Because of the long continental shelf around the British Isles, there is a good chance that the damaged boat will bottom out in water something less than 1,000 feet deep. Since this is less than the rated crush depth of a British SSN, there is a good chance that some or all of the crew will escape any flooded compartments. At this point, their goal is to survive and wait for rescue if possible. If there is continued flooding, the crew will move to the forward escape trunk, don their Mk 8 escape suits, and free-ascend to the surface. But if the surviving compartments are dry, they will probably try to stay put, hoping for rescue by forces from Plymouth.
Once the Plymouth Operations Center gets the word that something has gone wrong, they set in motion a series of preplanned activities to rescue the downed sub’s survivors. One of the first is a call to the U.S. Navy to get the loan of one of the DSRV rescue submarines from SUB-DEVGRU 1 at Ballast Point in San Diego, California. As quickly as it can be arranged, a C-5 Galaxy or C-141 Starlifter will arrive at NAS North Island to pick up the DSRV, its crew, and the necessary fittings and equipment to conduct the operation. The idea is that SUBDEVGRU 1 can deliver a DSRV to any point on earth within twenty-four hours, and rescue any crew within forty-eight hours. In this case, the delivery point will be the point closest to one of the “R” class SSBNs, which are equipped to carry and operate the U.S. DSRVs for the Royal Navy. When the transport aircraft arrives, the DSRV and her support equipment are trucked to the port, to be loaded onto a special rack on the back of the British SSBN.
A casualty is evacuated by a Sea King helicopter from the diesel-electric submarine HMS Osiris. OFFICIAL U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY DAVID PERFECT
While all this is going on, the crew of the downed submarine are doing their best to do absolutely nothing but stay alive. To purify the air in the surviving compartments, the captain will order the lighting of special candles which, when they burn, release oxygen. Everyone will be ordered to stay quiet, sleep if possible, and just wait calmly. By this time, the Royal Navy has probably assembled a rescue force, which will try to make contact with the survivors and help organize the rescue effort. The first vessel at the site of the sinking may well be another submarine, because of their rapid mobility and their ability to stay on station, whatever the weather and sea conditions. (When the USS Squalus was lost in the 1930s, it was a sister boat, the USS Sculpin, that made first contact with survivors of that downed boat.)
With luck, the “R” class SSBN will able to reach the sinking site near Plymouth within twenty-four to thirty-six hours of the sinking. And at this point, things begin to happen rather quickly. Once the site of the sinking has been established and the attitude of the sunken sub ascertained, the SSBN will submerge and loiter near the downed boat. The crew of the DSRV will enter their boat via the after escape trunk of the SSBN, seal their bottom hatch, and lift off. Since the after part of the sunken sub is flooded, all the survivors will have to exit through the forward escape trunk, and the captain will have to organize the survivors into groups of twenty-four, the maximum the DSRVs are capable of carrying on one trip. At this point the operation begins to look more like two spacecraft docking in orbit. The DSRV maneuvers over the hatch of the downed sub’s forward escape trunk and carefully maneuvers down to dock. Once secure, the DSRV’s crew blow the water out of the docking collar and bang on the hatch of the escape trunk to tell the crew of the sub that it is time to start the transfer. If the survivors require any medical attention, the DSRV will probably transfer a medical team for the injured. At this point, the first load of survivors enter the two spheres of the DSRV, seal the hatches, and lift off to return to the SSBN. Once there, the DSRV docks with the boomer and discharges the first load of survivors, then repeats the process as many times as required. If the entire crew of the downed sub has survived, it will take four to five trips to offload them all. At this point, any survivors who are seriously injured are MedEvacked via helicopter to a shore hospital.
With the successful rescue of the downed sub’s crew, the next job will be to begin salvage of the downed boat. And have no doubt that this will be done, both for the obvious political reasons, and hopefully to put her back into service. And before you doubt the possibility of such a thing, remember that after the USS Squalus was sunk in the 1930s, she was raised and renamed USS Sailfish. She would go on, reborn with a new name and crew, to an outstanding combat record, including the sinking of the first Japanese aircraft carrier by a U.S. submarine. Sometimes from the depths of disaster come the tools of victory.
The End of History: Submarines in the Post-Cold War World
What a difference a decade makes. Since the publication of the first edition of Submarine, there have been numerous changes to the submarine forces of the world’s navies, especially that of the United States. Perhaps the most obvious of these are the introduction of the Seawolf-class (SSN-21) boats into service and the continuing work on a new submarine—the Virginia (SSN-774) class. There have been other dramatic changes as well, especially in the fields of engineering, sensors, and weapons. These advances have led to breathtaking improvements in the way we design and plan submarines of the future. At the same time, they will have a profound impact on the way the Navy’s newest submarines will fight the potential battles of the twenty-first century.
Submarine Operations in the 1990s
The decade of the 1990s opened with American submarines supporting their first shooting war since 1945. Operation Desert Storm allowed the U.S. submarine force to participate in a major conflict, through the use of BGM-109 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. The American boats also provided other valuable services during the 1990-1991 war, such as intelligence gathering, maritime surveillance, and special operations support. This trend continued throughout the decade, despite the radical drawdown in the size of the submarine forces of all nations. In fact, the collapse of the Soviet Union and its navy in the 1990s actually freed up the U.S. submarine fleet to undertake a much broader and more significant set of roles in addition to such dangerous yet essential tasks as keeping track of enemy “boomers” and their escorting attack submarines.
Two artists’ concepts for future Royal Navy nuclear submarine designs for the twenty-first century. U.K. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Submarines in the 1990s became significant strike platforms, launching Tomahawk attacks into Iraq, the Balkans, and even the retaliation strikes against the Osama bin Laden terrorist organization. So valuable was the capability of submarine-launched cruise missiles that the United Kingdom bought a supply of Tomahawks for their own boats, firing several dozen at Serbian targets during Operation Allied Force in 1999. This covert precision-strike capability has become so attractive that the Royal Navy has looked at equipping every British submarine, including strategic ballistic missile boats, with a supply of American cruise missiles. The U.S. Navy has also considered adding Tomahawks to strategic missile boats, proposing to convert the four oldest Ohio-class SSBNs into huge guided missile /special operations platforms.11
Another role that submarines have made their own has been in the arena of special warfare and operations. While the British have always used their fleet of boats to deliver and extract special-operations force (SOF) units like the Royal Marines and their Special Boat Squadrons, American nuclear boats spent most of the Cold War chasing Soviet subs and ships. The exception, of course, was the handful of so-called Special Projects boats, which were converted from existing SSNs.12 However, the end of the East-West conflict and the emergence of the U.S. Special Operations Command as a result of the 1980s defense reorganization acts has changed all that. Today, SOF units from not only the Navy (the famous SEAL teams) but from the Army Special Forces (the “Green Berets”) and Marines now regularly practice their trade from nuclear submarines.13 Two older strategic ballistic missile boats have even been converted into transport submarines to support the SOF mission.14
Another “growth” mission for submarines in the 1990s has been intelligence gathering, though obviously with les
s of a focus on the former Soviet Union. The end of the USSR in 1991 freed up American and British boats to keep an eye on a number of other “hot” spots around the world and provide the intelligence services with even more tools and resources to keep an eye and ear on things. One recent example of this probably occurred following the in-flight collision of a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries electronic surveillance aircraft and a Chinese J-8 interceptor over the South China Sea. Though there was a “gap” in the coverage for the U.S. from the air prior to the flights being resumed, rest assured that electronic and communications activity along the Chinese coast was probably being monitored by one or more U.S. submarines. Not only did this fulfill our minimum intelligence-collection requirements, but it also maintained a covert discretion that surface ships and aircraft cannot maintain.
Finally, there are the now-mundane but terribly vital jobs that nuclear boats did throughout the Cold War: watching and tracking the ships and submarines of potential enemies and hostile nations around the world. This has meant that in addition to watching the dwindling fleet of Russian ships and submarines, U.S. and British boats have been keeping an eye on those nations who were quietly developing their own fleets in the 1990s. This may sound surprising, given the worldwide drawdown of naval and submarine forces that followed the end of the Cold War. However, a number of countries began to build up their naval forces in the decade just past, and American and British submarines were out there, watching them every important step of the way.
Into the Twenty-first Century: Submarine Forces at the Millennium
There has been good news and bad news for the submarine forces of the United States and Great Britain. The good news is that due to the demise of the USSR, several regional economic downturns, and the general outbreak of peace, the size of the worldwide submarine force has shrunken to a fraction of its Cold War peak. Literally hundreds of submarines, from ancient diesel boats to state-of-the-art nuclear attack and missile submarines, were taken out of service. In the most radical cases, some of the units from the former Soviet fleet were just driven up onto shore and ditched like whales beaching themselves to die. It was a pitiful ending for the world’s largest submarine force.
The bad news is that the submarines that remain in worldwide use are generally the pick of the litter: the best every nation still operating them can afford to maintain. This means that if a shooting war ever breaks out, the boats and captains facing U.S. and British submarine skippers will likely be very capable enemies indeed. Then there is the matter of those nations that have failed to notice the general outbreak of peace in the 1990s. Countries like China, Iran, and India have been building up their navies, and at the core of these efforts have been the expansion of their submarine forces. Many of these have been exported Russian Project 877/Kilo-class diesel/electric submarines (SSKs), armed with some of the best weapons ever offered for sale on the open market.
Similarly, the U.S. and many of our allies are producing the finest submarines, skippers, crews, and weapons that their treasuries can buy. However, these forces will be largely based on “legacy” designs like the 688Is and Trafalgars, with only limited numbers of new boats to replace the many units that were retired in the 1990s. This means that friendly forces will have to make do with what they have while the new designs mature and come into service. While there can be little doubt of the outcome of a one-on-one battle between a U.S. or British SSN and a submarine from some rogue nation, there is always the small chance that the “bad guys” will score a lucky “kill.” The gods of war are a fickle lot, and the worst frequently happens when ordnance begins to fly. Given the public reaction to the loss of eighteen U.S. special operations soldiers in Somalia in 1993, one can only imagine what the national reaction might be to the loss of a billion-dollar-plus nuclear boat and over a hundred sailors. The accidental loss of the Russian Kursk (K-141) in the summer of 2000 gave everyone who operates submarines a shock, and something to think about as they headed into the new millennium.
So what does this all mean in terms of numbers of boats? Well, not as many as the leaders of the U.S. or British navies would like, of course. From a Cold War high of almost 100 and 20, respectively, the totals have dropped to around half that. Today, the Americans plan on maintaining a force of around fifty SSNs, while the British are hard-pressed to keep ten to twelve in service. This represents a very small number of platforms to accomplish a large range of missions. We are thankfully without an active naval conflict to fight, and this number will have to do.
The progressively lower noise levels emitted by various U.S., Soviet, and Russian submarine classes. As can be seen, the Soviet/Russian boats have gotten much closer to the stealth of U.S. boats over the years. OFFICAL U.S. NAVY GRAPHIC
The Seawolf (SSN-21) Class: The Ultimate Cold War Attack Boat
Without a doubt, the most advanced submarine ever to enter service did so at a grand commissioning ceremony on July 19, 1997 in Groton, Connecticut. The USS Seawolf (given the hull number SSN-21) was to be the touchstone of the U.S. Navy’s submarine forces’ transition into the twenty-first century.15 Certainly Seawolf is an impressive foreshadowing of technological advances to come, though this is achieved at an almost unacceptable cost. Also, as impressive as Seawolf is, she is not without her share of disputes and detractors. In fact, Seawolf has often been referred to as the most controversial submarine in American history, and there is a lot of truth to this claim.
Authorized to the defense budget in fiscal year 1989 (FY89), Seawolf was originally intended to be the lead unit of a class of almost thirty boats. This revolutionary sub was designed to succeed the Improved Los Angeles (688I) class attack submarines. As such, she falls into the same class of weapons as the F-22A Raptor fighter and B-2A Spirit bomber: unlimited Cold War designs put into production with little concern for cost at their time of conception. In this regard she is a success, as Seawolf is reported to be an improvement over the Los Angeles-class boats in nearly every aspect. The biggest pure attack submarine ever built, Seawolf also was the last SSN to bear the imprint of the father of America’s nuclear navy, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. In particular, the Seawolf’s S6W reactor was the last whose development he supervised, the crowning achievement of his career in many ways. Perhaps the most important improvements over the 688Is were in the areas of machinery quieting, sensors and electronics, and weapons load-out and handling. All of this will be covered later, but first let’s examine the post-Cold War environment to get a better idea of why the Seawolf became such a hotly debated design.
USS Seawolf (SSN-21) layout. RUBICON, INC., BY LAURA DENINNO
Seawolf (SSN-21) Design Concepts and History
Every weapons system has a core concept behind it, and Seawolf is no exception. Back in 1989, the Soviet Union was still considered a major threat to the United States, though much less of one than it had been during the previous decades. The last year of the 1980s was one of the most dramatic in world history and included the fall of the Berlin Wall and withdrawal of the last Soviet troops from Afghanistan. However, as President George H. W. Bush was entering the White House, the U.S. government was justifiably cautious and unsure of how permanent the changes inside the Soviet Union really were. The Department of Defense (DoD) even continued publishing a famous annual document assessing the Soviet military threat, though with a minor subtitle—Soviet Military Power: Prospects for Change—recognizing a possible thawing of the Cold War. The next few years, though, were a very confusing time for the military planners at DoD.
USS Seawolf (SSN-21) conducts her first at-sea trials on July 3, 1996. OFFICIAL U.S. NAVY PHOTO
Perhaps the biggest problem DoD faced in the changing global climate was that while the end of the Cold War finally appeared to be a possibility, the American military still needed to prepare for the worst. The Soviet Navy still outnumbered the United States Navy in many ship categories, including the all-important area of submarines. New classes of Soviet submarines seemed to be continually entering service
in the 1980s, and the United States simply could not rest on the hope that the Los Angeles-class would forever remain the best boats in the world. It was this environment in which the USS Seawolf was conceived.
From a naval combat point of view, it was clearly understood (in fact it was official U.S. Navy policy) that antisubmarine warfare (ASW) was to be the U.S. Navy’s top war-fighting priority. The Soviet Union and their Warsaw Pact allies could deploy more submarines than the Americans and NATO, and many of their attack and cruise missile submarines were designed with two dangerously important purposes in mind—antishipping and anticarrier operations. The first of these missions dealt with destroying European-bound shipping, along with escorting warships that provided the vital lifeline of the Atlantic—which the United States would have to cross to reinforce and supply its NATO allies in the event of World War III.