What does "Rigging in the bow planes" do?

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by kevinlv

yes,it is on seawolf.

Alright. I'll look for it later today.

[Kaye T. Bai]

Originally Posted by twm47099

I've read that the 688's could not surface through the ice because the fairwater had been designed to be shorter than the previous class as part of increasing the max speed of the class. The fairwater planes were too large to turn 90 degrees vertical. The switch to bow planes on the 688i's resolved that issue.

Indeed. In an X-Files episode, ("End Game"), there was a scene where a surfaced submarine submerges through a layer of ice. It's fairwater planes go vertical before doing so.

Here's a picture from the episode. Not sure which class of sub it is exactly, but it appears to be a Sturgeon-class SSN, I think. Makes sense, they were plentiful in the USN's fleet during the 1990s, which is when the episode aired. Speaking of which, do submarines have flood lights like this on the sail?

[Bubblehead Nuke]

Originally Posted by LoBlo

BubbleHeadNuke mentioned in a post before (I forget the thread) that it wasn't really the motivation for the bow planes in the 688i however. The motivation was greater control or sub pitch in the case of a stern plan casualty. The better tolerance to ice was a convenient plus.

Actually, the ability to surface through the ice was one of the reasons, just not THE reason, for the shift to bow planes.

A pre 688i COULD surface through the ice. It WOULD destroy the fairwater planes was well as the mast and scopes. The 688i's had a 'ice cap' that the mast and scopes could be lowered below to protect them. The overall strength of the sail was increased as well to make it more resistant to damage.

[Bubblehead Nuke]

Originally Posted by Kaye T. Bai

. Speaking of which, do submarines have flood lights like this on the sail?

In that configuration???

No.