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Life Aboard a Diesel Electric Submarine — Part 1
By Joe Cadrain, Winsted
Prior to the U.S. submarine fleet becoming nuclear powered, diesel electric submarines were the best we had. Electric motors with shafts going through the hull with attached propellers pushed and pulled the ship through the water. The motors received their power from diesel-powered generators while on the surface, and from wet cell batteries when submerged. Two control panels with levers and rheostats controlled power to the motors. Those who were stationed at the these control panels were called "controllermen."
I served on one of these submarines as a controllerman and I loved it most of the time. Being an on-duty controllerman in the maneuvering room during emergency conditions was a blast. Loud bells would be ringing along with alarms blaring, red lights flashing plus orders of: Starboard back full! Port ahead full! All back full! Maneuvering, give me all you got! These actions caused the mind, body and soul to fill with adrenaline. God, I can feel it and smell it now!
The ship that I proudly served on was the USS Clamagore SS343. This Babao Class submarine was built by the Electric Boat Co. and commissioned on June 28, 1945 with a displacement of 1,526 tons of water surfaced and 2,424 tons submerged. Her length was 311 feet; her beam 27 feet 3 inches; her draft 16 feet 10 inches; her speed 20 knots surfaced and 9 knots submerged. Her armament included one 5"/25 deck gun, four 20mm AA and two 20mm portable guns, six bow and four stern torpedo tubes, and 24 torpedoes. Eighty men with four diesel engines and 252 lead acid storage cells slipped in and out the underwater world for the next 30 years.
The ship had eight basic compartments. Starting at the ship’s bow, the compartments were the forward torpedo room, forward battery compartment, control room, after battery compartment, forward engine room, after engine room, maneuvering room, and after torpedo room. The ship’s operations were controlled either from the bridge, the conning tower or the control room.
In 1958 she was converted to high-speed GUPPY 2 (Greater Underwater Propulsion Power) by increasing the one-ton lead acid storage cells to 504, and adding a snorkel that allowed her diesel engines to run underwater. A second conversion, to GUPPY 3, was completed in 1963.
Based at Charleston for much of her career, she cruised on and under the Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, including critical patrols at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Twice modified from her original World War II configuration, the Clamagore continued in service as one of the U.S. Navy's last diesel-powered submarines until she was decommissioned in 1975. She now rests at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, where she is open to the public. Prior to the nukes, U.S. submarines were named after fish, but today that standard no longer applies. Additional information on the Clamagore may be obtained at our new website, <cvanews.org/ajordan>.
When people find out I served aboard a diesel electric submarine, the most asked question is what it was like being underwater. Not being sure what is expected, my response ranges from "Great!" to "How much time have I got?" Now, without asking the question, you have the opportunity to read an answer from someone who has been there and done that.
In those early years it was necessary for those who volunteered for submarine service to take a series of physical and mental tests before you were accepted and sent to submarine school. A series of psychiatrists asked a number of strange questions while other doctors probed, pinched, slapped and tested everything your body had to offer. Once you were at the school, more tests were completed before you entered a classroom.
After doctors completed their testing of your mind and body, the U.S. Navy had a few tests of their own. We were required to enter a small airtight chamber where a door was dogged shut and air under pressure was let in, increasing air pressure in the chamber. Anyone who failed to adjust their ear pressure raised their hands, air pressure was decreased, and the outer door was opened, allowing those who wanted out to leave. Those who passed the test by correcting ear pressure—by yawning and/or by holding their nose, closing their mouth and blowing pressure to pop their ears—were ready for new experiences.
The next test was to practice how to escape from a submarine at various depths under various circumstances. The tests were performed in a 100-foot water tower, first at 25 feet in an open diving bell, then at 50 feet from a small chamber, and finally from a mock after torpedo room at 100 feet. The first tests were performed wearing a Munson lung, which regulated air pressure in your lungs and allowed you to slowly float to the surface with the aid of a line attached to a buoy floating on the surface. If time allowed, free ascents were made.
In order to make an ascent from a downed submarine, it was necessary to have air pressure in the escape chamber equal to the outside sea pressure so the escape hatch could be opened. Once the hatch is open, air pressure is maintained to prevent air from going out the hatch and water from coming in. At this time the air you are breathing is at a pressure equal to the outside water pressure. Picture, if you can, men standing in front of a cylindrical skirt attached to the stairway to the escape hatch. Water fills the compartment above the opening of the skirt, with the men standing in the water waiting to escape. With a Munson lung strapped to their bodies and the mouthpiece in their mouth, they one by one ducked under the skirt and climbed up the ladder, full of water, to the opened hatch. Once partially outside you took hold of the guideline that helps you out of the hatch; then you loosely held the line, allowing you to float to the surface.
Free ascents to the surface are a little more complex. You're free, no Munson lung—just you, waiting for your turn to begin a new life experience. OK, GO!! You concentrate on what you have been taught while forcing the "what ifs" out of your mind. You feel your right hand on the cold metal skirt, you pause, take a deep breath and duck under the skirt. You start up the ladder where you begin to feel air pressure in your chest because, as you go up, water pressure decreases, causing the air in your lungs to expand, forcing you to rise upwards. You grab the guideline and begin to slowly let air out of your mouth as you rise to the surface.
Should you keep your mouth closed, you would rise too fast, and if you panicked too long holding your breath, your lungs could burst or you could roar out of the water like a missile. On the other hand, should you let the air out too fast, you would stop rising and sink to a point where you would stop when water and lung pressure were the same. To continue the rise to the surface, you would have to pull yourself up the line until water pressure decreased and you began to rise again to the surface. Having faith in those who gave you instructions, remembering how to make those adjustments, and actually making them gave you a smooth ride to the surface. If I was to describe the feeling when you reached the surface, I would say that sex is great, but this was a close second. Today a completely different method of escape is employed.
After completing sub school you were assigned to a submarine, where you began a new and exciting adventure in the "Silent Service." We were there because we passed the test, and in retrospect the test continued until we walked away or the Navy felt you no longer belonged. In my opinion we were chosen because we had positive attitudes, self-confidence, little fear of going underwater, plus the ability to work in groups to accomplish various tasks. We soon learned that each man is totally dependent on the will and skill of every other man aboard, not only for efficiency but also for survival.
To be continued …
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