Many years ago during my time as a yacht delivery skipper, we were dealing with a rising gale out in the Western Approaches. Myself and one of the crew were struggling with getting the mainsail down, being rolled and pitched every which way while at the same time clinging on for safety.. I looked up away from the flagging sail and there a few hundred yards off was this Huge black submarine.. sitting there, a few heads showing above the conning tower looking in our direction.. it was enormous, black, no markings. A silent killing machine. Warships are still ships, they sail as other ships, show themselves as ships, they're military but still, attractive in their way and in their function. This submarine brought it home to me that stormy day, it's a killing machine, as a shark is a killing machine. Deadly, awesome.
@James Graham We stopped painting hull numbers on our Sails in the ‘60’s, unless it’s for initial Launching/Commissioning, or Decommissioning, or PA photos near Port. During the Cold War, when we still had them painted, we found that the Russian Trawlers always waiting outside Groton, Norfolk, and Charleston, were keeping track of us by our hull numbers (the hull number and commissioning designation aren’t necessarily the same). SO…. Fast & Black, or Slow and Black. It’s extremely rare to see one of us with a number painted on the sail at sea for that very reason. One thing to keep in mind; what you see above the waterline when a boat is running surfaced, you’re only seeing about 1/5 of the actual hull. Most of the hull is submerged, even surfaced. Something else you might find interesting; in heavy weather (Tropical Storm and up) there’s no depth where the ocean won’t affect a Submarine. I’ve been at 400’ under a Tropical Storm that was right at the Cat 1 line, and we were taking 15-20 degree rolls.🤢 Oh….and I have actually tracked a Sailboat on Submarine Sonar - canvas only, no diesel. So don’t ever believe for a second that you’re safe from a Submarine in a Sailboat.😬😉
@@CYBERVISIONSdotCom Great reply, many thanks for that.. I did throw a quick wave at the tiny heads showing above the 'sail', nobody responded, adding to the seeming malevolence of the machine. One quick Q. When we hear of the depth ordered by the commander, are we talking about depth to the lowest part of the hull ? Depth from a transponder located at a particular point on the hull ? How is 'depth' calculated ?
I was stationed on a nuclear fast attack submarine in the late 70s and remember up to surface and my job was standing lookout on the conning tower, sailboats everywhere and the look on theirs faces was priceless.
My uncle was a submariner during WW2. He's been through a lot of scary situations, both in the service and his service as a police officer. He always said he's never been so scared in his life as when his sub was being depth charge, everything else was nothing. He still shakes every time he spoke about it.
The WW2 submarines always fascinated me. I think about the men who went to sea for weeks under miserable, terrible uncomfortable conditions in these iron coffins. The boats had no aircondition, the men took no showers or baths which ment the stench had to be horrible plus they're breathing it for weeks because there's no fresh air. I could survive a lot of things, but I don't think I could make it as a submariner.
NFK, but certainly indicative of what good work John McTiernan did directing HFRO. Let's hope Vasili worked the sonar suite right. And Ramius did kill Putin!!!!!
The "one ping only" is still used in the RN. Still not sure if was used as a form of self mockery, but it was used when civilians were aboard to test submarine kit.
It used to be that we didn't even dive until after the 100 fathom curve. There was one exception when we went down to periscope depth for a few hours in LI Sound for a dependents' cruise. We had the first TV camera assisted scope so it was interesting looking at the faces of people watching the screens. I was surprised that the Navy Ok'd this trip considering all the classified gear we had that couldn't be hidden.
@@tgmct I don’t think the Curve limit has changed any. I remember heading submerged at PD towards the Thames, & the OOD had the #2 on the bow of some big yacht. He had the mag up high enough that we could read his lips on the CCTV slave over the QM Plot Table when he saw us.
Always a pleasure to military history watch videos. Retired now served in Army, Navy, and AF Reserves. Worked in Aviation- AC and Submarines- STS. Kind of funny. Once remarked, "The the only good Marine, is a submarine". The RECON instructor at SCUBA school did not take to kindly to that.
@USNLegsDave What boat / Sonar NEC (or System)? As far as Jarheads, if you REALLY want to get rise out of them, just mention that they’re the best Foot Soldiers the Navy could find.
I always admired the submariners as being special and Extra brave, if that possible. The more I learn and read about them the greater my respect and admiration. We younger people should do everything possible to ensure that those people who fought get all the rewards they've earned.
Whenever I see some science fiction blockbuster with amazing starships, I always think that they are like submarines. Designed to protect people from the cold reaches of space. Layed out and designed like submarines. I guess that has always made the idea of submarines more romantic to me, and starships somehow more real.
Pretty sure most science fiction space ships draw from naval situations in general. But subs are definitely the closest.. basically as close as you can get to performing military operations in a space ship during present day.
Now, I've watched a lot a submarine docs. I'm a SCUBA Dive Master, and understands how these boats work. Given the scope of this doc, the running time constraints, that the film STILL manages to provide the most contextually substantial amount of NEW info for me is remarkable. Thank you for reminding me that I don't know everything, that I'm on the earth, and I won't be getting off. Cheers, guys. Thanks very much!
I have a nephew who is in the Navy. Thank God he was not put on a submarine because he is claustrophobic. It’s really something that he’s in the Navy. I remember him when he was a baby. I. also have another brother who is a veteran of the Iraq war. We’re very proud! 🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️❤️
There is some physical proof of the Saddam and gomora attacks were nuclear as well as written proof. Bible and the sumerian tablets talk about how they had two of these weapons on earth and that they were used. 🤝
This statement is not strictly accurate, Putin was heavily criticised for not being kept informed of accurate assessments of the state of readiness for the Russian sub rescue vessels. The blame falls entirely on the state of the military leadership responsible for their seaging naval capabilities and the poorly managed funds which syphoned off to line senior military officials pockets.
Not anymore.. The can be resupplied by ROV from 5k miles away...And the litmiting factor is maintenance. Submarines today require a full inspection every 9 months...
My oldest brother was on submarines and I had the chance to go in his a couple of times when it was in port. On time I was on it they were heading out in a few days and food was stored in every little unused space. He was a Sonar Tech Chief when he got out. He was on fast attacks. I did one enlistment as a tech on planes that chased submarines and my first job out of the Navy was working at EB. This was 50 years ago.
This is an excellent documentary and one of the best i've seen on submarines. The Kursk tragedy was horrific and even more so when it was eventually known some members of the crew survived the explosion which sent it to the sea bed, only for them to die a slow death.
@Bulletguy07 One of the positive things that came out of the KURSK accident is that the U.S.Navy (finally) and others designed an Escape / Survival suit (SEIE) that’s actually viable enough to keep us alive during an escape ascent and afterwards when we get to the surface. In the past with virtually every Nuclear Submarine loss, it’s been in waters far too deep to survive; Kursk was the first that showed that a few crew actually survived the massive explosion that sank their boat. In the past, such equipment was more for families than the crew; we always knew that in a major casualty, we’d all likely not survive given the depth of waters we normally operate in. The Kursk survivors didn’t really die that slow a death; one of them dropped an O2 candle into the water in the compartment, causing it to explode an use all of the remaining oxygen. There’s no possible way they could’ve been rescued; it takes too much time to determine a boat has been lost, and then locate it. Also, rescue vehicles in the past only work if they could mate with a hatch meaning it needed to be upright and not at a very large angle. That was a much quicker way to go.
There is a Submarine and museum in Mantiwoc, Wisconsin across from the Badger Ferry dock. My Father's cousin Bill ,engineer ,served on: the Nautilus voyage under the North pole, various diesel boats, Swift boats in southeast Asia and the Merchant Marine.
Remember, Adm. Doenitz was only a Kommodore at the start of the start of the war and not promoted to Konteradmiral until 1 October, 1939. He wasn’t given the rank of Grossadmiral until January, 1943 after the Resignation of Grossadmiral Erich Raeder.
Every submariner knows about him. He was the also the Last (Fuhrer) Head of State of Germany. Jimmy Carter was also a submariner. God Bless Submariners
Can some ex-submariner or a knowledgeable persons inform me how a sub cruising under deep or shallow waters Identify and evade underwater obstacles like ship wrecks, boulders, or even small mountains or obstructive terrain. It is dangerous to be blindly cruising. I am struggling with this doubt for a long time.
They use sonar. They release sound waves under water which reflects off of obstacles back to the sub which is then processed to create a 3D map of the surroundings and allows the submariners to evade obstacles
Military submarines generally don't use active sonar except immediately before an attack. So they use their depth gauges and reference seabed charts and their best estimates for the actual location of the sub. It doesn't always work: "Why are subs always running into things? Because they’re stealthy. So stealthy, in fact, that they don’t use the equipment necessary to detect obstacles."
Diplomats to South America?& the man mentioned no survivors to rescue after destroyer sinking. Thought it was Kreigsmarine policy not to pluck survivors from water after offensive operations
at the outset of WW-2, both American sub launched and aircraft launched torpedoes were badly defective with as little as 10% of fired torpedos both hitting the target and detonating. Many subs were lost because of this problem. It took two years to convince the Bureau of Weapons (BUWEPS) that this was true and to test the torpedoes. 1942 & '43 were lean years for US subs. Once the torpedoes were fixed it was game on. There are good videos on this topic on YT.
The original commercial communication machines were made by the Polish before the war. The polish did not however add the fourth wheel as the German navy used. Neither could they decode them without the plugin box and setting for the day or trip.
WW2 American fleet boat submarines were designed for operating in the Pacific. For very long patrols. Had refrigerated stores, air conditioning, water distillation
Dropping the atomic bomb "destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people." You missed the fact it SAVED the lives of millions of people by avoiding the invasion of Japan!!!! And thus tens if millions more in future generations.
@@juliusraben3526 “Your honour, I had to shoot that family. What other alternative did I have? If I lit their house on fire I could have killed dozens if it spread to neighbouring houses! I didn’t kill 4 people, *I SAVED DOZENS!”*
This is often missed. The primary source data is available via the footnotes in the work of Robert Frank that over 25,000 per month in Asia were saved after the bombs accelerated the complete surrender. Then the establishing of the global order afterward, and the myriad investment and creation of global interdependence by US - who did so without taking over the land they were helping, and with only limited occupations of belligerents, saved millions of lives, probably billions since that time. I have no problem exploring the sins of the west and open dialogue. I also have no problem admitting that it’s probably time for a new order of things where the US is not the police of the world. But it’s wrong for us to speak about this issue with resentment toward the west as if they are doing something wrong. The reasons during the aftermath were motivated by saving life, feeding populations, and building up societies. six generation, since the war have benefited and existed by the world order that we are all bankrolling. Change is not always an issue of blaming someone for the way things are. It is the peace and security, guaranteeing free trade over the worlds oceans by the US that has allowed for the peace and population explosions that have led to people desiring a new order of things. We are only free enough and smart enough to even begin speaking about international geopolitics because of the relative peace the world has known since then, allowing us all to become more egalitarian and educate ourselves. Just my opinion, worth what you paid for it. To highlight this point -Taiwan will probably be taken in the next 30 to 90 days. One look at the map and a simple conclusion about China’s adversaries in the region makes it clear that they have to take Taiwan if they are going to survive. It’s not even a sovereign nation in the strictest sense, but in a ambiguously gray definition, where half the population identifies as Chinese politically. Taiwan sent military hardware that it purchased from Switzerland back for repairs and upgrades. The Swiss turned around and sent it to a factory in China for the repairs. This is the order created by the postwar peace where global interdependence and logistics mean future combatants will likely continue to have logistics trains and capital investment from global sources. I wonder how militaries will instill patriotism, when the governments and businesses in a nation continue to trade with the other sovereign they are fighting
@ssssssssssss885 "Das Boot" is the submarine equivalent to "2001 A Space Odyssey" Indeed! The Das Boot series is a stand alone and is pretty good to watch. It's in German language. I was able to find a version subtitled in English.
He failed to mention the issue of non-working (dud torpedoes, aka “Toy Rifle” according to Gunther Prien) which the Germans didn’t fix until early, 1941, & the USA didn’t fix until mid, 1943.
He faied many things , like he ffailed to say a single word about the biggest ever tragedy - the US Thresher disaster, who was worse than Kursk... "On April 10, 1963, the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered attack submarine Thresher was lost with all 129 men aboard. The sub broke apart in 8,400 feet (2,560 meters) of water during deep-dive trials southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts."
Five two man Type A Japanese midget submarine at Pearl Harbor was sunk by surface action, subsequently depth-charged for good measure. Another ran aground, a third was sunk and the fourth was accounted for, but photographic evidence of the fifth midget submarine lends credence that it gained entry to battleship row and fired a torpedo at the USS Oklahoma. This fifth submarine was never found, and could be somewhere at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. No torpedoes we’re fires at any if the Type A submarines.
Typically there is a huge focus on the German U-boats which failed and virtually nothing about the American submarine campaign in the Pacific which not only succeeded but played a huge role in the War.
I cleaned up her galley and made up the "Fake Food" place settings. I also made the bunks every now and then. All to Present "LOLA" to the World. If you get a chance to Visit Conn. Come visit her. Its Free to the Public. Worth the day trip along with her Massive Free Submarine Museum. Did I mention absolutely FREE. God Bless Submariners.
I served abroad a nuclear missile boat in the late '60s!! The keel was laid down in the late '50s, so it wasn't one of the newer ones our Navy had in the fleet!! There were 41 boats in our program, 41 subs with anywhere from 12 to 24 missiles aboard, each with up to 8 nuclear warheads, some with different ranges!! So 41 subs with an average of 16 missiles, equals 48 warheads per sub, which is a grand total of 656 warheads!! Now given that not all of the boats were at sea at the same time, still 48 warheads per boat is a whole bunch of 'fuc& you'!! Consider, after receiving a launch order, we could go from cruising depth to have launched all of our missiles in less than 30 minutes, that's 48 nuclear warheads, heading up over the horizon, in less than half an hour, with no way to recall them!! All those 41 subs each with less computer power than today's newer cell phones!!
Boat of the Month club. Also the sail of the USS Geo. Washington SSBN 598 is at Nautilus Submarine Museum. Served on 2 Boomers my self. Ripple Launches are cool. God Bless Submariners.
The German u boat crews were more switched on than the allies even down to switching the round turnable valves around so even in the dark they could tell what did what by feel. Very savvy blessings to all the warriors on all sides 🙏🇬🇧👍
Oh my.... as a submariner from the 80's, the ending of this video sure makes the average US citizen think that the Russians are catching up technically, but, not really.... take a look at Jane's... I served on submarines with the same size and capabilities for as the new Russian ones 40 years ago
You can't locate an American sub by listening fo rth esub. You have to listen for the not-sound. In a 360 sweep you will hear all th eloing distance background noise except for one spot where that background noise is blocked. You aren;t listening for noise you are listening for silence
You are building a highly technological weapon with unskilled slave labor.people who are weak and dying and people who do not intend to put craftsmanship or quality into the vessel you are building. What could possibly go wrong with that?
U 534 was a gem and I am so glad that I got to tour the boat when it was intact at historic war ships at Ellesmere Port what a marvel it had water marks half way up the inside and the top half where the air pockets had been were still pristine even saw the wooden wedges hammered into the tares in the rear of the boat when it was sunk Shame it’s ended in bits and you can not enter it I have some good pictures
If i was the brits id a been changing the numbers and keeping all them u boots for my own fleet.... Why sink bram new submarines when the coulda kept em , they could sink em later if they didnt need em.
🤔 Terminology: German commentator: The “Grey Wolf” term was “strictly war time propaganda”? The boats were painted grey and operated in cohorts termed “wolf packs”. 🤣 It seems like a strait forward descriptive term, not propaganda, to me. BTW I am a former “Fast Attack” submariner. Our boats are now painted black instead of the historical grey color of the past (WW I & II). There is a friendly rivalry between submariners and surface surface sailors (“Skimmers” 🤣), and as the saying went:“Black is beautiful and Haze Grey sucks”, referring to the paint hue. 🤣 Several boats in the past and present were named “Seawolf” and in fact “Seawolf” describes a current class of “Fast Attack Submarines” (SSN’s), whose primary mission is to hunt and kill “Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBN’s, AKA “Boomers”) which launch SLBM’s (Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles). The movies “Das Boot” (the German release with English subtitles is the most compelling) and “The Hunt for Red October” represent fine portrayals of submarine operations in the WW II and the present nuclear eras respectfully. 😎
*_Hostile Waters_* is also a great Sub film too, even if a bit janky with some things; although the depiction of the level of corroding equipments, maintenance structures and protocols IS wholey indicative of Soviet & Russian Federation uncaingly callous 'make do & nothing is ever wrong attitude.
The day of submarines is over. Modern optics on orbiting satellites can look down at the ocean and see them. Not to mention the advances in detection of electromagnetic disturbances, oh wait... submarines are a giant ferrus metal tubes
I was deployed on the USS ALABAMA SSBN-731 when the KURSK went down. The crew was shocked, but we were pissed when we heard that Putin declined outside help. The sad aspect is that Putin doesn't care, but the wife of the officer not only lost her husband and she lost her only son fighting for Putin in Ukraine. Be safe and be 😎
Ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) are without a shadow of a doubt, the single deadliest weapon system in history. US Navy's Ohio class SSBNs, although not the largest submarines in the world, were by far the deadliest of deadly, given that prior to cutting down on the number of missile tubes, were carrying 24 Trident SLBMs (submarine launched ballistic missiles). Each Trident missile is capable of carrying up to 10 independently targetable nuclear warheads. Elementary school level of math gives you a number of 240 nuclear weapons per submarine. So one Ohio SSBN has more nuclear weapons than any other nuclear power excluding Russia and China. Again, 240 nuclear weapons are enough to defeat any nation in the world, including Russia and China... If that isn't the most powerful, devastating, destructible, crazy and over the top weapon system in the world, than I sure as hell don't know what is...
How its strange that the mutual destruction is a so functional but so stupid concept at the same time. This strategy prevent the growth of a third war, but at the same time whats matter to shooting at the enemy if my country was completly erased away?
I remember when this happened. I was in Phoenix to work at Intel. I was so pissed off, because we could have saved the sailors, but the Russians wouldn't allow it. They are my family, my fellow submariners. No matter what nation they work for. the d.s.r.v. was ready to go.
4:20 It was widely felt that the U-boat crew were typically amongst the most ardent pro-Nazis or at least, highly-motivated guys; they were for the *most* part volunteers, esp. early on. Others have contradicted this. But to put up with their awful environment & conditions, survival probabilities etc, motivation must have been extremely high
