21
SUBMARINE TRAINING DEVICES
 
A. GENERAL
 
21A1. Introductory. The modern feet-type submarine is an exceedingly complex mechanism. On the surface, in normal operation, it presents all the problems of ship handling and navigation common to surface vessels. Its problems do not end there, however, for when it submerges it becomes, in effect, an entirely different vessel with new characteristics and new problems.

Submerged, the control becomes more complicated; the ship must be navigated in a three-dimensional medium and many conditions affecting its operation are much more critical than when it is on the surface. Added to these complexities are the more limited facilities for observation and the necessity of relying, to a great extent, on dead reckoning.

As the submarine is an offensive weapon, its chief value against the enemy is its ability to approach undetected and to maneuver to a firing position despite the target's efforts to avoid contact. The approach and attack phase of submarine warfare is a science in itself, requiring a practiced eye, an analytical mind, and the ability to make swift and accurate decisions. Though the possession of these attributes is a paramount requirement

  for submarine officers, to be of value in submarine attack they must be supplemented with long experience and thorough training.

In the early days of the submarine this experience and training were acquired through actual service under a competent commanding officer. With the growth of the fleet and the phenomenal development of the submarine and its equipment, it became evident that qualified personnel must be secured in ever increasing numbers and trained more rapidly. To this end, numerous training devices, duplicating the more important features of a submarine, have been developed and may be used to simulate actual situations encountered or patrols.

Three departments of the submarine have been the object of particular attention, the conning tower, the control room, and the torpedo room, resulting in the production of three devices known as the attack teacher, the diving trainer and the torpedo tube trainer. These devices are used to train fire-control parties, diving officers, and control room personnel, and to instruct in the care and manipulation of torpedoes and torpedo tubes and in the firing of torpedoes.

 
B. THE ATTACK TEACHER
 
21B1. Description . The attack teacher is a device by which typical approach and attack problems may be duplicated in all their phases. The fire-control party in training is assembled in a mock-up conning tower. Miniature models of enemy vessels are maneuvered in the field of a specially designed periscope and the fire-control party simulates   the conduct of an actual operation against an enemy.

Early attack teachers bore little resemblance to the devices of the present day. Like the submarines, they have developed rapidly, and they now afford a reliable presentation of battle problems and facilities for their solutions.

 
C. THE DIVING TRAINER
 
21C1. Description. The diving trainer (Figure 21-1) consists of a duplicate of the port side of the control room with all the apparatus and equipment usually installed in that section of the submarine. The control room section is mounted so that it may be tilted to   assume all the normal up-and-down angles encountered in the actual operation of a submarine. The instruments and controls are mounted in their relative locations and all function just as when actually installed on a submarine.
 
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Photo of diving trainer
Figure 21-1. The diving trainer
 
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Photo of torpedo tube trainer
Figure 21-2. The torpedo tube trainer
 
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The device is operated from a control stand in front of the room. This stand is the station of the instructor and affords him a full view of all the gages, instruments, and members of the control room personnel. The controls not normally installed on the port side of the control room are mounted in their relative positions at the side of the lecture room.

Electric and hydraulic controls enable the instructor to create conditions which are normally encountered and registered on the instruments. The student, acting as diving

  officer, then issues the necessary orders to attain the desired condition of the submarine. Every action necessary to diving, trimming, and surfacing the ship is carried out to the most exact detail and the response of the tilting section of the control room and the registry of the gages indicate to the student the same result as would be obtained with an actual submarine.

The use of this trainer has shortened the training period otherwise necessary and permits the training of an increased number of students.

 
D. THE TORPEDO TUBE TRAINER
 
21D1. Description. A recent innovation in training devices is an installation of a standard torpedo tube with all controls, interlocks, and mechanisms, and from which a standard torpedo may be fired and the procedure observed. (See Figure 21-2.)

The tube itself is an exact duplicate of those installed in the fleet-type submarines. The tube is mounted on the end of a water tight tank in which varying pressures, corresponding to assumed depths, can be attained. The torpedo tube muzzle extends into the tank and is fitted with the standard muzzle door. Guides along the bottom of this tank, and above the course of the fired torpedo, are installed to prevent any erratic course once the torpedo leaves the tube.

  Heavy glass windows in the side of the tank permit observations to be made of the torpedo's exit from the tube and the amount of bubble checked.

The torpedo is loaded into the tube and is fired in a normal manner and at normal speeds. At the rear end of the tank the torpedo enters a restricted passage. The water expelled from this passage exhausts through gradually reduced orifices and the torpedo is brought to a gentle stop. It is then pushed back through the tank and tube to the loading rack where it may be used again.

A gyro angle indicator regulator is mounted near the tube and any normal operation connected with torpedo fire may be duplicated.

 
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