Submarines:A boat or a Ship

But....................................why?

[Bertgang]

For Italian navy, submarines were boats (battelli) and not ships (navi), even if, like ships, all of them had and have a name.

We preferred call them "sommergibili" (submersibles) rather than "sottomarini" (submarines) as the first name seemed more appropriate for boats able to dive, but travelling surfacesd most of time.

[bradclark1]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

Diesel subs are boats, nukes are ships. My definition as seen in practice.

Nope.
Subs are boats. Their was talk in the navy community many, many moons ago about calling them ships because of their size but it was decided to keep them boats. Also at Electric Boat when you are talking about them or you hear someone talking about them they are referred to as boats.
When I had my break in service I mainly worked on the 728 Boat( a boomer). When I was given jobs I was told that particular job was on the 728 boat. The only jobs that I had that was not given a numerical title boat was for the Sea Wolf. For some reason it was always referred to as the Sea Wolf and not a numerical boat.

So no more silly talk of calling boats, ships.

[GraylingSTS(SS)]

The Senior Enlisted Man on US Subs is the Chief of the Boat (COB). Chief of the Ship just doesn't have the same ring to it!

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by bradclark1

Nope.
Subs are boats. Their was talk in the navy community many, many moons ago about calling them ships because of their size but it was decided to keep them boats. Also at Electric Boat when you are talking about them or you hear someone talking about them they are referred to as boats.
When I had my break in service I mainly worked on the 728 Boat( a boomer). When I was given jobs I was told that particular job was on the 728 boat. The only jobs that I had that was not given a numerical title boat was for the Sea Wolf. For some reason it was always referred to as the Sea Wolf and not a numerical boat.

So no more silly talk of calling boats, ships.

Sorry. I heard the captain of the Houston say to the dive officer, surface the ship. That's the truth.

Nuke subs are way too big, powerful, and expensive to be labeled a "boat". I know the tradition is to call a sub a boat...but that doesn't make any sense in the day of $2.7 billion fast attacks that can wipe out a medium size navy

Tom Clancy calls them "boats". So they are boats. End of discussion.

....though in one book he calls a nuc a "ship". So which is it? ARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

[bradclark1]

Sorry. I heard the captain of the Houston say to the dive officer, surface the ship. That's the truth.

Just goes to show you that officers don't know what they are talking about.

[bradclark1]

This is what I'm going to do. This week sometime I am going to Groton Sub Base and I'm going to ask a few people if they are boats or ships.
They might look at me like I am some kind of idiot but no sacrifice is too great to get to the bottom of this dilemma.

[GraylingSTS(SS)]

Technically, modern subs are considered ships, but those who serve on them call them boats.

I'm a qualified submariner (got my fish in 1989, on the USS Grayling {Sturgeon Class SSN}). We called it "the boat".

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by bradclark1

This is what I'm going to do. This week sometime I am going to Groton Sub Base and I'm going to ask a few people if they are boats or ships.
They might look at me like I am some kind of idiot but no sacrifice is too great to get to the bottom of this dilemma.

Pictures, bring us pictures!

[Linton]

If s.s is for ship submersible does that mean that a battleship is a b.b (big boat)?

[Onkel Neal]

I always heard the standard "you can haul a boat on a ship but you cannot haul a ship on a boat". Weren't the early subs called boats because they were carried on ships, tenders, etc... and had to be towed across long stretches of water?

Really, I think the only reason anyone would call a 7000 ton nuclear submarine a "boat" is out of tradition. But in reality, is it a "boat"?


The US used to name all subs with letter designations, then after fish, but that tradition faded out; now they are named after cities, states, presidents, and older subs.

Originally Posted by Linton

If s.s is for ship submersible does that mean that a battleship is a b.b (big boat)?

Deadly Destroyer? Crazy Cruiser?

Actually the codes are just that-codes. SS only stands for Submarine.

[Iku-turso]

Originally Posted by Kurushio

Tom Clancy calls them "boats". So they are boats. End of discussion.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[Linton]

If Clancy called them boats they must be ships!!!Somewhere in these posts a correspondent said he was going to Groton last weekend so where are the pictures of the boats,oops ships?