USS Jimmy Carter (the "F/A-22" of submarines)

If anyone could confirm this I would appriciate it.

I read somewhere that the shape of a nuclear submarine's hull was determined by taking a balloon filled with a liquid lighter that water down to the bottom of a water tank and let it float to the top. The shape that the balloon took on the way to the surface was photographed. The theory behing this is that the balloon would assume the most effiecent shape to travel thru the water.

news.yahoo.com...

The new submarine was on its way to some training exercises at an undisclosed location after leaving Groton, Conn., where it was built by General Dynamics Electric Boat Division.

It is the third and final Seawolf class of attack submarines ordered by the Pentagon during the final years of the Cold War. The 453-foot, 12,000-ton submarine has a 50-torpedo payload and eight torpedo tubes. According to intelligence experts, it can tap undersea cables and eavesdrop on the communications passing through them.

"This is the finest ship in this Navy or in any Navy," Carter said immediately after the dive. "No other submarine has ever been like this."

The $3.2 billion vessel can reach speeds of more than 25 knots and carry Tomahawk cruise missiles and anti-submarine torpedoes. It is engineered to be quieter than the other two Seawolf submarines, making it better for surveillance.

To ensure that the last Seawolf wasn't obsolete before it hit the water, the Pentagon delayed production to install a 100-foot hull extension, making the ship much longer than its sister ships

so the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter is quieter eh? i wonder wat changes they made to it besides extending the hull. wat made this sub get a little quieter than the first two Seawolfs.

Most of the signifiant noise quieting features are classified. One poster got it correct however in explaining that certain parts are suspended in special mounts to absorb noise and vibration. This is a on going ,changing ,evolving technology. It too has "come a long way Baby". It has been taken further in the Virginia class boats coming on line currently. What has been learned in the 688 class boats and earlier has been continued and improved to the Ohio class boomers to the Sea Wolfs and into the Virginias. The work continues.
When you walk around a boat to different compartments you will see signs posted on the doors and bulkheads.. "Think Quiet". They are very serious about this.

Thanks,
Orangetom

My apologies for missing your question on the first go around. You posted:

Also I was looking at the USS San Franciso pictures to see the tiles, but don’t really know what I’m looking at. The tiles on the outside of the hull rather than sandwiched inside of it right?"

The tiles are visible mostly on the upper half of the hull. The dark blue part above the red or redish orange section on the bottom half of the hull. The tiles go all the way around the hull fore to aft but are more visible on the upper half. They are square about 18 to 20 inchs square. Obviously they are damaged up foreward where the hull is bent and rippled. But aft of the damage you can see them on the Upper half.
I am assuming you have the views where you can see from directly at the side instead of the view looking straight back from the bow to the stern.
The best visible shot for the tiles is taken from the port side. Remember this is a older design style of tiles. Yes they are on the outside of the hull rather than inside.


Thanks,
Orangetom

I remember in deck div, we started sanding the tiles instead of painting them. So they stay looking black longer. We'd hang over topside in a harness with a pneumatic grinder. Talk about back breaking work. And then the EPA got on our ass so we had a boom around the ship to collect the tile particles and vacuum things up at the end of the day.

Yeah no mystery to how a nuke boat accelerates. When an engine speed order is given with cavitate, the throttleman in maneuvering can crank the main throttles wide open really fast. You can feel the acceleration. It's bad enough if you're standing up in control you need to grab something to not lose your balance.

Originally posted by Schaden
I remember in deck div, we started sanding the tiles instead of painting them. So they stay looking black longer. We'd hang over topside in a harness with a pneumatic grinder. Talk about back breaking work. And then the EPA got on our ass so we had a boom around the ship to collect the tile particles and vacuum things up at the end of the day.

How do you sand with a pneumatic grinder?

Since when do subs have a deck division? What rate were you in "deck division?"

Yeah no mystery to how a nuke boat accelerates. When an engine speed order is given with cavitate, the throttleman in maneuvering can crank the main throttles wide open really fast. You can feel the acceleration. It's bad enough if you're standing up in control you need to grab something to not lose your balance.

When was the last time that you were on a sub? What class? I am confused about your changing speeds response.

Originally posted by orangetom1999
The tiles are visible mostly on the upper half of the hull. The dark blue part above the red or redish orange section on the bottom half of the hull. The tiles go all the way around the hull fore to aft but are more visible on the upper half. They are square about 18 to 20 inchs square. Obviously they are damaged up foreward where the hull is bent and rippled. But aft of the damage you can see them on the Upper half.
I am assuming you have the views where you can see from directly at the side instead of the view looking straight back from the bow to the stern.
The best visible shot for the tiles is taken from the port side. Remember this is a older design style of tiles. Yes they are on the outside of the hull rather than inside.


Thanks,
Orangetom

Thanks for the reply.

I have looked at the pics some more after reading your post, and still can't really make out the tiles taht great on the hull in the pics I have seen.

I did however notice something I wanted to ask you about.

In the first picture below you can see what almost looks like a grid of tiles hanging off the bow as the hull has been ripped apart. Are these the same tiles you are referring to or something else like maybe the sonar system





Whatever they are they seem to be of some importance or even classified because in the first picture I posted above it appears that the workers are trying to cover them with a tarp. In every other picture I have seen they are covered by a larger tarp yet the rest of the damage to the bow is exposed so I don't think that tarp is to keep rain water and what not out.

See the large blue tarp covering that specific area, but not the rest of the damage in this picture







I was also wondering why they paint the top black, and the bottom red? What the purpose of the reddish colored paint on the bottom of the hull is? The whole thing goes underwater so why would they only paint the bottom like a regular ship?

[edit on 15-8-2005 by warpboost]

You seem to have a different set of pictures than do I.
On the bow section I believe the square pieces you are looking at are somewhat white or yellow on a definite pattern. If so these are the sonar transducers. The actual sonar sensor is in this series of pictures the round dome on the bow which in this series of pictures has been smashed by the collision and bent somewhat over to the starbord side.
As to the painting scheme..the dark colours are so as to not be so visible from the air. The bottom colours are so that it can be visible somewhat if it goes to the bottom. Aircraft too are painted different colour schemes top and bottom. Remember .other than transiting to get to deep water or coming back from deep water..subarines do not usually run on the surface.

Thanks,
Orangeton

Orange, thanks for the response. I figured the black on top was to offer some camouflage when viewed from the air, or when they do run on the surface, but I never knew the red was for if it goes to the bottom

So the smashed sqare pieces I was referring to are the sonar transducers. I actually was think they are part of the sonar because of where they are located in the bow. I was looking at pics of sphereical sonar transducers, and was wondering if the smashed one in the pics was spherical before the collision?

So why did they tarp off the transducer? is it because it's classified?


I was also wondering if the modern USN subs have cctv cameras outside to actually see what they are doing or does only the mini subs they carry have cctv capability?

One more question concerning sonar. I read something about spoofing sonar. I was wondering if they can spoof enemy sonar to make them think they are somewhere that they aren't or jam the sonar somehow?

Orange, I also figured I would let you your sig says Orangeton so you could fix it if you want.

Thanks

Warpboost,
Yes the sonar sphere is rounded. This one is smashed severely by the collision. No it is not classified per se as they have pictures posted all over the web of the set up. Certain specifics of the set up are classified but the configuration obviously is not by the web postings.

As to cctv cameras there are many different setups for that and they are making serious advancements ..that is all I will tell you about this area except as in previous posting I stated that they were going beyond Flash Gordon in some of this High Tech

As to spoofing sonar..I cannot tell you about this either ..except to once again use the Flash Gordon approach. I believe I have also used the expression "you've come along ways Baby"!!!!

Thanks for letting me know about my typo error. I will have to work on it much more.

Thanks,
Orangetom

From everything I've heard/read/researched you can decoy torpedo sonar with something like the Nixie system on surface ships, or ship sonar by using a decoy with the subs. Basically the decoy is a torpedo with the warhead/targetting/sonar package removed and electronics put in its place. It tools along sending out "reactor" noise and sounding like a submarine, while the real sub goes quiet and tries to do their best impression of a hole in the water.

The Nixie is a towed array setup, the biggest drawback is that it sounds like rain on the surface, so if you know the surface conditions, and it's a beautiful day, and you hear rain......

I recall working on the USS Eisenhower years ago when it came in for a refit. Working as part of a deck crew we were tasked with removing four large reels at the fantail. we removed them and shipped them out to vendors for overhauling.scribed. The set up was pretty much as described by a previous poster. A small torpedo looking device attached to a cable attached to this reel. I was told that this "nixie" was a noise maker such that a torpedo would be attracted to the nixie and destroy it rather than the ships propellors,shafting or rudders.
The set up looked rather expensive ..but not when compared to the entirety and importance of the rest of the ship and its functioning.
The loss of a single propellor, propellor shaft , or rudders would severely impair the ability of the ship to maneuver or launch aircraft.

Thanks ,
Orangetom

So people know what Zaphod58, and Orangetom are referring to here are some pictures I found while googling for "nixie system".










[edit on 18-8-2005 by warpboost]

Yup..thats what it looked like in that picture of the Navy guy holding the nixie itself. Now there were stowage racks on the bulkheads that looked like it was a place where more nixies were stowed. I assume that a significant explosion near the end of the cable could easily damage the nixie and that they were obviously made to be disposalbe. By the stowage racks I also surmised that they can change them out somewhat quickly on the ends of the cables. A handy feature to have when under fire.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Originally posted by COOL HAND
How do you sand with pneumatic gria nder?

Since when do subs have a deck division? What rate were you in "deck division?"


When was the last time that you were on a sub? What class? I am confused about your changing speeds response.

Think of a giant dremel tool with service air power. We used sandpaper attachments, and metal "pokers" to take care of rust on the hull and topside..

Subs have had deck divisions since the beginning. It is organized and specified in the SSORM Standard Submarine Organization & Regulation Manual. I was an ET & left the service under the Clinton administration. Just about every rate does time in deck division while qualifying. It's like mess cranking. Subs have lean crews and most people have multiple job titles.

What is this twenty questions ???

[edit on 22-8-2005 by Schaden]

"Seawolfs are basically just more heavily armed versions of Virginias. " NOT!!! I'm a plankowner on the CARTER. The Seawolf-class was around 10 years before Virginia. As far as all the talk about "tiles," neither of the 2 classes in this post has those tiles on the hull. Their hulls are covered in a process known as MIP (Mold In Place). The CARTER has the ability to do everything "they" say it can and MORE. I toured the VIRGINIA. The only impressive thing about her is her control room. The rest of the boat is cramped. 2 men can barely squeeze past each other in berthing. A Seawolf-class is quieter at speed than a Los Angeles-class is tied up to the pier. You don't hear noise outside the boat because of sound silencing. I'd say the largest producers of sound transients on-board subs are the cooks, or more accurately, the cranks (FSA's, Food Service Attendants).

ET2 (SS)

reply to post by orangetom1999

The CARTER doesn't have tiles. It, along with the WOLF and CT, has a hull covering called MIP after the process by which it is applied: Mold In Place. It is a labor-intensive process that results in a quieter boat than one covered in tiles. How do I know? I'm a plankowner on the CARTER.

Originally posted by warpboost
Fiber optics use light and not electrical pulses so there is no EM field right? The EM field is what allows induction to work right? My guess is that they use some type of xray like technolgy to see the light pulses and record them

[edit on 9-8-2005 by warpboost]

To answer your question:

The electromagnetic field extends indefinitely throughout space and describes the electromagnetic interaction. It is one of the four fundamental forces of nature (the others are gravitation, the weak interaction, and the strong interaction). The field propagates by electromagnetic radiation; in order of increasing energy (decreasing wavelength) electromagnetic radiation comprises: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.

SOURCE

Originally posted by Tomme73
reply to post by orangetom1999

 

The CARTER doesn't have tiles. It, along with the WOLF and CT, has a hull covering called MIP after the process by which it is applied: Mold In Place. It is a labor-intensive process that results in a quieter boat than one covered in tiles. How do I know? I'm a plankowner non the CARTER.

Tomme

You know it took me awhile to realize how far they had come with this tile buisness. THe little squares have been replaced with the new method of which you speak. Very involved when they are under construction. I will not go into many details but suffice it to say that I have been in the sheds where the Virginias are under construction. This is a long way from the humble beginings of this tile application. From what I have seen of it ..from a distance..indeed it is a labor intensive as you describe. Also pretty strictly controlled. Suffice it to say ...I have been around some pretty nasty stuff in my time. I will pass on that job...putting on MIP...no thank you .

Orangetom

Originally posted by Tomme73
reply to post by orangetom1999

 

The CARTER doesn't have tiles. It, along with the WOLF and CT, has a hull covering called MIP after the process by which it is applied: Mold In Place. It is a labor-intensive process that results in a quieter boat than one covered in tiles. How do I know? I'm a plankowner on the CARTER.

Tomme,
Thanks for that info. Yes...it took me some time to fully realize how far they had come with that process from the early tile days.
While I wont go into to many details...suffice it to say that I have been recently in the sheds where the Virginias are under construction.

That newer process is indeed as you describe ...labor intensive. I have worked on and with some nasty stuff in my time but I think I will pass on the odors coming from those controlled areas where the MIP is taking place. No thanks. The first time I saw the fruit of the new process close up was on the sail unit ..it was like...Wow!! You've come a long way Baby.!!

Thanks,
Orangetom