MovieChat Forums > The Hunt for Red October (1990) Discussion > Banked turns

Banked turns

posted 10 years ago by garrisonaw
10 replies | jump to latest

For someone who actually knows...

Do submarines actually make banked turns in the water like they showed in the movie, or was that just for the viewers' benefit? I mean, at the beginning of the movie they were only travelling at 12 knots, and they were banked nearly 30 degrees. 12 knots wouldn't be enough to spill a cup of coffee on the dashboard of my car. A 30 degree bank, however, would be enough to spill said cup of coffee, as demonstrated by Captain Ramius as he caught his own cup before it slid off the table.

[–] CGSailor 10 years ago

I've put the question to a pvt FB group of mine. Most are Aviators, Or Surface guys like myself, but we have a few Bubbleheads among us.

The question is one I don't know the answer to myself. So I'm going straight to the source.

I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!

[–] garrisonaw 10 years ago

Thanks.

I also had another thought that I hadn't noticed anyone else mention. At the end when Melekin has shut down the reactor after the malfunction (and we actually do hear him order the reactor shut down, and report to the Captain that he has done so), the Captain asks the battery condition, and then orders "Engage battery system." I would think that if the reactor has been shut down, they must perforce already be on battery power in order to function.

The question about the battery condition makes sense, so the Captain will know how much battery power they have available, but the order to engage the battery system seems superfluous.

Or am I not understanding things?

[–] CGSailor 10 years ago

Ship's systems would naturally be drawing from batteries, but the DRIVE system would have to be shifted to battery drive from Steam.

Really all a Nuke plant is... is a fancy high tech way to boil water for an otherwise conventional Steam plant.

I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!

[–] garrisonaw 10 years ago

Thanks again. I wondered if it might have had something to do with the drive system.

[–] CGSailor 10 years ago

Heard back from one already who was a Boomer guy, not an attack boat.

He said that when changing course at speed, even with strong rudder commands, there was little to no roll to the vessel. It does not bank like an aircraft, nor heel outboard like a surface vessel.

Excursions in the vertical plane however... there's a reason they call it "Angles and Dangles"!

EDIT:
He did add that he "Heard" but not personally experienced, that the 688 boats (USS Dallas for Ex.) would roll pretty hard during high speed hard rudder turns, to the point they would pitch down and potentially lose depth control if not corrected for. But he does not know that personally.

Still waiting to hear from others.

I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!

[–] garrisonaw 10 years ago

Thanks. I figured as much. I assume it was a visual cue for the audience to know when the boat was turning. Or in the case of Borodin and Ramius in the Captain's cabin, so the audience could see that Borodin noticed that the boat was turning. Obviously on an actual boat, he would feel the boat turning, but the audience doesn't have the benefit of inertia.

[–] CGSailor 10 years ago

When on the surface however, especially at low speeds, all subs are notoriously unstable in roll. They roll about like crazy. enough that even the most experience seaman can get seasick. Thanks to their extreme Tumblehome inherent in the hull.

I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!

[–] garrisonaw 10 years ago

Well that sounds like fun!

[–] dubyahsrobotminion 10 years ago

Its not fun. Fast Attacks are cramped. I slept on Dallas one night on the surface for about 2 hours, they had to do some untimely repairs and we thought we were taking advantage. I had operated with Dallas and been in her bowels many times before that usually never for more than 20 minutes at a time. Usually we never went below deck. Those were the worst 2 hours of my life to that point. The rocking is far different than say a Destroyer which Im very familiar with. It seems like there are things to bang your head, elbows and knees on everywhere. Its not ergonomic to say the least. I could have gotten away with 3 and half to 4 hours of sleep but after 2 we all got up and went back to sleep in the boats.

You're taking a dump and they call GQ do you pinch it off or finish your business?

[–] robert-atkinson4 9 years ago

I can't speak about the fast attack boats (SSN-688 Los Angeles-class), but the USS Albacore (AGSS-569) was subject to something called a "snap roll" in turns. The seat at the planesman's station had seat belts! See the USS Albacore museum web site (http://www.ussalbacore.org/html/albacore_story.html) for details. This was a diesel sub that was used as an engineering test bed, to test various ideas that could be incorporated into later designs. It was the first U.S. Navy submarine to use the streamlined hull form that is now the standard for all Navy subs. The streamlined hull was first merged with the nuclear power plant in the USS Skipjack (SSN-585).