German Navy submarine U33 is acting as the unseen enemy below the waves in the exercise
Posted on 05/15/2015 6:26:27 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
In the North Sea, off the coast of Norway, Nato has been conducting its largest ever anti-submarine warfare exercise.
It is seen as a response to the growing threat from Russian submarines which have stepped up their own patrols in these very same waters.
It has also highlighted a gaping hole in Britain's own defences.
For now though it is the hunt for U33, not Red October. The German U-boat is acting as the unseen enemy below the waves.
'Important training'
U33's commander Kai Nicklesdorf and his 28 crew, who live in cramped conditions, are trying to avoid detection by 10 Nato warships.
Their task, for this exercise, is to try to take out the command ship, the USS Vicksburg, and an oil tanker.
When they dive the only visible sign of their presence will be the brief sight of a periscope breaking the waves for a matter of seconds.
Up on the bridge of the USS Vicksburg, Rear Admiral Brad Williamson prepares his fleet of 10 warships, including the Royal Navy Frigate HMS Portland, to begin the search.
He says this is important training and that his crews are all aware of Russian submarine activity.
There have been recent reports of Russian submarines off the coast of Sweden, Finland and the UK.
He says the training "focuses our minds and for the guys in combat it's not theoretical that we might have to do anti-submarine warfare".
This exercise is proof there is growing concern about Russia's growing military strength
For the surface ships the task of locating an invisible enemy under vast stretches of ocean is not that easy.
It has been likened to looking for a needle in a haystack.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
German Navy submarine U33 is acting as the unseen enemy below the waves in the exercise
Someone should tell them that a coat of paint will keep their subs from rusting...
Rust? Looks fine to me, plus it’s got fancy windows, which I believe is very rare for a military submarine.
I think that’s what you get with German engineering.
My money is on the sub winning the contest.
But not the surface ship in background.
The ‘window’ is outside of the pressure hull. American subs all have the same thing. The topside crewmembers are standing on a small, raised platform. The opening they are standing in is temporary and only used while on the surface. There are panels that snap into place fairing in the opening. During foul weather the OOD and lookouts can step down under the cover and get out of the weather.
Aboard the Skipjack one time the CO, XO and Engineering Officer sent everyone else below decks to try a little experiment to see just how fast the boat would go on the surface. Unfortunately, they did not quite understand the hydrodynamics of the hull. At something over 20 knots the boat dove completely below the surface. The officers dove into the space behind those windows. It saved their lives but it didn’t do much for the stuff they were wearing.
The other thing that saved their lives was the crusty old chief sitting at the ballast control panel. When he saw the water cascading down the ladder from the hatch in the sail he reached over and blew negative tank making the boat just light enough to surface again.
When the officers made their was down the ladder to Operations, everybody in the room quickly found something important to do!
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