ESRBob said:
I don't remember Nords ever telling us about this aspect of sub life. Hadn't though about it, but boat life above water has the constant benefit of fresh air. Now I'm thinking submariners are underpaid. Maybe the diesel issue is less today in nuclear-powered subs? Also do subs get rocked around like boat/ships by underwater currents or is it a significantly smoother ride down there? I know a little diesel smell goes a long way in a rough seaway...
Ooooh yeah, and ironically the group of guys responsible for the atmosphere-control equipment is also in charge of the toilets, the sanitary tanks, miscellaneous hydraulics & air compressors, the oxygen generator, and (on attack subs) the diesel. So when Auxiliary Division is having a bad day the whole crew suffers.
My "favorite" smell is the monoethanolamine, a nasty poisonous chemical that absorbs CO2 for extraction & discharge. It gives the entire boat that ambiance de je ne sais quoi... a truly indescribably smell between rotting fish and an oil spill. When I wore my uniform home I was required to disrobe in the garage.
A submarine diesel engine is about eight feet tall, six feet thick, and 20 feet long. I've forgotten (finally!) its horsepower but it typically powers an 850KW generator. The diesel always oozes fuel somewhere, even when it's secured, and I think Aux Div rolls in it when nobody's watching. The process of starting up, running, & securing the diesel without sending the submarine to the bottom is intricate enough to require practicing at least twice a week for a couple hours, so the smell of diesel fuel & exhaust never leaves. When you hear the "Reactor scram!" announcement and see a bunch of electronics techs standing around a scram breaker scratching their heads, it sure feels good to hear the diesel rumble to life and start crushing rocks until your skull vibrates. It sucks a lotta air through the boat, too, so everthing smells of fresh surf until the OOD inadvertently turns downwind.
The vast majority of submariners, me included, are notoriously poor sailors. A typical day on a sailboat, frigate, or destroyer would send submariners puking into port begging for mercy. The propulsion train's reduction gears are only warranteed for a 35-degree angle and the inertial navigators used to be limited to 40-degree rolls. 22 years ago I took a 42-degree roll, doing a pullup on the periscope handles, and thought the boat would never right itself. Boomers on patrol stay at such constant angles that the crew can distinguish the difference of half a degree, and a five-degree bubble sends everybody scrambling for their coffeecups.
Violent North Atlantic winter storms will cause 10-degree rolls at 400 feet, but they're generally undetectable at 600 feet!
ESRBob said:
Ugh, now I know why Nords ERd! Maybe being out in the Pacific though kept him from needing to go into too many shallow ports...
The continental shelf sucks, but out in the Pacific we'd rig for dive pierside, cast off the lines, and spend 30 minutes getting down the channel. When we cast off the tug we had a 10-minute scramble to finish the last of the topside rigging and lock the hatch before the OOD would reach the dive point. A mile off the beach the sounding would hit 2000 fathoms.
In the late '80s/early '90s it wasn't unusual for the bridge watchstanders (inside the cockpit) to be wearing aloha shorts & slippers below their proper military khaki shirts. But some senior staff weenie officer probably thought that was unprofessional and brought that good deal to an end...
