tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post110698862637307996..comments2024-02-20T15:17:48.594+11:00Comments on A.E.Brain: "Some External Damage" updateZoe Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13712045376060102538noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post-1107488272926173412005-02-04T14:37:00.000+11:002005-02-04T14:37:00.000+11:00I am a former Naval Nuke (DLG(N)-25 now in the bon...I am a former Naval Nuke (DLG(N)-25 now in the bone yard, boo hoo). I was recently re-reading a biography of Rickover.<br /><br />It was Rickover policy that all the crew in the engineering spaces plus Captain and exec be well trianed in nuke power. His thought was that you couldn't fight the ship to the limits unless you knew intimately its capabilities. Traing a captain in the capabilities of a ship in the middle of battle is the hard way to learn a lesson. <br /><br />On a sub this is very important because you never know who will be next to a critical switch or valve in an emergency situation.<br /><br />I work in aircraft power systems these days and I see a similar level of training in commercial air crew. If you are operating machinery (and a ship IS a machine) you need to know as much as possible about that machine. 99.9% of the time that info is useless. that other .1% is the difference between life and death.M. Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09508934110558197375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post-1107266647918108012005-02-02T01:04:00.000+11:002005-02-02T01:04:00.000+11:00Submandave : Re your observations : Concur.
Bubbl...Submandave : Re your observations : Concur.<br /><br />Bubblehead : Like everyone else in the business (my own is sometime Naval Combat System Architect) I have to be careful what I say. Like you, I can't vouch for any of the first-hand data, but I consider it both likely enough true, and harmless enough if true, to publish.<br /><br />From the pennant number (711) I wasn't sure if she'd been given the VLS refit (Vertical Launchers for Tomahawk Missiles in and around the forward Ballast tanks). From the exposed volume, she certainly hasn't. But that's about all I feel comfy talking about - things which I have no personal knowledge of.<br /><br />If I might make a suggestion, a piece by someone wearing the dolphins on the UNCLASS data about submarines would be a good article to write. My own experience has been universally on Donks of various vintages, nothing with a tea-kettle in the back. I also come from a RAN background, which like the RN spends rather more time on tactics and rather less on Nuclear Science. I won't say that the USN policy is wrong though, any crew that can get a boat back to harbour - pardon me, harbor - in that state is ipso facto pretty damn terrific.<br /><br />As regards explanations - that's part of my job. Communicating with non-technical people on technical issues. Simplifying without over-simplifying. I'm not sure how good I am at it, but so far there's been no complaints.Zoe Brainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13712045376060102538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post-1107216072511141542005-02-01T11:01:00.000+11:002005-02-01T11:01:00.000+11:00Don't know if I completely agree with the assesmen...Don't know if I completely agree with the assesment made of the port tubes. While I have no doubt they are totally shot and likely either bend or compressed, the Navy photo that has been posted everywhere, including your blog, clearly show both tube shutters in place. If you look just below the large white mark where the paint goes from black to red you can clearly see the outer door for upper tube 1, with the lower below and slightly aft. It looks like the forward part of the upper door is severely bent in and the lower is only a little better, but hey, I could be missing something.submandavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15950457116215345788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post-1107150262082493262005-01-31T16:44:00.000+11:002005-01-31T16:44:00.000+11:00Excellent comments, and good explanations of a lot...Excellent comments, and good explanations of a lot of the items. I often forget that some of the visitors to my website aren't submariners, so I don't put in as many subtitles as I should. One thing I should clarify -- I can't verify that the people who put the comments on my page actually know anything or not; I leave them up if they look valid, but normally don't further comment on anonymous posts, nor do I encourage those "in the know" to do so... sometimes it just happens.Bubbleheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01591543892553982845noreply@blogger.com