NavalWarfare

‘Doesn’t matter what weapons you carry, if you can’t turn the ship in time to attack or evade, you are dead,’ William Toti, former XO of USS Florida (SSBN-728)

The Ohio-class SSBN was conceived in the early 1970s and at 560 feet, they became the largest submarines ever built by the US Navy.

USS Ohio (SSGN 726, the first of her class of ballistic missile submarines [SSBNs] and guided missile submarines [SSGNs], and the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name) joined the US Navy on Nov. 11, 1981.

With the end of the Cold War, the first four Ohio-class SSBNs – Ohio, Michigan, Florida and Georgia – were scheduled to be decommissioned in the early 2000s. The other 14 would remain in service as SSBNs carrying the Trident II D-5 missile. But another plan was in the works – to use the versatile Ohio seaframe to carry Tomahawks or other payloads in lieu of ballistic missiles. The result would be four platforms capable of supporting strike or special warfare missions around the world.

Under then plan, 22 Trident launch tubes were reconfigured to carry either canisters containing seven Tomahawks each – for a total of up to 154 missiles – or special operations weapons or equipment. The other two launch tubes were converted to lockout chambers, allowing for the embarkation and deployment of special operations forces such as Navy SEALs.

Giving these unique features, the Ohio-class submarines provide the Navy with unprecedented strike and special operation mission capabilities.

But would it be possible using an Ohio-class SSBN as a hunter-killer?

William Toti, US Navy Captain, (retired), former commodore, former CO and former XO of an Ohio-class SSBN, explain on Quora;

‘Actual former XO of an Ohio class SSBN (USS Florida SSBN-728) then CO of a Los Angeles-class SSN (USS Indianapolis SSN-697), then commodore of an SSN squadron, answering. In other words, someone who has fought both classes of ship and knows what he is talking about.

‘Short answer: no.

‘Reason: maneuverability. Doesn’t matter what weapons you carry, if you can’t turn the ship in time to attack or evade, you are dead. Think of an F/A-18 engaged in a dogfight with a B-2. Even if the B-2 carried air-to-air missiles, it’s not gonna prevail.

‘I used to joke with my crew on the Trident: “Put the rudder over. I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up when we are on course.”’

Toti concludes;

‘On the Ohio-class we were required to conduct ASW missions as part of our Tactical Readiness Evaluation (TRE), but we all knew this was for self-defense only. No commodore or admiral in their right mind would send a Trident out to hunt/kill an SSN.’

Photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Lynn Friant / U.S. Navy

‘Apparently, the scope came up inside the box. Not so much a needle in a haystack, more like threading a needle in a haystack,’ John Hartzog, former US Navy Nuclear Submarine Officer

The periscope is the eye of the submarine. It was invented and developed solely for the purpose of providing a means to view the surface without fear of detection by surface craft.

Have submarines coming to periscope depth ever hit something?

John Hartzog, former US Navy Nuclear Submarine Officer, recalls on Quora;

‘While on patrol in the central Mediterranean on a fast attack one day in the early 90s, we were coming to periscope depth to get a satellite fix, get our radio traffic, etc. It was one of those rare days, when the water is flat as a pond, and no one else was within 20 miles. Sunny, gorgeous summer day. We made routine preparations for coming to, including clearing baffles. Once we start driving the ship up, the periscope is raised, and the Officer of the Deck [OOD] trains the scope upward, and starts scanning the underside of the surface, looking for “shapes and shadows”, while continually announcing, “no shapes or shadows.”

‘Just as we approached the depth where the scope is breaking the surface, he yells, “emergency deep” … this gets everyone’s pucker factor up quickly, as it implies, we were about to co-occupy a volume with something else, i.e, hit it. Now, sonar had not heard anything, but passive sonar has its limitations. A sail boat on sail without an engine or generator running is pretty much impossible to hear, for instance. Emergency deep results in the control room crew immediately and automatically bringing the sub to a safe-from-being-hit depth… rapidly.’

Hartzog concludes;

‘So, we get to our safe depth (simply deep enough to pass under the deepest draft ship in existence, with some margin). The OOD explains that the scope went black dark just as it broke the surface. We again clear baffles. Nothing heard. So, we circle around where we previously attempted to come to up, and finally try again. When we get there, a cardboard box is floating upside down. Apparently, the scope came up inside the box. Not so much a needle in a haystack, more like threading a needle in a haystack.’

Photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Kevin H. Tierney / U.S. Navy

‘There are a number of reasons for it… First, because the procedure says it should be,’ David Kirk, former US Navy Submarine Officer

The periscope is the eye of the submarine. It was invented and developed solely for the purpose of providing a means to view the surface without fear of detection by surface craft.

Why is the periscope raised when submarines dive?

‘There are a number of reasons for it…,’ David Kirk, former US Navy Submarine Officer / Strike Warfare Officer, says on Quora.

‘First, because the procedure says it should be.

‘Now as to why?

• The Officer of the Deck (OOD) is required to continue a visual search of the horizon to ensure no enemy threat aircraft or surface ships detect them until they are submerged.
• The OOD needs to visually verify that the main ballast tanks (MBT) vents properly opened and are venting. If one fails the tank will not properly fill with water and it can affect reserve ballast and also affect further damage control efforts in several casualties. The OOD announces “Venting Forward” then looks aft and reports “Venting Aft”.
• By procedure, The OOD needs to report when the ‘decks are awash’ so the chief of the boat can close the MBT vents.
• By Procedure, the OOD needs to report when the scope’s under so the entire ship’s control party is aware and so the Chief of the Watch (COW) can lower any remaining masts or antennae that the OOD may have wanted raised… Having scope under means the Diving officer of the Watch (DOOW) can use a larger down angle to proceed to depth without fear of the screw coming out of the water.

He continues;

‘Submariners live and die by written procedures. They break them out before every evolution and use them as checklists. In a casualty they perform their immediate actions then breakout the procedures and audit their actions. The OOD does a reread of it before going on watch if he knows he/ she’s expecting to do some procedure – I read the dive or surface procedure before every almost every watch where I was expected to be involved even after years of doing it. The crew, when they’re poking holes in the ocean, before they talk about sports or liberty will break out procedures and train on them. Senior enlisted ensuring junior enlisted are aware of the reasons behind each step and teaching the many pitfalls that happen when procedures aren’t followed verbatim.

‘To give you some insight. If in the middle of doing an evolution you determine the procedure is flawed. You place the ship or the reactor into a safe condition. Stop the procedure, go back to the appropriate officers and chiefs to rewrite the procedure, then train on the procedure, and then attempt the procedure.

‘It sounds insane to most people but to a submariner it is the best way to ensure that a mistake doesn’t occur. Early in the submarine force for the US Navy… Sailors treated submarines like surface ships and relied on tribal knowledge, and the ‘all knowing’ senior NCO’s and often times ships sank next to the pier as things were forgotten or missed. It is much harder to, in procedural error sink a surface ship, because it is never intended to submerge.

‘Between 1905 and 1935 probably 20 or so ships were sunk and raised pier-side. Many times, the crew got off but a few times sailors or officers died. Which is why the submarine warfare patch and later pin was developed to identify those sailors who lived with that extra risk. It grew into a formal qualification program and became emulated by the aviators, spec warfare and eventually even the surface warfare community in the 1970’s.’

He concludes;

‘Procedures don’t replace common sense nor intuition but enhance it by ensuring you are not missing a simple step with grave consequences. Also, the Duty officer, the OOD (Officer of the Deck), the Engineering duty officer or EOOW (Engineering officer of the watch) are the stop gaps to ensure that procedures and contradictory procedures don’t result in damage or loss of life.’

Photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Kevin H. Tierney / U.S. Navy