Question for Navy Pers

[gnplummer421]

Someone at my work during lunch asked me a question about Subs. Since I'm ex-Army, I really didn't have an answer, but  I did get curious about it myself; the question..

Why do Subs not fire Torpedos straight up from underneath a ship instead of out the front toward a ship....is it an arming thing? Or a design impossibility..

Thanks
Gnplummer421 ???

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Not a submariner but look at it from this way...that would be a lot of depth a submarine would have to be instead of distance. SO if a torpedo had to be fired up, the submarine would have to get with (and under) a mile or less. More of a chance to be detected. Subs would have to be bult stronger as they would have to survive greater crush depths. Subs would also lose an ability to operate in shallow water.

 

[spud]

Why do Subs not fire Torpedos straight up from underneath a ship instead of out the front toward a ship....is it an arming thing? Or a design impossibility..
Thanks
Gnplummer421 ???

Uhh. Umm. It's a trying not to get shot thing. Why try get under it if you can hit it from farther away?

potato

 

[TAS278]

Well it is actually it is just becuase the explosion under water is so massive that the submarine would simply be destroyed by its own weapon. The design of a torpedo is not to hit the ship but to explode underneath it,  creating an air pocket and launching the ship into the air. When the ship comes back down it esentially breaks in half killing pretty much everyone. It is one of the only one shot-one kill weapons available against ships.

 

[George Wallace]

"What goes up, must come down!" is a saying that plays a big factor here.  In the cases, already pointed out, the target vessel would be coming down on top of you also.  In the case of the Polar Icecap, the likelihood of the ice coming down is not much of a factor, but there would be other debris that may factor into the equation, along with the effects of the blast as already mentioned.

 

[gnplummer421]

Thanks for your input...keep in mind that I was on the nighshift, and we sometimes don't think clearly when we discuss thing..it sounded like a legitimite question, but now I feel a little silly...thanks for not poking fun at me

BTW, what kind of armament/type of torpedos do our Subs use, and are they in full service now?

Bob

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Not yet....when they do become operational they will be using the MK48 torpedo.

 

[Armymatters]

Not yet....when they do become operational they will be using the MK48 torpedo.

To get an idea of what the Mark 48 torpedo does, here's a test firing on a derlict ship:

The torpedo detonated under the hull, as designed, and broke the destroyer in two. The stern half sank immediately, the bow half sometime later.

The Victoria's had sub-Harpoon missile capability, but that was taken out of them during Canadianization and de-mothballing. In theory, that capability can be restored if needed, as the Australians installed sub-Harpoon in a Oberon class submarine (the same type the Victoria's replaced).

 

[CallOfDuty]

  Since we're on the Sub topic...........can you guys tell me whats going on with them these days?  I don't know, but everytime I go over the bridge I see them sitting there all together, and it doesn't seem like anyone is doing anything with them.  They look rather sad
  I wouldn't mind doing some time on a sub if I get the chance
Steve

 

[Armymatters]

  Since we're on the Sub topic...........can you guys tell me whats going on with them these days?  I don't know, but everytime I go over the bridge I see them sitting there all together, and it doesn't seem like anyone is doing anything with them.  They look rather sad
  I wouldn't mind doing some time on a sub if I get the chance
Steve

Last thing I heard was tied up until further notice for further repairs and modifications... the following is what I know of the status of all the ships:
HMCS Windsor: Our only operational submarine, but suffered a transformer meltdown that started a small fire. Lucky, no one was hurt, and Windsor is still operational (pending repairs)
HMCS Victoria: In drydock at Esquimalt, due to the that Victoria has a dent in its hull the size of a pizza, and is in for repair work. Not operational yet.
HMCS Cornerbrook: In retrofit and Canadianization, the last time I heard about her.
HMCS Chicoutimi: In for repairs from the tragic fire while on her maiden voyage. Repairs are due to start this year, and hopefully, be completed by 2007.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

  Since we're on the Sub topic...........can you guys tell me whats going on with them these days?  I don't know, but everytime I go over the bridge I see them sitting there all together, and it doesn't seem like anyone is doing anything with them.  They look rather sad
   I wouldn't mind doing some time on a sub if I get the chance
Steve

those are the 4 decommissioned Oberons you see crossing the bridge.

 

[CallOfDuty]

Oh really??....jeez, I did not know that.  Thanks Ex.  ( what are they going to do with them??)

  And thank you armymatters for your info as well 
Cheers guys
Steve
 

 

[speedrose2]

Obviously there are some Halifax folks here. Anyone know the story on Apache AH-64 Longbow that has been frequenting the airspace over Dartmouth/Halifax this past week. It appears to be operating from Shearwater. My apologies if this should be in a differnet thread.

 

[Armymatters]

Oh really??....jeez, I did not know that.  Thanks Ex.  ( what are they going to do with them??)

  And thank you armymatters for your info as well 
Cheers guys
Steve
 

Scrap heap:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/05/25/subs050525.html
They are HMCS Onondaga, HMCS Ojibwa, HMCS Okanagan and Olympus. To get them seaworthy again would be very expensive and is just not worth it for these subs. They haven't been maintained at all after being decommissioned. The navy is expecting around $50,000 to $60,000 each submarine as scrap metal.

 

[CallOfDuty]

  Thanks for the link, armymatters......Now when I go over the bridge I wont look at those old subs the same now!!!
    Welcome to Army.ca speedrose2.  Are you a military man/woman?  I live behind shearwater, but I can't say that I've noticed the helicopter you're talking about.
Steve

 

[NavyShooter]

Don't know about the Apache, but there was a V-22 Osprey flitting about last week up near the Halifax Airport area (I'm 8 min from the AP)

BTW, there was one description I read regarding that torpex shown above....it was an Australian shoot, and the sub that did the firing was 12 Nautical Miles away.  Gives an idea what "Reach out and touch someone" really means.

NS

 

[CallOfDuty]

  That Osprey is being kept in Air Canadas hangar, and its  been there for a long time now....wonder if shes gone.

 

[speedrose2]

Saw the Apache Longbow again today flying a southerly approach to Shearwater over Portland Estates @ approx 1625. There were several bright orange panels on the forward and aft part of the fuselage and it appeared to be minus the gun turret under the nose.