JOSH!!!! (westcoaststrokin)...

[ianstew]

I was watching Crimson Tide, and I was wondering if the way the movies portray the chain of command, with the XO, and Captain, chief of the boat, etc is accurate? like when the captain says..."Cheif of the Boat, make your depth one-five-zero feet" then the cheif of the boat instructs the drivers......is that really how they do it? or does the captain tell the drivers directly? It might be a silly question, I've just always wondered if they portray it right, I love submarine movies...... and by the wya, what is the "bubble" like when they say 3 degrees down bubble??

[westcoaststrokin]

Well the chain of command is one of the few things that is accurate in that movie. The CO is overall responsible for the actions of the boat. The XO is the one that implements the skippers policies. It works the best when you have a good skipper and a hard XO. That way the skipper can maintain the crews trust. The COB is the senior enlisted guy and is responsible for all of the enlisted folks.

The "drivers" are the Helmsman (controls the Fairwaters and the rudder) and the Outboard or Sternsman (he controls the stern planes). The helm works for the Officer of the deck for course and the Diving Officer (usually a Chief) for depth. The Stern works for the Dive for ships angle (the bubble).

Here is a typical trip to PD (periscope depth)
OOD: Helm steer course North
Helm: Steer course North aye. Steady on course North.
OOD: Dive make your depth (classified)
Dive: Make my depth (classified) Aye
Dive: Full rise on the Fairwaters. Full rise on the Stern planes. Three degree up bubble.

The ship goes up. As it approaches PD.

Dive: Helm make your depth (classified) Outboard maintain a two degree up bubble.




Hope that clears it up for you Ian. BTW as a Sub Sailor the best sub movie is Das Boot and Crimson Tide is a great comedy.

[ianstew]

thanks for the explanation josh, it's amazing the kind of questions you can get answered here on the Org!!!!! I will def watch Das Boot, i can't remember ever seeing it.

[westcoaststrokin]

Make sure that you watch the German version with subtitles. Way better than the english version.


ETA: The helm and outboard are the generally the most junior guys on watch and that may be the first watch that they have qualified.

[ianstew]

oh one other question, i don't know if every submariner has or not, but have you ever been on a sub doing an "emergency blow" or whatever it is when they blow all the water out of the ballast tanks (i think) and pop out of the water like a cork? i've seen video of it, it seems like that would be wild ride!!!!!!

[ianstew]

Originally Posted by westcoaststrokin

Make sure that you watch the German version with subtitles. Way better than the english version.

will do!!!!

[westcoaststrokin]

Originally Posted by ianstew

oh one other question, i don't know if every submariner has or not, but have you ever been on a sub doing an "emergency blow" or whatever it is when they blow all the water out of the ballast tanks (i think) and pop out of the water like a cork? i've seen video of it, it seems like that would be wild ride!!!!!!

Yep I have done that several times. Heck I have even pulled the chicken switches to actuate the system. We have to do it once a year to prove the system still works and to exercise the system. It depends on the class of Sub on how fun the ride is. On Fast attacks it is really fun where as on Tridents it is kind of a let down. Then again a Trident is like a Mack truck and a Fast Attack is like a Ferrari so it makes sense.

[ianstew]

thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Josh....and thank you for your service