I could only assume that the shell would pentrate the skin of the sub leaving a gapping hole. With limited supplies i dont see how it would be possible to fix the outer hull of the boat. further more if the shell penetrated the hull the sub could no longer dive, there would be no way to keep compressed air in the ballast tanks. 6. US submarines have a galley and everything including air condition, did the German U-boats have any of this or was it all strictly buisness? 7. How long could a submarine battery last for before they had to be pulled out and completly replaced. The rule with batteries are that they will never fully recharge again so I would assume that after an extended period of time the batteries would need to be replaced because they would not hold a charge. I would also guess this would be a hell of a job to do because of how big they are and where they are located. 8. Extra torpedoes mounted on the top deck? Is this something that UBI decided to give up or was it possible in real life. Looking at several pictures of submarines I cant seem to find a spot where the torpedoes were mounted. They certainly must have been enclosed, I dont think they would have torpedoes strapped down in plain site. 9. How many electrical back up systems does a sub generaly have onboard 10. What kind of activities did submarine crews do for enjoyment and to stay in shape on these long trips? 11. Where submarine vs submarine battles common as portrayed in some movies? If so are there any records of a sub sinking another sub while submerged in a confrontation 12. Other then visual sighting how could a submarine determine friend from foe? Was there a secret code or transmission that a sub could send out and wait for response, or was it a simple "look first then fire" 13. How destructive was a ww2 torpedo, video has shown a modern torpedo blowing a ship to pieces with an under keel shot, are the topedoes in sh3 correct when it comes to power. Of course movies show one torpedo taking out a ship (cough cough U-571) but was it possible with a good shot or simply all holywood glamor? 14. Is it true that every crew member is trained to do anyones job, or is this another myth I have heard? I mean can an electrician operate the radio or repair an engine. 15. How does a submarine pump out water when flooded and being submerged. In Das-Boot there was a scene where they layed on the bottom and had a bucket brigade empty water to be pumped out. Just wondering how this was done. I talked to a few people and came up with some more questions along with a few of my own to post again. 16. If a crew member was killed at sea What was done with the body. I dont see them bringing the body back home because of the risk of disease. So im guessing the bury them at sea? Or there is always the U-571 Movie way of putting them out the tube. I dont think they did this. If the body was burried as sea, did they call services for each member of the crew who died? 17. Keeping on the same track here, if a crew member was injured or got severly sick what would happen? To what extent could a doctor on a submarine care for a crew member. Simply not enough space onboard for all the medical equipment needed for all injuries. 18. This was a good one I wish I thought of this. In the movies you constantly see piped breaking or bolts busting and shooting across the way, Is this real or again holywood magic? It would seem to me that the hull of a submarine would compress but the designers would have allowed for the compression. The guages are also shown breaking under such pressure. 19. Are there any records of a submarine being struck by its own torpedo? This seems to occur in SH3 with the acoustic torpedo if you fire it and keep on same course and depth with engines running, It will come around and strike you. Just wondering if it ever happened in real life. 20. How does a submarine navigate once underwater? This question also was thought up by someone else and he referenced the movie. "The Hunt For Red October" There is a scene in the movie where they are navigating an underwater trench, using a stop watch and map. Is this how it is done today? Two part question here. (5a) How often did submarines run aground? The maps couldn't be very accurate back in WW2, so it must have been very hard to navigate and dangerous. Well here is a couple more questions for everyone to answer, again I welcome anyone to join in and participate. There is a ton of things that we have yet to ask that someone may have an answer to. When posting an answer please copy the original question. This will make it easier for members or visitors to look at the replies and answers. William Captain U-66 "Tiger Shark" If you would like a copy of the story I have been writing and continued updates please feel free to PM me. I will send you what I have. ------------------------------------------------ Feel free to answer any of these questions that you can. I also encourage any member of the community to post any questions they wish to have answered as well. Maybe you will find an asnswer here. Good Hunting William Captain U-66 "Tiger Shark"