S. Korea: U.S. Nuclear Submarine Docks in Busan (show of force?)

Chosun Ilbo ^ | 02/27/08

[TigerLikesRooster]

U.S. Nuclear Submarine Docks in Busan

A U.S. Navy guided-missile submarine has arrived in Busan for a visit. The USS Ohio is now docked at the pier of the South Korean Naval Operations Command in the southern port city.

Capt. Andrew Hale, the sub's commanding officer, appeared confident on Tuesday afternoon when he spoke to Korean and foreign journalists who were invited onboard the giant vessel. It measures 170 m long with a beam of 12.8 m.

The Ohio (SSGN 726) arrived in Busan last Wednesday to participate in Exercise Key Resolve/Foal Eagle, an annual combined/joint exercise involving forces from both the U.S. and South Korea, which will begin in early March.

It was the first time this submarine, which has formidable attack capabilities based on 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, has ever visited the Korean Peninsula. It was also the first time local journalists have ever been allowed onboard, getting a rare opportunity for a first-hand peek at the inside of the nuclear-powered sub.

U.S. navy officers at a control room of a U.S. submarine USS Ohio, pose for photographers during a photo opportunity at a Korean naval base in Busan on Tuesday. The nuclear-powered and guided-missile submarine which can carry 154 conventional cruise missiles is in Korea to participate in a routine port visit in conjunction with the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle Exercise, an annual exercise between South Korean and U.S. troops, according to the U.S. Forces Korea. /REUTERS

In a press conference, Vice Adm. Doug Crowder, the commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet who will lead both South Korean and U.S. Navy fleets in the event of war on the Korean Peninsula, said the sub was shown to journalists to demonstrate its combat capabilities, as Korea is one of the most important U.S. allies. He said it was the Ohio's first visit to a port outside U.S. waters since it left its port in the state of Washington last fall.

The Ohio was commissioned in 1981, during the tensions of the Cold War, as an SSBN -- a nuclear-powered vessel carrying 24 Trident submarine-launched nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles (SLBM) -- to counter the military threat of the Soviet Union.

The former Trident-class vessel recently underwent a US$400 million conversion to become a nuclear-powered, guided-missile, or SSGN-class sub, carrying conventional cruise missiles instead of nukes. The conversion was made to suit the changing security environment and new U.S. strategies with the end of the Cold War, the U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms Reduction Talks, and the U.S. war on terror.

Military experts believe that the Ohio's visit to Busan as its first port of call outside the U.S. and its demonstration to journalists is meant to be a strong message for North Korea and China. The 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles onboard could play an important role in wartime, as they could strike strategic targets, including nuclear and missile bases and facilities, air bases, command posts, and special warfare forces in North Korea.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Doofer]

U.S. navy officers at a control room of a U.S. submarine USS Ohio, pose for photographers during a photo opportunity at a Korean naval base in Busan on Tuesday.

Those are Petty Officers...

[Tallguy]

Note the cup holders attached to the left-side of each of the plane stations. Looks like they could accomodate a 64-oz Big Gulp!

[Rudder]

This will serve as a warning to those pesky South Koreans they are not to mess with us.

[SShultz460]

Goddamn Coners get all the glory

[mad_as_he$$]

USS OHIO is the first TRIDENT - class nuclear powered submarine and the fourth United States vessel to bear the name of the 17th state of the union. USS OHIO has already completed more than 50 patrols. On December 9, 2001, she successfully launched four Trident I C4 missiles.

On November 15, 2003, conversion started to modify the USS OHIO to carry 154 conventional cruise missiles instead of 24 Trident missiles. Conversion was finished in late 2005, and the OHIO was redesignated SSGN 726. As an SSGN, the OHIO is now also able to support operations of up to 66 Special Forces Personnel for up to 90 days. OHIO rejoined the fleet on January 9, 2006.

General Characteristics: Keel Laid: April 10, 1976
Launched: April 7, 1979
Commissioned: November 11, 1981
Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat Division, Groton, Conn.
Propulsion system: one nuclear reactor
Propellers: one
Length: 560 feet (171 meters)
Beam: 42 feet (12.8 meters)
Draft: 36,5 feet (11.1 meters)
Displacement: Surfaced: approx. 16,765 tons
Submerged: approx. 18,750 tons

Speed: 20+ knots
Armament: Tomahawk missiles, Mk-48 torpedoes, four torpedo tubes
Homeport: Bangor, Wash.
Crew: 17 Officers, 15 Chief Petty Officers and 122 Enlisted

[Tallguy]

I’m curious. Why would the sub displace MORE water while submerged rather than LESS. Doesn’t that violate the definition of buoyancy? Unless their quoting surface displacement against something else?

[Steely Tom]

Are those steering wheels equipped with air bags?

[Nervous Tick]

>> Why would the sub displace MORE water while submerged rather than LESS.

Because it weighs more within the confines of its volume when submerged. (ballast)

[mad_as_he$$]

When submerged the whole sub is under water. When surfaced - as in the pictures only about 80% is “in the water”. They control buoyancy with ballast tanks and trim tanks. Most of the outside you see along the sides is ballast tanks.

[B-Chan]

An object is positively buoyant (i.e. it floats) if the mass of the volume of water it displaces is greater than the mass of the object itself.

If the mass of the volume of water the object displaces is equal to the mass of the object itself, it is neutrally buoyant; it neither floats nor sinks, but maintains a depth where the density of the water surrounding it is equal to its own density.

If the mass of the volume of water the object displaces is less than the mass of the object itself, the object is negatively buoyant, and sinks.

Submarines (like all boats) float because their mass is less than the mass of the surrounding water they displace. This is accomplished by constructing the boat with many hollow tanks (voids) inside its hull. To dive, the sub pumps seawater into (floods) these voids, thus increasing the mass of the sub. Once the sub’s mass is greater than the mass of the water it displaces, it submerges. To surface, the voids are pumped full of air at high pressure (”blown”), expelling the seawater and again reducing the mass of the sub to less than that of the mass of the surrounding water it displaces.

[gura]

Because the part that isn’t in the water while surfaced isn’t displacing water? :-)

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

A little bit to the North, Lil Kim pooped his pants!

[Tallguy]

Because it weighs more within the confines of its volume when submerged. (ballast)

Yeah, but that runs counter to all convention when listing ships. You don't count the weight of the water in the ballast tanks fer Pete's sake.

Every displacement I've ever seen for a sub (till now) lists a greater surfaced displacement than a submerged displacement. Not trying to be argumentative. It is what it is, I guess.

When it comes to surface ships they sometimes list multiple displacements depending on how the ship is loaded.

[mad_as_he$$]

The top part is heavier! ;-)

Seriously though you can find displacement listings for Nimitz Class carriers allover the place. 70,000 to 105,000.

[Rudder]

A little bit to the North, Lil Kim pooped his pants!

Now we're talking. That's where we should've parked the boat.

[Tallguy]

Seriously though you can find displacement listings for Nimitz Class carriers allover the place. 70,000 to 105,000.

Yeah, they usually give a general displacement and a "full-load" displacement. Also, the Nimitz-class spans back to the late--70's. I would expect that the original USS Nimitz is quite a bit different from the USS Ronald Reagan, for instance.

[mad_as_he$$]

Actually the hull has changed very little. GD has stated that they spent millions on new hull design for the CXN carrier and wound up back at the basic Nimitz hull (your tax $$$ at work)

[Freeport]

Figures a Reuters knuckle dragger couldn’t tell the difference...