PATTERN CHARLIE The point in space and time when a CINC’s airborne command post is a safe distance from its base, so that it is no longer vulnerable to nuclear destruction. The CINC can then take over from an operational commander in a bunker.
PCO WALTZ A melee situation where two submarines are aware of each other in a combat situation. fire-control situations using passive sonar become impossible to ascertain due to constant maneuvers of the target. Both combatants tend to switch to active sonar and get weapons in the water. If the ships are too close, weapon targeting becomes nearly impossible and collisions become highly likely. In some situations, commanding officers may elect to clear datum until the battle can be controlled. Term originates from Prospective Commanding Officer School at Groton, Conn., where many subvs-sub exercises are done.
PD (PERISCOPE DEPTH) An operation when the ship comes shallow enough to see with the periscope. Certain operations can only be done at periscope depth by decree of the Submarine Standard Operating Procedures manual. Such items include steam generator blowdown, shooting trash from the TDU, and blowing sanitary. Some things can only be done at PD, including radio reception of satellite broadcasts, reception of a NAVSAT pass, and ESM activities. Slows the ship down since high speeds can rip off the periscope. Dangerous operation since quiet surface ships can get close without being detected by sonar. See Emergency Deep.
PHOTOINT Photographic intelligence, such as the interpretation of satellite photos.
PILOT A person who has detailed knowledge and experience of a port and approach waterways. Taken on prior to entering or exiting port to serve as an advisor to the captain.
PLAIN (POINT OF INTENDED MOTION) The center of the box. The moving point in the ocean that a transiting submarine stays within a predefined range of at all times. See Box.
PING An active sonar pulse.
PIRANHA CLASS The SSN-637 class of submarines, headed by the lead ship of the class, the USS Piranha. Press release from the program at the launch of the USS Piranha reads: “Piranha is a streamlined, highly advanced, and maneuverable antisubmarine warfare platform which uses the most advanced technology to accomplish her mission… Super quiet, deep diving, and swift. Piranha is one of the most capable warships of the United States Fleet.”
PLEBE A first year man at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.
PLOT TABLE A glass topped boxlike table that has a mechanism that moves in scale to the ship’s motion in the sea. Table accepts input from the ship’s gyro and speed indicator to do this. When tracing paper or charts are taped to the table top, the ship’s motion can be plotted and recorded against time. Used for the geographic manual plot to determine contact solution. Also used to map polynyas. Ancient low-tech method of doing all these things, it has the advantage of not relying on computers, and is thus “bulletproof.”
POLYMER A chemical formed of long chainlike molecules.
POLYMER INJECTION The injection of a polymer into the boundary layer of a submarine at the nosecone. The slippery liquid reduces the skin friction of the ship, reducing the drag. The result is the ability to dramatically increase ship’s top speed for short periods of time. Ideal for torpedo evasion.
POLYNYA Thin spot in the polar icecap where a submarine can surface by breaking through the ice.
POOPY SUIT Underway uniform worn by American submariners. Usually cotton coveralls. Origin unknown.
PORK CHOP Nickname of the Supply Officer.
POSITION ONE (POS ONE) Furthest forward console of the Mark I fire-control system. Usually set up with the captain’s and XO’s guess solution to the contact or displays the geographic display for a God’s-eye view of the sea.
POSITION THREE (POS THREE) Furthest aft console of the Mark I fire-control system. Usually set up to program torpedo tubes and weapons.
POSITION TWO (POS TWO) Mark I fire-control console between Pos One and the Firing Panel. Usually set up on the Line-of-Sight mode so that the Pos Two officer can come up with his own independent fire-control solution under the XO’s supervision.
POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMP A pump that uses pistons, diaphragms, or moving rotors to force liquid from a low pressure area to a high pressure area.
POWER RANGE Nuclear power level above the intermediate range. In the power range, steam can be produced by the reactor for propulsion.
PRECIPITATOR A device that removes particles and oil droplets from the air by passing the air over a highly charged set of plates or wires.
PRESSURE HULL Hardened steel section of a submarine able to take sea pressure at depth. The “people tank.”
PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR A PWR produces power using water at high temperature and pressure as both a moderator and coolant. Also uses a primary water coolant loop that keeps the radioactivity confined. A secondary system, the steam system, takes energy from the primary coolant and uses it for propulsion — the secondary system is not radioactive. As opposed to a BWR, boiling water reactor, that acts as a reactor and boiler, in which the reactor’s coolant is used in the turbines, making the drive train’s internals radioactive.
PRESSURIZER Tank in the primary coolant system that keeps the water in liquid form even up to 500 degrees by using heaters and raising the water in the pressurizer to even higher temperatures and pressures.
PRESSURIZER LEVEL The level of the pressurizer tank is the main indication of the amount of primary coolant in the primary coolant system. Large changes in core temperature can raise or lower the level due to thermal expansion or contraction of the water. A loss-of-coolant accident is detected by a falling pressurizer level.
PREUNDERWAY CHECKLIST Set of checklists used to get a submarine under way, including valve lineups and switch position checks. Considered of equal complexity and scope to a Space Shuttle countdown checklist.
PRIMARY COOLANT SYSTEM The piping system that circulates primary coolant from the reactor core to the steam generators (boilers) using reactor main coolant pumps. As opposed to the “secondary” coolant, the steam going from the boilers to the turbines for propulsion.
PRIORITY A level of urgency of a radio message below IMMEDIATE and above ROUTINE. Reception guaranteed on the same day.
PROMPT CRITICAL Under some conditions, uranium can be critical on fast neutrons instead of thermal neutrons. One example is a bomb undergoing a nuclear explosion. A second is a core in a reactivity accident such as a control rod jump, where the core becomes prompt critical, critical on the fast neutrons that are emitted “promptly” by the fission reaction. A core that is prompt critical is milliseconds from either a steam explosion or a prompt critical rapid disassembly.
PROMPT CRITICAL RAPID DISASSEMBLY Polite term for the unlikely event of a core undergoing a nuclear explosion.
PROPULSOR Sophisticated screw that uses ducting and multistage water turbine blades for propulsion instead of a conventional screw. Similar to a water jet. Extremely quiet and nearly impossible to cavitate. Disadvantage includes slow response and acceleration due to relatively low thrust compared to conventional screws.
P.A. CIRCUIT ONE Ship wide Public Address announcing system.
P.A. CIRCUIT SEVEN Speaker announcing system used between the Conn, Maneuvering, the bridge, and the torpedo room.
P.A. CIRCUIT TWO Similar to P.A. Circuit One, except that it only announces in the engineering spaces (aft of frame 57).
RANGE Distance to a contact.
RANGE GATING The action of an emitter of active sonar pulses. The ship being tracked can tell how close the pinging platform is by the time between pulses, assuming the transmitter does not ping the second pulse until it receives a return ping from the first pulse. The closer the pinging object gets to own ship, the shorter the interval between pings.
REACTOR Nuclear core. An assembly of fuel elements containing U-235, control rods, shielding, and inlet and discharge of primary coolant. Heat source that allows steam to be generated in the steam generators to produce propulsion and electricity.
REACTOR COMPARTMENT Compartment
housing the reactor, pressurizer, steam generators, and reactor main coolant pumps. Access fore and aft is through a shielded tunnel, since anyone inside the compartment when the reactor is critical would be dead within a minute from the intense radiation.
REACTOR MAIN COOLANT PUMPS Massive pumps, each consuming between 100 and 400 horsepower, that force main coolant water through the reactor and then to the steam generators. Three are in each main coolant loop. Special design allows zero leakage.
REACTOR PLANT CONTROL PANEL (RPCP) Control panel in the maneuvering room where the Reactor Operator controls the reactor.
REACTOR PROTECTION Circuitry containing safety interlocks and control functions preventing reactor damage in an accident.
REACTOR VESSEL Heavy steel shell housing the reactor core.
REAR GUARD SONAR New Russian passive and active sonar that looks astern into the baffles. Mounted in the aft section of the pod atop the rudder of the Project 985 (Kaliningrad or OMEGA) class Russian submarines. Eliminates need to do baffle clearing maneuvers.
RECONSTRUCTION Six-hour period following a watch when an enemy submarine is trailed. The offwatch fire-control team meets in the officer’s wardroom and compares data from charts, geo plots, computer readbacks, and logs, in an effort to “get the story straight” for the patrol report. Conflicting information is resolved during reconstruction.
REDUCTION GEAR The mechanism that converts the high RPMS of the two main engines (propulsion turbines) to the slow RPM of the screw. Solves the problem of how to get two turbines to drive a single screw. Also solves the problem of how to let the main engines rotate at high RPM where they are efficient while letting the screw rotate at the low RPM where it is efficient. Unfortunately, the reduction gear is one of the noisiest pieces of equipment aboard.
RELAY Electrical device that acts as a smart switch.
RELIEF VALVE A spring loaded valve that will open and relieve the pressure on a tank or vessel instead of allowing the tank to rupture or fail.
REM Roentgen Equivalent Man. A unit of radiation dosage that takes into account tissue damage due to neutron radiation. Convenient since it allows gamma, alpha, and neutron radiation to be measured with the same units. 1000 rem will kill. 500 rem may kill. Yearly dose for submarine personnel is restricted to less than 25 to 100 millirem.
RIG FOR BLACK Submarine term meaning “turn off the lights in the control room.”
RIG FOR COLLISION A ship wide lineup consisting of shutting hatches in bulkheads and shutting hardened ventilation dampers in bulkheads to minimize possible risk to the ship during a collision. Generally same as rig for flooding.
RIG FOR DIVE A detailed valve and switch lineup done in preparation to dive. Initially done by a dolphin-wearing enlisted man and checked by a dolphin-wearing officer.
RIG FOR FLOODING Similar to rig for collision. Bulkhead hatches and ventilation dampers are shut to isolate each compartment from the neighboring compartment. Ship is buttoned up to ensure maximum survivability.
RIG FOR PATROL QUIET Ship systems lineup to ensure maximum quiet while allowing normal creature comforts such as cooking and movie watching. Maintenance on equipment is allowed, if it does not involve banging on the hull. Noisy operations are only permitted with the captain’s permission, such as reactor coolant discharge, steam generator blowdowns, etc.
RIG FOR WHITE Submarine term meaning “turn on the lights in the control room.”
TO (REACTOR OPERATOR) Nuclear trained enlisted man who mans the Reactor Plant Control Panel and reports to the EOOW.
ROUTINE A message priority below PRIORITY. Delivery assurance in weeks or months.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT A formal manual detailing what actions a U.S. vessel may take in response to enemy actions, such as an intentional collision by an enemy vessel in peacetime. In general, the rules require that no weapon may be shot unless the enemy ship has already launched a weapon.
RUN-TO-ENABLE Initial torpedo run taking it away from own ship. During the run-to-enable, the warhead is not armed and the sonar is not operational. When the run-to-enable is complete, the weapon activates the active or passive sonar and swims the search pattern. The warhead is not armed until it has a detect on the target.
R-114 AIR CONDITIONER Two air-conditioning units that control the high temperatures and humidity caused by the steam plants. Ship is air-conditioned to allow electronic equipment to function, not for creature comfort.
SAFETY LANES Special routes for submarine transit in time of war. Submarines detected by U.S. forces inside these lanes are assumed to be friendly.
SAIL Conning tower. Named because, unlike the conning towers of World War II diesel boats, which were misshapen and asymmetrical, modern nuclear submarine conning towers are smooth fins with square profiles when viewed from the side. Someone called it a sail in the distant past and the term became official.
SCI (SPECIAL COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION) A classification of information separate from the Confidential/Secret/Top Secret system. SCI information is compartmented or sectioned, so that no one person has the full story. Capture or compromise of one compartment of the information will be damaging but not catastrophic. SCI information is usually so sensitive that it is generally considered a higher classification than Top Secret. SCI is also information that compromises intelligence methods and sources.
SCRAM An emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor, done by driving control rods to the bottom of the core using springs.
A term left over from the 1940s when primitive lab reactors had a single control rod suspended by a rope. An emergency shutdown would be done by cutting the rope and letting the rod drop by gravity. The safety man was called the Safety Control Rod Ax Man — hence SCRAM.
SCRAM BREAKER A circuit breaker that interrupts power to the latching electromagnets of the control rod drive mechanisms. When the breaker opens, electrical power to the electromagnets is shut off, the magnets lose their magnetism, and the latches of the rods open, allowing springs to drop the rods to the bottom of the core.
SCRAM SETPOINTS The power level that will result in the protective circuits scramming the reactor. There are also setpoints for amount of flow through the core and core pressure.
SCRAMBLED EGGS The gold branches of leaves sewn onto the brim of a senior officer’s cap.
SCRUBBER C02 scrubber. Atmospheric control equipment that rids the ship of carbon dioxide (from breathing, the diesel, and the CO burner) by blowing it over an amine bed.
SEA TRIALS Post construction shakedown cruise of a ship. Done to ensure the equipment lives up to the specifications and that the ship is ready to perform its mission.
SEARCH CONE A cone of ocean extending forward from the nosecone transducer of a torpedo. Anything inside the cone can be detected and homed on.
SEAWOLF CLASS Newest class of American fast attack submarines, the successor to the Los Angeles class.
SECTION TRACKING TEAM A fire-control team stationed to man the plots and fire-control system when tracking a hostile contact for extended periods of time. Modified battle stations. So named because each watchsection (similar to a shift) has its own tracking team.
SECURE PULSE FATHOMETER A fathometer (bottom sounder or bottom contour sonar) that bounces a downward focused secure pulse off the ocean bottom to determine depth below the keel. Pulse is secure because it is short duration and high frequency. High frequencies are quickly attenuated by the ocean.
SELF-OXYDIZING FUEL Fuel such as hydrogen peroxide that contains its own oxygen. Needs only a spark to react and explode violently. Capable of burning underwater. This fuel is frequently used in torpedoes. Its use makes a fire in the torpedo room that much more hazardous.
SELF-SUSTAINING (1) When a jet engine’s turbine has enough power produced to turn the compressor shaft and sustain engine operation. (2) When a nuclear reactor’s steam plant is producing enough electrical power to power its own reactor coolant pumps and electrical circuitry (taking about 10 % power). The ship can then divorce from shorepower.<
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SES (SONAR EQUIPMENT SPACE) A room in the operations compartment taken up by large electrical cabinets containing power and signal circuits used by the BAT-EARS sonar suite.
SEWER PIPER Another derogatory term for submariner, used by aviators and surface sailors.
SHAFT SEALS The mechanism used to allow the screw’s shaft to penetrate the aft bulkhead of the engineroom without seawater leaking in. Furthest aft point inside the ship.
SHAPED CHARGE An explosive charge that is designed to focus the energy of explosion in a particular direction. Used to break through tank armor and double submarine hulls.
SHARKTOOTH SONAR Slang name for the AN/BQS-8 underice sonar. The transducers are in the forward edge of the sail. Sonar is active, transmitting a high frequency police siren sound, able to transmit and receive simultaneously to chart ice obstacles ahead of a submarine under ice. Also includes a network of topsounders on the sail and hull to look up to find distance to overhead ice and ice thickness. Named SHARKTOOTH because the emitted frequency, when plotted against time, resembles a series of ramps, like shark teeth.
SHIP CONTROL OFFICER Russian equivalent to a helmsman, except the watchstander is an officer directing a highly automated distributed control system that controls the motion of the ship. Reports to the Deck Officer.
SHIP CONTROL PANEL (SCP) The console from which the ship’s depth, course, and speed are controlled. On American submarines, this console resembles a 747 cockpit, with the Sternplanesman on one side, the Helmsman on the other, and the Diving Officer behind and between them. On Russian submarines, the console is the control station for the automated distributed control system that directs the motion of the ship.
SHIP CONTROL TEAM The watchstanders manning the Ship Control Panel, including the Sternplanesman, the Helmsman, and the Diving Officer. Sometimes includes the Chief of the Watch, off to the port side at the Ballast Control Panel.
SHIPS INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM (SINS) A multimillion-dollar complex navigation system using a sophisticated gyroscope and support electronics to estimate the ship’s position accurately at any time.
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