What I Did On Submarines

[johnb]

Just to complete my posts on this thread, my US friend says the bag of brass came across in one of his containers, his mother collected antiques so he thinks it came from her house, he has no idea how the HM Submarine Gill measure ended up in the states, anyway as ex British forces he has given it to me as a gift, and I will indeed endeavor to drink from it on remembrance day each year.

 

Cheers

 

John

[NavyRN]

During the Cold War, I served with the Marine Corps as an FMF Corpsman.  After the Cold War, I served on Fast Attack boats as the Doc.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

[BrettGC]

During the Cold War, I served with the Marine Corps as an FMF Corpsman.  After the Cold War, I served on Fast Attack boats as the Doc.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

Andy, here's a question I ask a lot of my mates that have made to the move to a commission.  Do you consider yourself more the officer or more the SNCO?  Most of my friends served the majority of their time as enlisted before accepting a commission so consider themselves more sailor/soldier/airman than officer.  Those that made the jump from the lower JNCO or lower, normally reply that the opposite is true.

 

Brett

[NavyRN]

 

During the Cold War, I served with the Marine Corps as an FMF Corpsman.  After the Cold War, I served on Fast Attack boats as the Doc.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

Andy, here's a question I ask a lot of my mates that have made to the move to a commission.  Do you consider yourself more the officer or more the SNCO?  Most of my friends served the majority of their time as enlisted before accepting a commission so consider themselves more sailor/soldier/airman than officer.  Those that made the jump from the lower JNCO or lower, normally reply that the opposite is true.

 

Brett

 

 

 

During the Cold War, I served with the Marine Corps as an FMF Corpsman.  After the Cold War, I served on Fast Attack boats as the Doc.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

Andy, here's a question I ask a lot of my mates that have made to the move to a commission.  Do you consider yourself more the officer or more the SNCO?  Most of my friends served the majority of their time as enlisted before accepting a commission so consider themselves more sailor/soldier/airman than officer.  Those that made the jump from the lower JNCO or lower, normally reply that the opposite is true.

 

Brett

 

That's easy.  I was enlisted for 21 years and a Chief for 8 before I got commissioned, so I definitely will always identify as an enlisted man.

[BrettGC]

before I got commissioned

 

Sounds like a nasty disease!!! :hystery:

[Jake]

 

before I got commissioned

 

Sounds like a nasty disease!!! :hystery:

 

Watch it now Senior, the LT is a former chief petty officer and I'm sure Andy can dish it out and bite you

in the ass just like a good chief.....he, he.  We wouldn't have it any other way -- it's a typical goat locker's

(chief's mess) ribbing among our brothers in crime.

 

I do have another question for you Andy when you were assigned as the medical officer on LA attack subs.

I wonder what would be a common ailment among submariners?  The reason I'm asking is the ambient air

you breath while submerged and then being exposed to outside air upon returning to port.  Are there other

ailments that is unique to the sub force?

 

Respectfully -- Jake (an easy surface target)

[NavyRN]

Jake, 

the most common ailment I saw was vaginitis and weak genes..... :lol: We have a pretty strict screening process for submarines, so typically the most common ailment was usually the common cold, or boat crud as we used to call it.  We would see the occasional skin disorder, and although I have no data to correlate, I believe that it had a lot to do with the Aminie.used in the atmosphere..

[Jake]

Jake, 

the most common ailment I saw was vaginitis and weak genes..... :lol: We have a pretty strict screening process for submarines, so typically the most common ailment was usually the common cold, or boat crud as we used to call it.  We would see the occasional skin disorder, and although I have no data to correlate, I believe that it had a lot to do with the Aminie.used in the atmosphere..

Thanks LT!  And thank you for that wonderful word vaginitis - you owe me a new keyboard for spilling my coffee,

laughing so hard.  You may be a commissioned US Naval officer but your heart is still down in the goat locker.

 

I took the liberty (out of curiosity) of researching some more on how they scrub the CO2 and other harmful stuff.

It's still all FM to me, especially basic nuclear propulsion and sonar technology.  

 

Here's that article from Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) about their scientific studies on board seven fast

attack boats: http://ww2.odu.edu/ao/instadv/quest/RunSilentRunClean.html

 

“Long-term chronic exposure to toxins, even at very low levels that are normally not considered to be hazardous, could lead to health problems,” says team leader Luttrell. “Multiple chemical interactions can also be damaging. We’re focusing on agents that even in very small quantities could be harmful over a long period of time.”

 

Respectfully -- Jake

[sam rohrer]

Whilst diesel/electric boats are virtually undetectable due to the fact that they run on batteries 90% of the time, there are some downsides.  Every night, we had to withdraw from station to raise the snort induction mast so we could run the diesel alternators to charge the batteries.  Now this mast is big for obvious reasons, and poses the greatest threat of detection on a conventional boat.  Modern technology with synthetic aperture radars - very high definition - are able to detect these masts.  Add to that the fact the exhaust from the diesels is also vented through this mast you have to be very careful indeed.  The mast is also used to refresh the air in the boat, unlike nuke boats, D/E submarines do not make their own oxygen.  There was many a time, due to operational constraints, we weren't able to conduct a snort for up to 3 days  at a time meanwhile the batteries are running down, the CO2 in the boat is building, and we're sitting on the bottom waiting for whoever it is that's floating on the surface to bugger off.  Yeah, like nuke boats, we did carry oxygen candles, but they do nothing to reduce the CO2 in the air so people are fatigued, have headaches and generally pretty sh&tty. 

 

HMAS Sheean holds the record in the RAN for the longest time dived, 73 days;  needless to say by the end of it, tempers were pretty frayed.  Due to both the Oberon and Collins being designed for more temperate waters around the UK and Switzerland respectively,  the ACs are inadequate to the task in warmer temperature water so most of the time the ambient temperature in the boat was about 35C (95F) with the local humidity thrown in for good measure.  Noise discipline dictated that non-essential equipment use be kept to a minimum, this included the showers - we were not allowed showers at all on the Oberons, just a bird bath every couple of days, on the Collins we could have a shower every third day depending on where we were at the time.  After about day 14 you've run out of fresh fruit and veges and milk, after about day 21 the last of the bread goes, day 30 say bye-bye to non-canned meat; time to break out the fibre and vitamin supplements.  Generally after a patrol, you're run-down, smelly, verging on malnourished and as pale as a ghost as you haven't seen the sun in any form for over two months and are in a particularly crappy frame of mind.  And they wonder why submariners have a reputation for being slightly unbalanced.

 

It did have some great upsides though:  Listening to whale song through the hull, watching ships on video streams that have no idea you're there, the feeling of doing something that is fairly unique, the mates.  Not being able to stay on the boat when you pulled in somewhere so they paid for motels with about $125US a day "meal allowance".  Our first stop after coming off station was normally Pattaya for about 10 days; I don't care how good you are, there is no way you are going to blow $125/day with the prices there - even if you are the biggest root rat in 15 navies.  The rest of the navy used to leave us alone too, a very good thing.

 

Do I miss it sometimes? Yeah.  Would I do it again? Nah, that part of my life is over.

 

CPOCTS Brett (retarded).

 I was on the 490 boat out of SD Cal. from '68 to 70. ( my 4th diesel/electic boat) and we were on a "spec op"  and were submerged for 69 days. periscope depth at night to run diesel, charge batts, and revitalize. was a trying experience. I was a smoker in those days. By the time we got R snorkle mast up there was not enuff oxygen in the boat to keep a cigarette burning. Breathing was like being at a VERY high elevation and we just took deeper breaths.  just another adventure in my life and something I AM VERY PROUD OF.     SAM ROHRER   RET. U S NAVY

[sam rohrer]

 

 

Well since they've declassified it, here's an article on what we Submariners do:

 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/cold-war-exploits-of-australias-secret-submarines/story-e6frg6z6-1226742599268?sv=4c36ce2811be83184b40d41b980e7b1f

 

Fun times. 

 

I missed out on much of that having served for 3 years on a US boomer submarine. Though we did have a few exciting times. I have already mentioned a few of those in other threads.

 

Brett, just between me and you, there are only two types of ships....

 

submarines...

 

and targets.

 

 

Amen to that mate :)

 

 

I find this stuff fascinating.  Have any of you read the book "Blind Man's Bluff"?

 

Haven't read it Doug, been on my "gonna" list for years though.

 

there was a documentary made of that book. I have a copy.  Interestig to me becuse I was involved in some of the stuff in the book. also I spent a couple years on the USS Gudgeon SS 567 that has a foto and is mentioned in the book.