Attack of the Seawolf mp-2

by Michael Dimercurio

  Patrol Quiet — Ship system’s lineup to ensure maximum quiet while allowing normal creature comforts such as cooking and movie watching. Maintenance on equipment is allowed, if it does not involve banging on the hull. Noisy operations are permitted only with the captain’s permission, such as reactor coolant discharge, steam generator blow downs etc.

  PD (Periscope Depth) — An operation in which a ship comes shallow enough to see with the periscope. Certain operations can be done only at periscope depth by decree of the Submarine Standard Operating Procedures manual. Such items include steam generator blow down shooting trash from the TDU, and blowing sanitary. Some things can only be done at PD, including radio reception of satellite broadcasts, reception of a NAV SAT pass, and ESM activities. Slows the ship down since high speeds can rip off the periscope. Dangerous operation since quiet surface ships can get close without being detected by sonar.

  Pilot — A person who has detailed knowledge and experience of a port and approach waterways. Taken on prior to entering or exiting port to serve as an advisor to the captain. A mixed blessing for ship captains, since a pilot’s mistake still gets the captain fired (the ship is the captain’s ultimate responsibility, not the pilot’s), while ignoring a pilot can also get a captain fired, especially if the ship runs aground.

  Ping — An active sonar pulse.

  P.L.A — People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese military, composing both the army and navy.

  Polymer Injection — The injection of a polymer into the boundary layer of a submarine at the nose cone The slippery liquid reduces the skin friction of the ship, reducing the drag. The result is the ability to dramatically increase ship’s top speed for short periods of time. Ideal for torpedo evasion.

  Poopy Suit — Underway uniform worn by American submariners. Usually cotton coveralls. Origin unknown, but probably refers to frequent occurrence of showers and laundry service being curtailed when rigged for ultra quiet or when the evaporator is broken, causing the coveralls to stink.

  Position One (Pos One) — Furthest forward console of the firecontrol system. Usually set up with the captain’s and XO’s guess solution to the contact, or shows the geographic display for a God’s eye view of the sea.

  Position Two (Pos Two) — Firecontrol console between Pos One and the Firing Panel. Usually set up to the Line-of-Sight mode so that the Pos Two officer can come up with his own independent firecontrol solution under the XO’s supervision.

  Position Three (Pos Three) — Furthest aft console of the firecontrol system. Usually set up to program torpedo tubes and weapons.

  Power Range — Nuclear power level above the intermediate range. In the power range, steam can be produced by the reactor for propulsion.

  PRC — People’s Republic of China, the Communists.

  Propulsor — Sophisticated screw that uses ducting and multistage water turbine blades for propulsion instead of a conventional screw. Similar to a water jet. Extremely quiet and nearly impossible to cavitate. Disadvantage includes slow response and acceleration due to relatively low thrust compared to conventional screws.

  Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) — Weapons officer aboard a U.S. Navy fighter aircraft.

  Range — Distance to a contact.

  Reactor Compartment — Compartment housing the reactor, pressurizer, steam generators, and reactor main coolant pumps. Access fore and aft is through a shielded tunnel, since anyone inside the compartment when the reactor is critical would be dead within a minute from the intense radiation.

  Reactor Main Coolant Pumps — Massive pumps, each consuming between 100 and 400 horsepower, that force main coolant water through the reactor and then to the steam generators. Three are in each main coolant loop. Special design allows zero leakage.

  Reactor Plant Control Panel (RPCP) — Control panel in the maneuvering room where the Reactor Operator controls the reactor.

  Reduction Gear — The mechanism that converts the high RPMs of the two main engines (propulsion turbines) to the slow RPM of the screw. Solves the problem of how to get two turbines to drive a single screw. Also solves the problem of how to let the main engines rotate at high RPM where they are efficient while letting the screw rotate at the low RPM where it is efficient. Unfortunately, the reduction gear is one of the noisiest pieces of equipment aboard.

  REM — Roentgen Equivalent Man. A unit of radiation dosage that takes into account tissue damage due to neutron radiation. Convenient since it allows gamma, alpha, and neutron radiation to be measured with the same units. 1000 rem will kill. 500 rem may kill. Yearly dose for submarine personnel is restricted to less than 25 to 100 milli rem

  Rig For Black — Submarine term meaning “turn off the lights in the control room.”

  Rig For Dive — A detailed valve and switch lineup done in preparation to dive. Initially done by a dolphin-wearing enlisted man and checked by a dolphin-wearing officer.

  Rig For Patrol Quiet — Ship systems lineup to ensure maximum quiet while allowing normal creature comforts such as cooking and movie watching. Maintenance on equipment is allowed, if it does not involve banging on the hull. Noisy operations are permitted only with the captain’s permission, such as reactor coolant discharge, steam generator blow downs etc.

  Rig For Ultraquiet — Ship systems lineup done in a tactical situation such as a close trailing OP or in wartime. Only the quietest equipment is running. Offwatch personnel are required to be in bed. The galley, showers, laundry, movies, and maintenance of equipment are all prohibited to minimize noise. Hard-soled shoes are prohibited. Lights are shifted to red to remind the crew of the need for silence. The ship is eerily quiet, as if run by ghosts.

  Rig For White — Submarine term meaning “turn on the lights in the control room.”

  RO (Reactor Operator) — Nuclear-trained enlisted man who mans the Reactor Plant Control Panel and reports to the EOOW.

  RPG — Rocket-propelled grenade.

  Run-To-Enable — Initial torpedo run taking it away from own ship. During the run-to-enable, the warhead is not armed and the sonar is not operational. When the run-to-enable is complete, the weapon activates the active or passive sonar and swims the search pattern. The warhead is not armed until it has a detect on the target.

  Sail — Conning tower. Named because, unlike the conning towers of World War II diesel boats, which were misshapen and asymmetrical, modern nuclear submarine conning towers are smooth fins with square profiles when viewed from the side. Someone in the distant past called it a sail and the term became official.

  SCRAM — An emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor, done by driving control rods to the bottom of the core using springs. A term left over from the 1940s when primitive lab reactors had a single control rod suspended by a rope. An emergency shutdown would be done by cutting the rope and letting the rod drop by gravity. The safety man was called the Safety Control Rod Ax Man — hence SCRAM.

  SCRAM Breaker — A circuit breaker that interrupts power to the latching electromagnets of the control rod drive mechanisms. When the breaker opens, electrical power to the electromagnets is shut off, the magnets lose their magnetism, and the latches of the rods open, lowing springs to drop the rods to the bottom of the core.

  Scrambled Eggs — The gold branches of leaves sewn onto the brim of a senior officer’s cap.

  Scrubber — CO2 scrubber. Atmospheric control equipment that rids the ship of carbon dioxide (from breathing, the diesel, and the CO burner) by blowing it over an amine bed.

  SEAL — Sea/Air/Land commando.

  Sea Trials — Post-construction shakedown cruise of a ship. Done to ensure the equipment lives up to specifications and is ready to perform its mission.

  SECDEF — Secretary of Defense.

  Section Tracking Team — A firecontrol team stationed to man the plots and firecontrol system when tracking a hostile contact for extended periods of time. Modified battle stations So named because each watch section (similar to a shift) has its own tracking team.

  S
hip Control Panel (SCP) — The console from which the ship’s depth, course, and speed are controlled. This console resembles a 747 cockpit, with the Sternplanesman on one side, the Helmsman on the other, and the Diving Officer behind and between them.

  Ship Control Team — The watch standers manning the Ship Control Panel, including the Sternplanesman, the Helmsman, and the Diving Officer. Sometimes includes the Chief of the Watch, off to the port side at the Ballast Control Panel.

  Shoot On Generated Bearing — Captain’s order to shoot a torpedo based on the firecontrol solution’s estimate of where a target should be, not on the last actual bearing from sonar. When ordered, the firecontrol team locks in the firecontrol solution to the target, and when the torpedo reports back, the captain is given one last chance to say either “Shoot” or “Check fire.”

  SITREP — Situation report, a high priority radio message to a high-level commander reporting the status of a contact or enemy.

  Signal Ejector — A small torpedo tube used to eject flares (for signalling surface ships), communication buoys (which can transmit hours after the ship has cleared datum; also used for SUB SUNK buoys), and countermeasures (torpedo decoys).

  SLAAM — Submarine-launched anti-air missile.

  Snapshot — A quick reaction torpedo shot, usually done only when fired upon first.

  Snorkel — A mast designed to bring air into the submarine so that the air breathing diesel generator can use it for combustion when the reactor is scrammed.

  Solution — A contact’s range, course, and speed. A great mystery when using passive sonar. Determining the solution requires maneuvering own ship and doing calculations on the target’s bearing rate. Can be obtained manually or with the firecontrol computer.

  Sonobuoys — Small objects dropped from ASW aircraft that float on the surface and listen to the ocean below, then transmit that information up to the aircraft. A method of giving an aircraft sonar capability.

  SPEC-OP — Special operation, usually top secret, and usually very hairy.

  SPEC WAR — Special warfare. Commando operations.

  Spherical Array — A sphere in the nose cone of a submarine fitted with transducers over most of its surface to be able to hear in all directions (except the baffles). Useful since it not only tells the bearing to an incoming noise, but also its DE (deflection elevation). The DE can give clues that the sound is relayed via bottom bounce or surface bounce, or even that a close contact is deeper or shallower than own ship.

  Spin Up — Start the gyro and computer system of a weapon in preparation for launch.

  Spook — A spy, either from Naval Intelligence, CIA, National Security Agency, or a nameless U.S. Navy organization that sends riders onboard to gather electronic intelligence when the ship is on a special OP.

  SSN — A fast attack submarine. Literally stands for Submersible Ship Nuclear, although most crews agree it means Saturdays, Sundays, and Nights.

  Steam Leak, Major — When one of the large steam pipes ruptures in the engine room. Result is rapid cooking of engineering crew unless the leak is isolated using MS-1 or 2 valves. Steam leaks are also dangerous because they will overpower the reactor.

  Steam Plant Control Panel (SPCP) — Console in the maneuvering room that monitors the steam plant. Has the large throttle wheel in front that controls the speed of the main engines. Manned by the throttle man

  Stemplanes — Horizontal control surfaces at the tail of a submarine. Similar to the elevator tail surfaces of an aircraft, the stern planes cause the ship to rise or dive.

  Sternplanesman — Enlisted watch stander in the Ship Control Party who controls the stern planes at the Ship Control Panel,

  Sustainer Engine — The jet engine of a cruise missile. It sustains continued flight.

  Target One — The designation of a sonar, radar, ESM, or visual contact as a target to be fired upon or tracked.

  Target Zig — A term used to describe a target’s maneuver, either a turn, speed change, or both. Totally messes up a passive sonar firecontrol solution, requiring the ship to do more TMA to get a new solution. Note: the term zigzag” is never used in the modern submarine force.

  TG’s (Turbine Generators) — The two turbines aft that turn the ship’s electrical generators and provide electrical power.

  Throttle — The valves at the inlet of a steam turbine that determine how much steam flow the turbine will receive, and thus, the amount of power the turbine will produce (and its speed). Done at the Steam Plant Control Panel.

  Throttleman — Nuclear-trained enlisted watch stander who monitors the steam plant at the Steam Plant Control Panel and positions the throttle based on the speed orders of the control room (which are transmitted by the engine order telegraph).

  TMA (Target Motion Analysis) — Means of establishing a target solution using passive sonar. Own ship does maneuvers to generate speed first on one side of the line-of-sight, then on the other. Several maneuvers or legs can quickly find the target solution. Stealthy method of determining what the target is doing. The system is weak when the target is himself doing TMA. Result is a melee or PCO Waltz, where both submarines are maneuvering and neither knows what the other is doing. In worst case, submarines may need to shift to active sonar to determine range or clear datum until the target can be ambushed stealthily.

  Towed Array — A passive sonar hydrophone array towed astern of a submarine on a cable up to several miles long. The array itself may be a thousand feet long. The array is used to detect narrowband tonals at extreme ranges.

  Transient — A noise that is made by an enemy sub due to a temporary condition. Examples include dropped wrenches, boots, clomping on deckplates, slamming hatches, boiler blow downs rattling check valves etc.

  Turbine — A mechanical rotating device with blades that converts the pressure energy, velocity energy, and internal (temperature) energy of a fluid steam (steam or combustion gases) into mechanical power.

  Ultraquiet — Ship systems lineup done in a tactical situation such as a close trailing OP or in wartime. Only the quietest equipment is running. Offwatch personnel are required to be in bed. The galley, showers, laundry, movies, and maintenance of equipment are all prohibited to minimize noise. Hard soled shoes are prohibited. Lights are shifted to red to remind the crew of the need for silence. The ship is eerily quiet, as if run by ghosts.

  Unit — A torpedo launched by own ship. As opposed to a torpedo (after sonar calls “torpedo in the water”) which is launched by a hostile submarine.

  UWT (Underwater Telephone) — A sonar system using voice transmissions instead of tones or pulses, used for communication between two submarines that are fairly close.

  VLS (Vertical Launch System) — New missile launch system on later Los Angeles class attack submarines, in which space in the forward group of ballast tanks has vertical torpedo tubes for launching Javelin cruise missiles. Allows torpedo room space to hold more torpedoes.

  Wardroom — (1) Officer’s mess room Used also as a conference room, briefing room, reconstruction room, junior officer’s office, movie screening room, and place to converse, (2) The group of officers assigned to a ship.

  Warshot — A weapon that is used to sink an enemy ship or inflict damage on a target, as opposed to an exercise shot.

  Watch/Watchstation — A watch is an eight-hour shift during which a group of men at specific stations run the submarine. A watch station is a person’s station or assignment during the watch. Example: helmsman, Diving Officer, Chief of the Watch, Throttletieman, etc.

  Watchsection — A collection of watch standers who run the submarine for an eight-hour shift called a watch.

  Waterfall — A display of broadband sonar with bearing on the horizontal and time on the vertical. Broadband noise traces fall down the screen, looking like a waterfall.

  XO (Executive Officer) — Officer who is second in command of a nuclear submarine, responsible to the captain for the administrative functioning of the ship. At battle stations the XO coordin
ates the firecontrol team and makes recommendations to the captain.

  Zig — A term used to describe a target’s maneuver, either a turn, speed change, or both. Totally messes up a passive sonar firecontrol solution, requiring the ship to do more TMA to get a new solution. Note: the term zigzag” is never used in the modern submarine force.

  Zulu — Same as Greenwich Mean Time.

  FB2 document info

  Document ID: dcb485a9-119d-4aea-bf9b-8fa164fc793e

  Document version: 1.1

  Document creation date: 19.6.2013

  Created using: calibre 0.9.35, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6 software

  Document authors :

  Document history:

  1.0 — создание документа fb2

  1.1 — опечатки, форматирование

  About

  This file was generated by Lord KiRon's FB2EPUB converter version 1.1.5.0.

  (This book might contain copyrighted material, author of the converter bears no responsibility for it's usage)

  Этот файл создан при помощи конвертера FB2EPUB версии 1.1.5.0 написанного Lord KiRon.

  (Эта книга может содержать материал который защищен авторским правом, автор конвертера не несет ответственности за его использование)

  http://www.fb2epub.net

  https://code.google.com/p/fb2epub/