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Subs of the World

Underwater Warfare

One DayOn Board the Sub Carrier

Verona

C o n f l i c t200 Years o fIMPROVING

YOURTACTICS

Submarines and sub-surfaceweapons serving with the world’smajor corporate defence units

Why can’t thegovernmentforces keep theirnoses out of our affairs?Ours are privateconflicts, usuallyinvolving no collateraldamage or civiliancasualties. The feelingamong the staff here atUnderCurrents is thatgovernment forces getinvolved in corporateconflicts to justify theirexistence to the public -making us out to be thebad guys, while theirpropaganda machinesturn them into heroes.

Let us not forget thelessons of the 20th century; every war in which government forces were involved resulted in heavy civilian casualties and almost total destruction of what they were meant to be defending!

If any government officials are reading, take this advice - leavecorporate defence to the professionals.

E D I TO R I A L

1

UnwelcomeIntervention

As we predicted last issue, the Indonesiangovernment intervened to ‘limit’ the underwater

conflict between Richteur International andO’Sullivan plc. Company property suffered

extensive damage, as is always the case whengovernment forces get involved. The end result is

that O’Sullivan, who were already experiencingfinancial difficulties, have been forced out of

business.

ContentsWorld News

page 2

Improving Your Tactics

page 5Mercenary pilot ‘Tiger’Johnson describes the

tactics which have lead tohis notoriety

Subs of the Worldpage 12

Our annual reviewdescribes the submarinesand sub-surface weapons

serving with the world’smajor corporate defence

units

Underwater Warfarepage 33

Alan Crockett traces thehistory of the submarine

from its origins over 400 years ago to today’s

sub carriers

One Daypage 58

Corporate sub pilotRoberto Deladra gives usan insight into life on an

Italian sub carrier

All photographs in this manual are Crown Copyright, 1mperial War Museum. Courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London.

CREDITSEditor: Kristian Ramsay-JonesAssociate Editor: Alkis AlkiviadesAdmin: Julie Putterill

Design and Typesetting: Sarah WarburtonSub Illos: Martin Smillie andAngus Fieldhouse

Computer Graphics: Mark ScottDesign and Typesetting of Game Manual: Sarah KerrArt Director: Julie Burness

W O R L D N E W S

2

Almost 20 years ago,Hideyoshi agreed bytreaty not to mine within50 miles of the US WestCoast. Over the last year,Hideyoshi have beenestablishing mines closerto the West Coast of theUSA and the latest mine,

the Ohka facility, is justwithin the 50 mile limit.Hideyoshi officials statethat this is due to‘adverse conditions whenoperating far out at sea’,but Anderson off ic ialsinsist that Hideyoshi is‘way out of line’ in their

mining operat ions. Anarmed confl ict seemsinevit-able. Anderson andHideyoshi have sub-stantial fighter sub forcesof their own, but bothhave approachedmercenary sub f ighterorganisat ions, openlyoffer ing large sums ofmoney for the hottest subpilots.

Pacific Coastal Mining Rights:-

SUB WAR LOOMSAs we went to press, the war of words betweenthe Amer ican Anderson Corporat ion andJapanese Industrial Giant Hideyoshi was takinga new turn.

ARCTIC CONFLICT DRAWSCLOSER

In early March, Deeping-Drew Inc acquired the prospecting rights to the sought-after Sector 27 in the Arctic Quadrant Px223. This pitched them right next to theNicholson Extraction Corp, who have been mining Sector 26 for the last sixmonths. Ignoring warnings issued by DD, Nicholson vehicles have frequentlyentered Sector 27 and ra ids by DD f ighter subs have c la imed two Nicholson ‘Floor Crawler’ prospecting vehicles. DD are moving three Enter-prise class sub carriers into the region, and it seems that this sit-uation will beresolved with a corporate war very soon.

An Andersonowned 'Tornado'fighter sub

The Sword and ShieldSociety has been set upto cater for ‘el i te subpilots who excel at their

craft and wish to work foronly the most reputableand wealthy employers’.The Society has a strict

rule of presentingmembers with only themost demandingcontracts.

3

W O R L D N E W S

New Freelance Sub FighterOrganisation Founded

As the Tokyo Sub Expo ‘50 opens, so too does a newJapan-based mercenary sub fighter organisation.

BSS DISCOVERNEW LUDINUM

90 SEAMOur sources inform usthat a fresh seam ofLudinum 90 has beendiscovered by the Berger-Smith-Scott Corp‘somewhere in the SouthAtlantic’. This rumour hassent BSS stocks soaringin markets across theworld but has yet to bec o n f i r m e dby Undersea Mining

Federation auditors.“Jimbo” Ramsay, BSSChief Executive, hasrefused to comment.

New SubCarrier

RevealedTyler Underwater Ship-yards have revealed theirnew sub carr ier for 2051, at the TokyoSub Expo ’50. The craft,known as theConstellation class, iscapable of carrying andservicing 12 fighter subsand has more leisurefacilities than your localmega complex. It retailsat a cool $2825 million.Any takers?"Jimbo" Ramsay

W O R L D N E W S

4

The other big news of theshow is the latestversion of the popularAmerican Lightningclass light-weight fightersub. As we know, whenFerrara produced theexcellent Mk96 torpedo, itwould only functioncorrectly when fired fromthe Ferrara Aquila classfighter sub. This boostedsales of the Aquila, but didnot help most of us; theLightning was already

being used byover 80% off r e e l a n c efighters.

SubAm havenow modifiedthe design ofthe Lightning’storp tubes, soshe can fire theMk96 without any problems.The mod2 Lightningremains at the same price($38 million) as the mod1,

anyone still operating themod1 can have it upgradedby SubAm to mod2standard for just $7700.

MOD2 STANDARD LIGHTNING AVAILABLE

German U-boat Discovery:FURTHER REVELATIONSEspamarine SA have refused to comment on the latestrumours surrounding the 110-year old German U-boatdiscovered last month in the Eastern Atlantic quadrantNm527. We know that the sub was fleeing to Brazilwhen it was caught by a British anti-sub plane andsunk, but the story does not end there. Our sourceshave discovered that the U-boat Captain carried withhim, stored in airtight containers, some of the finestworks of art owned by Germany. Presumably thesewere to be sold in Brazil.

It is planned that the subwil l be raised andpreserved as acentrepiece in the lobbyof the Atlantic MiningCorporation head-quarters at Atlantic Tower,New York. What wil lhappen to the pricelessartefacts in the sub is yetto be recovered.Espamarine deeprecovery vehicles areknown to be moving intoposition right now.

During my last 5years as amercenary pilot, itamazed me that so fewmercs knew any tacticsat a l l . There were ahandful who could pullof f a few good t r icks underpressure, but I only mettwo p i lo ts who I thought were really good.

Now that I’m retiring as amerc pilot, it’s a good timeto put down on paper therules that I ’ve beenfollowing since my firstu n d e r - w a t e rengagements.

All sub tactics are basedaround stealth. You will bemore effective if youmanage to keep theelement of surprise. Thesection of this article on

Avoiding Detection givesyou details on how toachieve this.

When it comes to subversus sub fights, there’stwo tactics; attack anddefence. You’ve got toknow when to switchbetween attack anddefence and you shouldn’tpress home a poorlyplanned attack; you’ll end up dead. ➨

Improving YourTactics

So you’ve just spent your last million on the latestin fighter sub technology and you’re there - 2000feet down at 80 knots with the underwater worlddisplayed in glorious 3-D all around you. Yourbriefed target approaches; a transport - should bean easy kill. You go active, lock a torpedo on andBOOM; you’re hit by a rear quarter attack you didn’teven see coming. You didn’t check your mostvulnerable zone - behind you, in your ‘baffles’.

byChris ‘Tiger’ Johnson

I M P R OV I N G YO U R TAC T I C S

5

Passive sonar is lesse f fec t i ve than ac t i vesonar, but does not giveaway your pos i t ion to

the enemy. My personalpref-erence is to st ickwith passive sonar 90%of the time, only ‘going

active’ when I am suretha t I am sa fe f romattack.


6

Active Sonar sends out ahigh-pitched ‘ping’ noiseand listens to the echo.The data from this sound profile isprojected onto the inside of

the submarine’s cockpit,enclosing the pilot within a3-D image of thesurrounding underwaterworld.

If you are in a high-

threat environment, youshould avoid using activesonar; it broadcasts yourpresence to the enemyand may be used topinpoint your sub.

Attack TacticsUsing Active Sonar

Passive sonar is simply an underwater microphone, listening out for the sound ofimpellers or even the sound of turbulent water around the hull of a movingsubmarine.

Using Passive Sonar

‘ping’

echo

Enemy sub’s sound

To set up an ambush, useunderwater rock or iceformations to hide fromactive sonar. Lie still anduse your passive sonar todetect the enemy. Attackwhile stationary andwatch the result of yourattack - don’t move unlessyou are fired on; you’llgive yourself away andyou may miss the chance

to carry out a follow-upattack.


7

Attack Tactics

A good firing position isone which str ikes abalance betweenescaping enemy detec-t ion and being closeenough to minimise thechances of the enemyavoiding your torpedo. Ifthe enemy has no towedsonar array, then i t isalways best to at tackfrom behind.

If your opponent detectsyou, a close-rangemanoeuvring battle couldtake place. I have alwaystried to avoid these, sincethey are usually very hardwork and any slightmistake will leave youdead. One of mycolleagues described subvs. sub dogfights as beinglike a ‘knife fight in atelephone box’.

If you get into amanoeuvring battle, try toget into your opponent’s‘six-o-clock’ (immediatelybehind) and match speedand manoeuvres exactly.Don’t forget to keep yourwits about you; anothersub could easily move intoyour ‘six’ while you arepursuing your target.

Firing Weapons

It is important to select anappropriate weaponsystem and fire at anoptimum time. Don’twaste torpedoes onshort-range shots whenrockets would be better.

Enemies who are hidingfrom passive sonar bylying ‘dead in the water’may be scared intomoving by firing a homingtorpedo ‘blindly’ in theirgeneral direction. Avoid‘going active’ yourself;this will almost certainlyresult in the enemylaunching a torpedo atyou.

Exploiting the Terrain Hidden Enemies

Manœuvring


8

Firing a homing torpedodown the bearing of arunning enemy torpedowill often find a target.Even if it does not, it willdelay the enemy sub’sfollow-up attack while theyattempt to outmanoeuvreyour torpedo.

Defensive TacticsDefensive tactics are last resort measures which are carried out to prevent your sub from

being destroyed.

Returning Fire

If you are piloting a deepsea sub, dive out of theenemy’s range; you canturn around and shoothim from below. If you arepiloting a really fastfighter, turn around andspeed off in the oppositedirection to the enemy.

Every sub has uniquefeatures which you coulduse to your advantage; it’sup to you to exploit them.

Using Your Strengths

Creating a Knuckle

Turning very tight in thewater generates a pocketof turbulence which canconfuse the active sonarof homing torpedoes. Thispocket of turbulent wateris known among fightersub crews as a ‘knuckle’.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


9

These should only beused as a last resor tcountermeasure and aremost effective if releasedapproximately 1 to 2seconds before torpedoimpact.

Defensive TacticsDefensive tactics are last resort measures which are carried out to prevent your sub from

being destroyed.

After creating a ‘knuckle’or dropping a decoy ornoisemaker, you shouldturn away from thetorpedo.

1

2

21

33

High Speed EvasiveManoeuvres

Using Decoys andNoisemakers

1

1

3

3

2

Torpedo evasion technique

1. An enemy active homingtorpedo has acquired yoursubmarine. It is less than five seconds from impact.

2. The torpedo tracks yoursub until you release a decoy.The torpedo then acquires thedecoy and homes onto thatinstead.

3. You turn away from thetorpedo, taking care that itcannot re-acquire you if itdoes not detonate when itreaches the decoy.

2


1 0

Avoiding DetectionAvoiding detection is more important than any other consideration. If the enemy see you

before you see them, the chances are that you will lose the fight.

Thermal layers are theboundaries which areset up by oceancurrents between thesunlight-heated surfacewater and the coolerdeep water.

When sonar first cameinto use, submarine crewsdiscovered that if theydived deep enough, ship-based sonar suddenlyreached a point where itcould not detect them atall. The submarine haddisappeared from sonarbeneath a thermal layer.Because sound travelsslower in dense coldwater, the sonar signalwas being reflected backup to the lower densitywarm water. Submarineshave been using theocean’s thermal layers tohide from sonar eversince.

Thermal layers aredisplayed on your fightersub’s 3-D cockpit displayas a grid of either red orgreen. A red grid denotesa thermal layer from lowerto higher temperaturewater, a green grid is athermal layer from higherto lower temperaturewater.

If you position your sub sothat there is a thermallayer between you and the

enemy, neither sub will beable to see each other.This is an excellentdefensive tactic.

In general, it is best tostay close to the thermallayers at all t imes andsteal th i ly at tack theenemy before they getthe chance to return fire.

Using Thermal lavers

Submarines on theopposite sides of aThermal Layer are

invisible to each other

Cavitation noise is thesound made by airbubbles forming as aresult of water boiling atthe tips of a sub’spropeller/impeller blades.It can reveal yoursubmarine’s position tothe enemy even if theyare using only passivesonar.

The propulsion units ofmodern fighter subs are

designed to minimisecavitation, but wil l sti l lcavitate when running atshallow depths and highRPM. Old subs are mostsusceptible to cavitationdue to their high RPM‘open’ props.

To suppress yourcavitation noise you musteither reduce your speedor dive to the higherpressure deep water.

1 1


This must only be carriedout if the enemy isuncertain of your exactposit ion. Remainingmotionless reduces yourpassive sonar emissionsto zero, forcing the enemyto ‘go active’ and giveaway their position to you.This allows you to lockand launch a torpedo atthem.

Lying ‘Dead in theWater’

Reducing Cavitation Noise

Summary

Avoiding DetectionAvoiding detection is more important than any other consideration. If the enemy see you

before you see them, the chances are that you will lose the fight.

You don’t need toremember every detail ofthe tactics outlined above,but a broad understandingof them could give you theedge which leads tovictory in battles.

Even if you gain nothingelse from this ar ticle,

remember this:- your ‘six-o-clock’ is your mostvulnerable zone. I killedmore fighter subs byshooting them in the backthan any other way. If youwant to survive out there,you’ve got to remember to‘check six’.

S U B S O F T H E W O R L D

1 2

Since our first Sub review of May 2041, we have established ourselves as the

leader in gathering information on modern sub-surface weapon systems.

All the entries in this review are both in production and freely available

throughout the world.

Subs which are only available to governments or large corporations

are not included.

Subs ofthe WORLD

Last year saw several

new systems come into

service including one

completely new weapon:

the PBRS (Particle Beam

Rocket System).

Submarine tech-nology

has not advanced signifi-

cantly, however, with

only one major new type

coming onto the world

market over the

last two years.

The emphasis these days

seems to be on

upgrading and im-

proving existing

equipment rather than

developing completely

new submarines.


1 3

PRICE$2360 million

IN-SERVICE DATE2039

DISPLACEMENT60,000 tons (unloaded)

LENGTH742 ft

PROPULSIONFusion nuclear poweredwith conventional screwdrive

MAX. SPEED35 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH 4500 ft

ARMAMENT10 fighter subs20 cruise missiles4 torpedo tubes

DEFENCE & SENSORSYSTEMSNoisemakers DecoysActive and passive sonarSidescan sonar SurfaceradarSurface RWRQV-82 airborne dronesMk96 underwater drones

SU

BM

AR

INE

CA

RR

IER

SEnterprise Class

-Sub Carrier-


1 4

PRICE$2170 million

IN-SERVICE DATE2042

DISPLACEMENT55,000 tons (unloaded)

LENGTH649 ft

PROPULSIONFusion Nuclear poweredwith electro-magnetic/ducted impellerdrive

MAX. SPEED37 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH4300 ft

ARMAMENT8 fighter subs10 cruise missiles6 torpedo tubes

DEFENCE & SENSORSYSTEMS NoisemakersDecoysActive and passive sonarSidescan sonarSurface radar SurfaceRWRQV-82 airborne dronesMk96 underwater drones

SU

BM

AR

INE

CA

RR

IER

S Tsunami Class-Sub Carrier-


1 5

PRICE$62 million

IN-SERVICE DATE2050

DISPLACEMENT220 tons

LENGTH86 ft

PROPULSIONFusion nuclear poweredwithelectromagnetic/ductedimpeller drive

MAX. SPEED80 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH4600 ft

ARMAMENT4 torpedo tubesParticle Beam RocketSystemMine-laying capability

DEFENCE & SENSORSYSTEMSNoisemakers DecoysActive and passive sonarSidescan sonar

FIG

HT

ER

SU

BM

AR

INE

STornado Class

-Heavy Fighter Sub-


1 6

PRICE

$38 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2043

DISPLACEMENT

120 tons

LENGTH

65 ft

PROPULSION

Fusion nuclear poweredwithelectromagnetic/ductedimpeller drive

MAX. SPEED

100 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

2000 ft

ARMAMENT

2 torpedo tubes

DEFENCE & SENSORSYSTEMS

NoisemakersDecoysActive and passive sonarSidescan sonar

FIG

HT

ER

SU

BM

AR

INE

S Lightning Class-Light Fighter Sub-


1 7

PRICE

$45 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2048

DISPLACEMENT

210 tons

LENGTH

92 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

85 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

4200 ft

ARMAMENT

4 torpedo tubes

Mine-laying capability



FIG

HT

ER

SU

BM

AR

INE

STyphoon Class

-Heavy Fighter Sub-


1 8

PRICE

$36 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2044

DISPLACEMENT

140 tons

LENGTH

69 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

90 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

1800 ft

ARMAMENT

3 torpedo tubes



FIG

HT

ER

SU

BM

AR

INE

S Hurricane Class-Light Fighter Sub-


1 9

PRICE

$230 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2042

DISPLACEMENT

1,400 tons

LENGTH

251 ft

PROPULSION

Gas turbine/electricpowered with ductedimpeller drive

MAX. SPEED

30 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

12500 ft

ARMAMENT

2 torpedo tubes



SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

S

Trieste Class-Ultra-Deep Sub-

SU

BM

AR

INE

S


2 0

PRICE

$198 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2039

DISPLACEMENT

1,200 tons

LENGTH

287 ft

PROPULSION

Gas turbine/electricpowered withconventional screw drive

MAX. SPEED

20 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

11000 ft

ARMAMENT

4 torpedo tubes



SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

SS

UB

MA

RIN

ES Whirlwind Class-Ultra-Deep Sub-


2 1

PRICE

$31 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2047

DISPLACEMENT

400 tons

LENGTH

160 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

40 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

5500 ft

ARMAMENT

None


NoisemakersDecoysActive and passive sonarSidescan sonarSurface radarSurface RWR

Powers Class-Reconnaissance Sub-

SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

S SU

BM

AR

INE

S


2 2

PRICE

$29 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2045

DISPLACEMENT

330 tons

LENGTH

147 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

40 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

5200 ft

ARMAMENT

None


Noisemakers

Decoys

Sidescan sonar

Active and passive sonar

Surface radar

Surface RWR

Mk96 underwater drones

SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

SS

UB

MA

RIN

ES Thunderbolt Class-Reconnaissance Sub-

PRICE

$285 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2040

DISPLACEMENT

12,000 tons

LENGTH

566 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

25 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

1500 ft

ARMAMENT

None




2 3

SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

S SU

BM

AR

INE

SEndurance Class-Refueller Sub-


2 4

PRICE

$341 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2043

DISPLACEMENT

10,000 tons

LENGTH

510 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

28 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

1200 ft

ARMAMENT

None



SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

SS

UB

MA

RIN

ES Type 17-Refueller Sub-


2 5

PRICE

$27 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2046

DISPLACEMENT

150 tons

LENGTH

101 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

25 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

4500 ft

ARMAMENT

30 troops



SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

S SU

BM

AR

INE

SFury Class

-Troop Carrier Sub-


2 6

PRICE

$314 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2037

DISPLACEMENT

32,000 tons

LENGTH

652 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

20 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

3000 ft

ARMAMENT

None



SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

SS

UB

MA

RIN

ES Jumbo Class-Transport Sub-


2 7

PRICE

$331 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2044

DISPLACEMENT

38,000 tons

LENGTH

705 ft

PROPULSION


MAX. SPEED

26 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

2800 ft

ARMAMENT

None



SP

EC

IA

LO

PE

RA

TI

ON

S SU

BM

AR

INE

SType 25

-Transport Sub-


2 8

PRICE

$1549 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2038

DISPLACEMENT

15,000 tons

LENGTH

574 ft

PROPULSION

Fusion nuclear poweredwith ducted impeller drive

MAX. SPEED

40 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

3500 ft

ARMAMENT

6 torpedo tubes

24 ballistic missiles



BA

LL

IS

TI

CM

IS

SI

LES

UB

MA

RIN

ES Revenge Class-Heavy Missile Sub-


2 9

PRICE

$1384 million

IN-SERVICE DATE

2034

DISPLACEMENT

18,000 tons

LENGTH

610 ft

PROPULSION

Fusion nuclear poweredwith ducted impeller drive

MAX. SPEED

35 kts

MAX. DIVING DEPTH

3300 ft

ARMAMENT

4 torpedo tubes

28 ballistic missiles



Tempest Class-Heavy Missile Sub-

BA

LL

IS

TI

CM

IS

SI

LE S

UB

MA

RIN

ES


3 0

Mk96 Torpedo

The Mk96 is the mostwidely used torpedo in theworld and is capable oftravelling in excess of 100kts. The standard Mk96 isfitted with an active sonarseeker head but may bemodified to acceptpassive sonar or thermalhoming heads.

M704 Rocket

The M704 rocket is moreeffective than a torpedo atshor t range because,even though it isunguided, it is very fast.The M704 may be firedfrom standard diametertorpedo tubes.

Mk90 Anti-TorpedoTorpedo

The Mk90 is a smallwarhead torpedo which isvery fast andmanoeuvrable. It is

optimised to destroyhostile torpedoes, but maybe used to inflict minordamage on subs.

Mk97 Cluster-RocketTorpedo

The Mk97 is a standardtorpedo with an armour-piercing warhead whichcontains multiple shor trange rockets. This allowsit to destroy even thethickest skinnedsubmarines.

UGM-167 Cruise Missile

The UGM-167 has been inuse for over 10 years and isstill the world’s principallong-range surface attackmissile. It is launched froma submarine, surfaces, thendeploys wings and cruisesat high speed and low levelto the target. It is suitable foruse against any ship orland-based installation.

UIM-194 Surface-to-AirMissile

Helijets and helicoptersequipped with dippingsonar can present asignif icant threat tosubmarines.

The UIM-194 allows anunderwater sub to destroyany airborne threat.

Particle Beam RocketSystem (PBRS)

The PBRS short rangecha rged pa r t i c l epu l se / rocke t weaponwas developed to allowsubmar ines to s t r i keunderwater targets withthe accu racy andf i repower o f a i rbor neweapons.

I t f unc t i ons byt ransmi t t i ng anextremely high energypulse which vapor isesa cyl inder of water tothe target. An armour-piercing rocket is theninstantaneously fired atMach 2 t h rough this tube.

W e a p o nS y s t e m s

Active SonarActive sonar is a soundtransmission and analysisdevice which uses soundechoes to visualise theunderwater world.

Passive SonarPassive sonar is a soundanalysis device which isused to track under-waterobjects from their noisesignature.

Side-Scan Active SonarSide-scan active sonar isshort-ranged active sonarwhich enables asubmarine to sensenearby subsea terrain.

PeriscopeFibre-optic video peri-scopes have replacedoptical periscopes in allbut the oldestsubmarines. The risk ofdetection by enemysurface radar is greatlyreduced with the fibre-optic periscope.

Satellite ImagingInfra-red data on oceancurrents, salinity, etc.gathered by satellites cansometimes detect sub-marines at shallowdepths.

Magnetic AnomalyDetector (MAD)MAD devices are used tolocate older steel-hulledvessels by detecting theeffect they have on theearth’s magnetic field.

Surface RadarRadar is a radio wavetransmission and analysisdevice. It may be used todetect airborne enemieswhen you are submergedat periscope depth.

Surface Radar WarningReceiver (RWR)A RWR is a radar analysisdevice. It may be used todetect enemy radaremissions when you aresubmerged at periscopedepth.

QV-82 Airborne DroneThe QV-82 is a pilotlessver tical take - off/

landing aircraft used forreconnaissance.

Mk96 Underwater DroneThe underwater droneversion of the ubiquitousMk96 torpedo is equippedwith multiplereconnaissance sensorsin place of the warhead.

3 1


SensorSystems

DefenceSystems

NoisemakerThe noisemaker is a smallbubble-generating devicewhich can temporar i lyblind a hosti le activesonar homing torpedo.

DecoyDecoys are larger thannoisemakers, but aremore effective since theyactually imitate the sonarreflection of your sub,attracting enemy activesonar homing torpedoes.

Over 55,000 acres of floatingexhibition space, filled with thelatest submarine and seafloorcraft.

Over 10,000 exhibitors with more

vessels and more facilities thanany other exhibition.

Easy access to Tokyoair/spaceport. Tokyo hotels only 5minutes by magrail.


3 2

Surface VHF Radio

Very High Frequencyradio: used for long-rangecommunication when thesub is surfaced.

ELF Radio

Extremely Low Freq-uency radio: used toreceive long-rangetransmissions when thesub is submerged.

Blue-Green Laser

Satellites may use this torelay messages if thesubmarine’s position isknown. Subs operatingtogether underwater can also use this at close range to inter-communicate.

Acoustic Phone

This has been in use forover a century. It operatesby trans-mitting audiblesounds at close range, butis seldom used today dueto the r isk of enemydetection.

TOKUDA KABUSHIKI KAISHA PRESENT

Exhibition open 24 hrs until 1st June, fighter sub demonstration day inTokyo Harbour on 25th May.

See the world’s most powerful vessels under one roof!

CommunicationS y s t e m s

The Eagle was capableof stealthi lyapproaching any enemyvessel, carrying out adeadly attack using thefinest technology of the21st century andescaping before theenemy could carry out acounter attack. 3-Dgraphical data wasprojected onto the insideof the cockpit, giving thepilot a unique view of theunderwater world.

The shape of the Eaglewas a clue to itscapabilities, looking morelike a jet

fighter than a boat, theEagle could out-manoeuvre anysubmarine in existence.Today’s Tornado classmay make the Eagle lookoutdated, but it should beremembered that beforethe Eagle, the fighter subwas just a dream in theminds of scientists andengineers.

Today, in the era ofadvanced fighter subsand 60,000 ton subcarriers, it is useful to lookback at the history of the‘under-water boat’.

U N D E RWAT E R WA R FA R E

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200 Years of ConflictBy Alan Crockett

INTRODUCTION

Over 25 years ago, on January 7 2025, the firstEagle class fighter submarine was launched at

Groton, Connecticut. Until then, submarines hadlimited manoeuvrability and were blind to most of

what was going on around them.


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The principle of thediving bell is simple:an empty cup forced intoa bowl of water upsidedown will not fil l, air istrapped inside the cup.The diving bell wasbasically a huge cupful ofair which could bebreathed for a l imitedperiod of t ime by anunderwater explorer. Asearly as 320 BC,Alexander the Greatdescended into the sea ina diving bell to observeunderwater life. The divingbell is not a truesubmarine, however,because it can only travelup and down, l ike anelevator.

The first submarine wasan underwater boat builtin 1620 for the EnglishKing James I byDutchman Cornelius vanDrebbel. The submarinewas made from grease-soaked leather stretchedonto a wooden frame.Twelve oars protruded

through watertight holesin the leather, and twelveoarsmen sat inside toprovide propulsive power.But no matter how hardthe oarsmen rowed,Drebbel’s submarinecould not dive and onlymanaged to plunge downto about fifteen feet.

One and a half centurieslater, David Bushness inthe USA designed asubmarine for attackingBrit ish ships. This t inycraft, named Turtle, hadtwo man-poweredpropellers, one for goingforwards or backwardsand one for ascending ordescending. OnSeptember 6th 1776,Turtle came very close tosinking the British man-of-war Eagle, but failed toattach an explosive devicedue to the tough, metal-sheathed hull of theEagle. The Tur tlecontinued trying to sinkBrit ish ships, but waseventually destroyed.

Another American, RobertFulton, designed asubmarine in 1800 forNapoleon. This vesselwas the first submarine tocarry the name Nautilus. Ithad many of the featuresfound on modern submarinesincluding water ballasttanks (used to dive andsurface) and a conningtower (for the captain to navigate the sub whenon the surface). Itgenerated considerableinterest amongst theFrench military, especiallywhen Fulton sank an oldFrench schooner as ad e m o n - s t r a t i o n .Napoleon’s admirals werenot impressed however;they felt that thesubmarine was anungentlemanly weaponand persuaded Napoleonto stick to using surfacewarships. One ofNapoleon’s officers wrote‘This type of warfarecarr ies with it anobjection: those whounder take it, and alsothose against whom it islaunched, will all perish.And this cannot be calleda gallant death.’

The PioneersThe first underwater vessels were open-endedbarrels lowered from ships by a rope, thesebecame known as ‘diving bells’.

Fulton approached theBrit ish and Americangovernments, but interestwas l imited due to theperception of thesubmarine as an‘underhand’ weapon. Hewent on to design the firstcommercially successfulpaddle steamer, but neverforgot his submarines. Hespent all of his paddlesteamer profits onbuilding an 80 footarmoured submarinecalled Mute, but diedbefore she could belaunched.During the American CivilWar, the Confederateforces built anexperimental submarine;the CSS Hunley. This littleman-powered sub wascapable of trueunderwater travel, butdrowned several crews intraining including CaptainH.L. Hunley himself.Finally, the Confederateforces decided to take theHunley into action and onFebruary 17th 1864, thebrand new Federal steamsloop USS Housatonicwas attacked. The

weapon used by theHunley was a nose sparfilled with 90 pounds ofexplosives. This wasjabbed into the side of theHousatonic, a hugeexplosion followed andthe enemy shipimmediately star tedsinking. Unfortunately theHunley and her crew weredragged down with thesinking Housatonic.

In 1888, the firstsubmersible torpedo boat,Gymnote was launched inFrance. This vessel waspowered by a combinationof a petrol engine whenon the surface andbatter ies whenunderwater. The Frenchsoon found that the petrolengine was not ideal forsubmarine operationsbecause it gave offpoisonous vapours andwas inefficient inoperation. In contrast, thebatteries were ideal forsubmarine use; allowingthe submarine to rununderwater for extendedperiods of time. As well asan advanced propulsionsystem, Gymnote was

armed with the latest insub weapon technology;the torpedo. Designed byRober t Whitehead in1868, the torpedo carriedan explosive warhead ona steady course at apredetermined depth,making it deadly whenused against surfaceships.

In 1904, the Frenchlaunched the Aigrettewhich was the first sub tobe powered by arevolutionary new enginedesigned in Germany byRudolf Diesel. The Dieselengine burnt oil without aspark, which meant that itdid not give off thepoisonous vapours of thepetrol engine and was farmore efficient. Howeverthe early Diesel engineswere unreliable, and theFrench continued to usethe steam engine in mostof their early submarines.As the Diesel engine wasimproved it did graduallyappear in service and was eventually used topower German sub-marines in 1912.


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The types of submarineoperated by differentcountries varied widelyand more than half of allthe submarines in theworld were sti l l theinefficient, dangerouspetrol-engined variety.

Without a doubt, the mostformidable submarines ofWorld War I were theGerman Unterseeboote(undersea boats), knownto the Allies as ‘U-boats’.It should be noted that

submarines are known tosailors as ‘boats’ andnever as ‘ships’.

The first success for theU-boat came with thesinking of a British cruiseron the 5 September 1914.Shortly after this, on the22 September, a single U-boat sank three armouredcruisers in less than aquarter of an hour. Theseevents proved that thesubmarine was truly aforce to be reckoned with.

From now on, all cruiserswere forced to operatewith a destroyer escort todetect and deter U-boats.Allied ships were soonfitted with ‘bulges’: lightcasings filled with air andwater compartments toabsorb the impact oftorpedoes.

U-boats started to maketheir presence felt bytargeting Britain’s foodsupply. The British fishingfleet was attacked in theNorth Sea, but it was inthe Atlantic that the U-boats did most damage.The convoys carryingsupplies from America toBritain soon star ted tosuffer heavy losses. Oneof the most tragic eventsof World War I was thesinking of the Brit ishpassenger liner Lusitaniaby a U-boat, resulting in theloss of 1,198 passengersand crew.

British submarines did nothave as many targets asthe U-boats, but sti l lmanaged to inflict heavylosses. Patrols in theNorth Sea sank Germanfishing vessels and U-boats were tracked downby Brit ish hunter-ki l ler

World War IAt the outbreak of World War I, the submarine wasstill very much in its infancy.

The crew of a World War 1 Royal Navy submarinepreparing to dive.

subs. During one raid inthe Mediterranean, theten year old Brit ishsubmarine B-11penetrated five rows ofmines and sank theTurkish batt leshipMessoudieh.

In 1916, Allied destroyerswere fitted with the‘hydrophone’, a device forfinding the position of a U-boat from the noise madeby its propellers. Thisdevice is still in use today,as ‘passive sonar’. At thesame time as receivingthe hydrophone, All ieddestroyers were issuedwith the first depthcharges. A depth chargeis basically a drum ofexplosive f itted with ahydrostatic valve todetonate it at a pre-setdepth.

The condit ions for thecrews of World War Isubmarines were primitivewhen compared to thesurface ships. The lack ofproper ventilation led to abuild-up of condensationwhich not only made food

mouldy and bedding wetbut also caused electricalsystem faults. The earlydiesel engines were dirtyand unreliable and engineroom crew would soon becovered in grime whenworking. The low poweroutput from the batteriesused in these subs meantthat their underwaterendurance was l imitedand they spent most oftheir time running underdiesel power, on thesurface.

Instead of concentratingon improving existing U-boats, Germany was

working on several newdesigns at once; fromhuge ‘U-cruisers’ to small,quick-build ‘UB-boats’.Although thisled to technologicallyadvanced subs, it alsomeant that less boatscould be produced. TheGerman navy was deniedsubmarines when theymost needed them. As theAllied armies advancedthrough Europe, the U-boats lost their bases on the French coastand their effectivenessdropped dramatically.


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A German Navy 'U-139' class U-Cruiser running underdiesel power on the surface.


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The sinking of merchantshipping was seen asmorally wrong andpopular sentiment was forbanning submarinesaltogether.

In 1922, America, Britainand Japan signed theLondon Naval Treatyagreeing not to performunrestricted submarinewarfare on merchantships. In the meantime,Germany was being

forced to limit its armedforces to relatively lowlevels. German submarineresearch continued,however.

In 1935, the US launchedthe first of an advancednew type of submarine,the ‘P’ class. This boathad a lightweight dieselengine and a high-performance battery. Thismade the ‘P’ class fasterand more manoeuvrable

than other comparablesubmarines. An airconditioning system tookcare of the condensationproblems which plaguedearlier submarines and aTorpedo Data Computer(TDC) made torpedoesmuch more accurate.

In 1937, Germanylaunched a very powerfulsubmarine; the type VII U-boat. The type VII had asubmerged displacementof 871 tons, a maximumspeed of 17 kts surfacedand 8 kts submerged andwas armed with 14torpedoes. The crew of 44could stay at sea for 20

When Germany surr-endered in 1918, U-boatshad sunk more than5,000 All ied ships.Although 199 U-boatshad been lost, theGerman Navy sti l l had138 left. Even in thesepioneering days ofinefficient power sourcesand cramped conditions,the submarine had provedto be a formidable hunter.

Post-World War IBy the end of World War I, the submarine hadacquired a bad reputation among the generalpublic.

'U-35', an early Type VII U-Boat, running on thesurface.

Most World War IIsubmarines had adiesel engine for use onthe surface, with anelectr ic motor for usewhile submerged.

The batter ies whichpowered the electr icmotor were charged fromthe diesel engine whilethe sub was on thesurface. The batter iesallowed the sub to travelfor about an hour whensubmerged at maximum

speed. Because of theinefficiency of earlybatteries, all World War IIsubs had a highermaximum speed whensurfaced than whensubmerged.

The maximum divingdepth of most World WarII subs was around 400feet. In most conditionsthis would allow thesubmarine to dive belowthe cold water layer. Coldwater, being denser,

reflected the probingsonar waves of enemysub hunters.

Early in the war,torpedoes were poweredby a steam turbine.Unfor tunately, the fuelburnt to produce thissteam left a trai l of bubbles in the wake of thetorpedo, ‘pointing’ back tothe firing submarine. Laterin the war, electr ictorpedoes l ike theAmerican Mk18 of 1944put an end to thisproblem.

days, allowing the type VIIto operate deep into theAtlantic from bases inFrance.

One of the main advancesin post-World War I navaltechnology was SONAR(SOund Navigation AndRanging). This was adevice which used soundto f ind the posit ion ofsubmarines, transmittinga loud ‘ping’ and listeningfor the echo. Sonar wasdeemed useful enough to

be fitted to destroyers, butearly models suffered by

being short-ranged andeasily confused.


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World War II

Sous-marin allemand de type VII en cale sèche

By 1939, submarines were starting to evolve intovery sophisticated fighting machines.


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The War inthe AtlanticAt the beginning of World War II the

Germans had 56 submarines to Britain’s

57. But while the German U-boats had

thousands of freighters as targets, the

British submarines could not attack

German food supplies which arrived

by rail, not sea.

Germany picked up where ithad left off in 1918. TheAtlantic was soon littered with thewreckage of All ied merchantships, and the All ies star teddesperately searching for ways tocounter the ever present Germanthreat. Destroyer escorts offeredsome protection to the cruisers,but the first year of the Atlanticwar belonged to the U-boat.Sonar was used on All ieddestroyers, but was not veryeffective due to its limited range.

Photo de l'"U-383", sous-marin allemand de type IX, prise à partir d'un hydravion"Sunderland" de la RAF en train d'attaquer

U-boats commandersperfected the tactic ofoperating severalsubmarines together, ingroups known as ‘wolfpacks’. These generallyoperated at night and bysharing information on theposition of Allied ships theU-boats could engagemany merchantmen asthey passed by. As manyas twenty U-boats couldbe in a single ‘wolf pack’.

Learning from their earliermistakes, the Germansconcentrated resourceson building one class ofU-boat, the type VII.These subs saw extensiveservice initially in coastalwaters, but as thepressure from All iedcoastal escor ts and airpatrols increased theywere forced to search fortargets fur ther into theAtlantic. Shore-basedanti-sub aircraft from bothBritain and the USA couldnot reach the mid-Atlanticand this region soonbecame known amongstAllied merchant crews as‘The Black Gap’.

The introduction of radaronto Allied destroyers inlate 1940 was the first realstep towards defeating theU-boats, al lowing theAllies to catch them onthe surface. When the U-boats dived to escape, theshort-ranged Allied sonarcould pinpoint the U-boatand an effective depthcharge attack could becarried out.To counter the All iedsonar, U-boats sometimesused Pil lenwerfer, (pil lthrower) which consistedof a perforated canistercontaining a chemicalmixture. When Pil len-werfer was released, itwould react with the waterand generate a hugecloud of fine bubbles toc o n f u s eAllied sonar.By 1941, the mostexperienced U-boat crewshad been killed and the U-boats were ordered tochange tactics. They weretold to hit the destroyersfirst, and pick off the merchant shippingwhen this threat had

been eliminated. Thedestroyers were not aseasy to hit as themerchant ships, so All ied shipping lossesimmediately star ted todecline.During World War II,British submarines joinedforces with refugeesubmarines from all overEurope and ventured asfar as Iceland and Norwayin search of U-boats.Norwegian freighterscarrying iron ore forGermany were raided byAllied subs but Germandive bombers and mineshampered operations inthese waters.The most successful raidsby British subs were in theMediterranean Sea.German and Italian shipsbound for Africa were atsea for just one or twodays, and would travel insmall convoys at highspeed. Even with theseodds stacked againstthem, British submarinesaccounted for 45% of allGerman ships lost in theMediterranean.


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Throughout the war,midget submarines wereused extensively by theBrit ish, Ital ians andGermans. “Midgets” wereused to raid coastalshipping, and a notablesuccess was thedamaging of the hugeGerman battleship Tirpitzat Asen Fjord in Norwayby the Brit ish midgetsubs. A typical midget subwas the 15 tonne GermanSeehund class with 2torpedoes, 2 crew, amaximum speed of 6 ktsand a range of just 500miles. In January 1945,several of these midgetsubs were operating veryclose to the British shore,just off Margate and in the

Thames Estuary.

Meanwhile in the Atlantic,the shipyards of Britain,Canada and the USAwere producing shipsfaster than the U-boatscould sink them. Theintroduction of the

centimetric wave radar onAllied corvettes in May1941 gave the Allies theabil i ty to detect theperiscope of a U-boatfrom a great distance.Within a couple of years,All ied anti-sub aircraftwere using radar to detectU-boats and were evencarrying out attacks atnight.The U-boats started usinga new weapon in 1943;the acoustic homingtorpedo. This weaponaccounted for severalAll ied ships, unti l theAllies realised what washappening and bought‘Kangol’ petrol-dr ivenhammers and fitted themto floats, towing thembehind their ships. The

A Royal Navy 'T' Class submarine. Fifty three of thesesubmarines formed the backbone of the Royal Navysubmarine fleet during World War II.

German Navy 'Seehund' midget subs at their base inoccupied Europe.

stronger acoustic signalfrom the hammerattracted the torpedo andit detonated harmlessly,far away from its intendedtarget.The All ies were sti l lhaving problems with theirsonar systems. They werefinding that a sl ightdisturbance in the seawould dramatically reducethe effectiveness of theirsonar. This meant that,due to the waves to theside and rear of adestroyer, sonar was onlyeffective when thedestroyer was facing a U-boat. The Allies decidedto put sonar onto buoys,floating still in the water, in1944. This device wouldradio the posit ion ofsubmerged vessels backto All ied destroyers oranti-sub aircraft. Depthcharges could then beplaced with deadlyaccuracy. The sonar buoycame to be known as the‘sonobuoy’ and is still inuse today.In 1944, All ied radarforced U-boats to star tusing a device called aSchnorkel. This allowedthem to run their dieselengines while submergedat periscope depth. The

Schnorkel was basically apipe, similar to the‘Snorkel’ used by divers,but with the addition of avalve to close off the pipewhen it went under thewater.Towards the end of thewar, U-boats were fittedwith the formidableSchnee-Orgel 10-tubetorpedo launcher, whichsent a heavy battery oftorpedoes at the target.This was highly effectivewhen it was used, but thesystem did not come intowidespread use beforethe end of the war.The ultimate U-boat wasthe type XXI, whichimplemented all thelessons learned from

early U-boats. Theimprovements included astreamlined hull, improvedbattery power output, aSchnorkel and a rapid-reloading system for thetorpedoes.U2511, the first type XXIU-boat, was launched in1945, one week beforethe German surrender. Itwent on to evade severalsub hunting vessels andmade an undetecteddummy attack on a Britishcruiser before surr-endering. The historybooks were closed for theU-boat, but the type XXIheavily influenced thedesign of all futuresubmarines.


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The Type IXC U-Boat 'U505' being boarded by a partyfrom the USS Guadalcanal. This submarine is now onpublic display in Chicago.


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It was involved right atthe star t when theJapanese sent five midgetsubmarines to PearlHarbor, to attack anysurvivors of the air raid.Even though theymanaged to penetratesome harbour defences,all f ive midgets weredestroyed and no moreUS ships were attacked.

The Japanese had morethan just midget subs,however. The mainJapanese submarineswere known to the Alliesas ‘I-boats’, and theirdesign was heavilyinfluenced by the GermanU-cruisers of World War I.The Japanese even built asubmarine whichdisplaced 5000 tons andcould operate 3seaplanes from its deck.Heavily armoured, it wasnot a practical vesselbecause it was slow todive and clumsy tohandle.

While Japanesesubmarines did manageto sink a number of UScarr iers they were notused as effectively as theBritish submarines in theAtlantic. The Japanesetended to use their subsdefensively, keeping themclose to surface vesselsand never fully exploitingtheir offensive potential.The Americans werelearning from the Atlanticwar, and US Navysubmarines in the Pacificborrowed German tactics.US subs experimentedwith ‘wolf packs’ andeventually sett led onusing three boat ‘wolfpacks’. As well as simplyattacking ships, Americansubs also shadowed themain Japanese battlefleets, repor ting theirmovements to other USforces.

When US submarinesattacked a Japaneseconvoy, they would target

the larger cargo vesselsfirst and dive to escapethe inevitable depthcharges which followed.This was the same tacticas that used by the U-boats dur ing the firstyears of the Atlantic war. Itwas very effective againstthe Japanese supplylines.

In 1941 the first Gatoclass submarine waslaunched. The Gato classwas the basis for all otherUS fleet subs built duringWorld War II. This meantthat American shipyardswere able to concentrateon refining this designthroughout the war. TheGato class subs were 50% bigger than theirBr it ish equivalent, the ‘T’ class, because the USsubmarines had to belarger for long Pacif icpatrols.

The Gato class had asubmerged displacementof 2415 tons, a maximumspeed of 20 kts surfacedand 10 kts submergedand was armed with 24torpedoes. The crew of 80could stay at sea for 60days before the Gatoneeded to be refuelled.

The Pacific WarThe Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii onDecember 7 1941 marked the outbreak of the war in thePacific. The submarine was to be one of the mostimportant weapons of this war.

November 1942 saw theintroduction of surfaceradar into US Navysubmarines. Radarsupplemented the existingsonar and visual sightingtechniques, allowing a subto track enemy shippingfrom afar. The first radarfitted to US submarineshad a maximum range ofjust over 9 miles, allowingit to be used well beyondvisual range during day ornight. The Japaneseforces did not install radarunti l July 1944, but bythen it was too late.

The Pacific war was notwithout problems forAmerican submarines.The main problem wasnot with their excellentGato class subs, but withtheir torpedoes. The USNavy had developed thesteam powered Mk14torpedo with a magneticproximity detonator,designed to explodebeneath a ship and breakits keel. In service,however, the Mk14 wasfound to be highlyunreliable.

Eventually, in 1943, it wasfound that torpedoeswhich were striking thesides of enemy vessels atangles were detonating,whilst those hitt ing‘straight on’ were not. TheUS Navy investigated andfound a design flaw withthe contact exploder,which was actually beingdamaged when thetorpedo hit the targetvessel, preventing thetorpedo from detonating.Once this design fault hadbeen corrected, the Mk14was found to be highly

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The Japanese I-Boat 'I-17' during its launching ceremony at Yokosuka on the 19thJuly 1939.


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effective. The Mk14 wasused throughout the restof the war and was evenused by many subcaptains in preference tothe electric (but slower)Mk18 of 1944.In 1944, the US Navy inthe Pacific was ordered todestroy Japan’s war-making capability. Now,when US submarinessighted a convoy theytargeted the destroyersfirst. As well as cargovessels, US Navy subsbegan to sink some of themost powerful ships in theJapanese Navy, includingthe 30,000 ton aircraftcarrier Shokaku, in June1944.Desperate at the failure oftheir submarines, theJapanese modified theirmidget subs into Kaitenone man suicide subs.This machine was notsuccessful against USshipping because it lackedlong-range detection gearand had a very low

performance. The designof the Kaiten could not beimproved for the simplereason that its crew couldnot return to say what hadgone wrong.

Towards the end of 1944,the USS Archerfish wason patrol just off TokyoBay. For 29 days shefound nothing, then onenight in November anenormous radar contactappeared on her screens.Archerfish gave chase.The radar contact turnedout to be the last hope ofthe Japanese Fleet AirArm, the 59,000 ton supercarrier Shinano. She hadjust been launched andwas on her way to befitted with catapults andplanes. Archerfish wasmoving much slower thanthe Japanese carrier, buther Captain hopedShinano would changecourse. After 3 hours ofhigh speed pursuit shedid. Archerfish cut inahead of Shinano, dived

and fired 6 torpedoes.Every torpedo struckhome but the hugeShinano still took sevenhours to sink. Shinanowas both the largestwarship ever sunk by asubmarine and theyoungest; downed beforea single aircraft had flownfrom her deck.

Persistent attacks by USsubmarines, minelayingaircraft and fast carrierattack forces eventuallywiped out the Japanesenaval air arm. OnceJapanese fighter coverhad been eliminated, USbombers could attack theremnants of the Japanesefleet, but even with itsarmed forces in tatters,the Japanese kept onfighting. The nuclearbombs unleashed onHiroshima and Nagasakion 6th and 9th of August1945 marked the end ofWorld War II and thebeginning of a new era.

During the post-war

years, Germany and

Japan were prevented

from producing military

hardware. This left the

USA, France, Britain

and the USSR as the

only nations developing

new submarines.

In 1948 the US initiated theGreater UnderwaterPropulsive Power (GUPPY)program. This updatedcurrent US Navysubmarines with the latestdevelopments from suchvessels as the type XXI U-boat. The GUPPY mod-ifications kept the diesels ofthe 40’s in service for thenext 30 years.

The post-war movementtowards streamlined hullsstar ted to makesubmarines capable ofhigher speeds whensubmerged than whensurfaced. All that wasneeded now was a powersource which could beused underwater forextended periods of time.


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THE FIRST POST-WARSUBMARINES

Torpedo MinesAnti-Torpedo TorpedoesCluster Rocket TorpedoesHoming Torpedoes

THE TOTALSYSTEMDESIGN • MANUFACTURE INSTALLATION • SUPPORT

With 50 years of experience intorpedo technology, FerraraTorpedoes outperform thecompetition in every respect.

FERRARAFERRARASubmarine Weapon Systems


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Germany exper i-mented with ahydrogen-peroxide engineduring World War II, andthe US and Britaincontinued with thisresearch after the war.The hydrogen-peroxideengine did not need tobreathe air, but the resultsfrom sea trials were notsatisfactory. It wasconsidered to be toodangerous, costly andinefficient to be used inservice, so work began inthe USA on an alternative.

The developments inatomic theory led the USNavy to concentrate theirresearch on making anuclear fission reactor. Torun a naval vessel fromthis it was proposed touse the heat from thenuclear reactor to boilwater to generate steam.This steam would then bepassed through a seriesof turbines which would

dr ive the vessel’spropellers.Work began on designinga submarine which woulduse this new powerplant.It needed to be fair lylarge, not only becausethe reactor was large, butalso because the reactorneeded to be fitted with aseries of thick lead platesto shield the crew fromthe effects of radiation.In January 1954, the USAlaunched the world’s firstnuclear submarine, theUSS Nautilus, named inrecognit ion of both adistinguished sub ofWorld War II and thefictional Nauti lus fromJules Verne’s visionarynovel 20,000 LeaguesUnder the Sea. In 1958the Nautilus became thefirst sub to navigate underthe Arctic icecap, findingits way by using anadvanced new navigationdevice; the Ship Inertial

Navigation System(SINS).A nuclear submarine hasone major advantage overconventional diesel subs:endurance. The timebetween refuellings for anuclear sub is measuredin terms of years insteadof days. This allows anuclear powered sub toremain hidden under thewaves for a long time.In 1959 the USS GeorgeWashington waslaunched. Developed as aresponse to the dieselpowered Russian Zulu Vball ist ic missile sub of1955, the GeorgeWashington was nuclearpowered and carried 16Polaris ballistic nuclearmissiles. The 6,700 tonGeorge Washington wasan awesome vessel; i tcould stealthily cruise forlong periods of time underthe oceans of the worldand could fire its Polaris

THE FIRST NUCLEAR SUBMARINESThe diesel engine was not ideal for use in submarines. Surfacing to rechargebatteries meant that a diesel sub gave away its position frequently. What was

needed was an engine which did not breathe air at all.

missiles at targets up to1200 miles away. ThePolar is submarinesensured that even if a pre-emptive nuclear str ikeknocked out all US landbased nuclear missiles,the invisible submarineswould be able to inflictheavy destruction on theaggressor.

In 1960, two majorsubmarine records wereset by two very differentsubmarines. On 23January 1960, the tinytwo-man US Navybathyscope Trieste divedto a record depth of35,800 ft in theChallenger Deep, off theMarianas. Also in 1960,the 8,000 ton nuclear-powered sub USS Tritonretraced Magellan’s routearound the world,remaining submerged forthe whole journey. Tritoncarr ied out thiscircumnavigation of theEar th (36,300 nauticalmiles) in 84 days, 19hours. This event provedto the world that the futureof the submarine lay withnuclear power.

The 1960’s and 1970’ssaw refinements in thedesign of both strategicmissile submarines andattack submarines. Thechanges made to attacksubmarines werepar ticularly noticeable,with the deletion of thelarge sonar ‘noses’ whichhad become so familiar.

The appearance ofAmerican strategic missilesubmarines changed verylittle from the BenjaminFranklin class of 1962 to

the Ohio class of 1981.Most US research wasdirected at developing new, longer ranged andmore destructive nuclearmissiles. In Russia,however, a highly stream-lined prototype sub-marine was beingdesigned using hydro-d y n a m i cand laminar f low tech-niques. This was toeventually evolve into thesleek, fast Alfa classnuclear missilesubmarine.

An 'Oberon' class diesel-electric hunter-killersubmarine. These subs served with the Royal Navyfrom 1960-1993.


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In 1981 the USlaunched the 560 footUSS Ohio. Carrying 24Trident ballistic missiles,each with 12 150 kilotonnuclear warheads, Ohioclass subs were over 3times as powerful as theirpredecessors, theBenjamin Franklin class.

Ohio had a submergeddisplacement of 18,750tons and a maximumspeed of 20 kts on thesurface and 30 ktssubmerged. It was armedwith 24 Trident ballisticnuclear missiles and 4torpedo tubes. Ohio hadan endurance of 9 years,but the 155 crew generallystayed at sea for no morethan about 70 days at atime.

Ohio was not the only560 foot submarine at seain the 1980’s, however.On 23rd September 1980,a sub was launched atSeverodvinsk in theUSSR which was largeeven by today’sstandards. Tipping thescales at 26,500 tons and

carrying 20 multiplenuclear warhead ballisticmissiles, the Typhoonclass was talked about inhushed tones around theoffices of the Pentagonduring the early 80’s. TheTyphoon class alsobecame the inspiration fora book, The Hunt for RedOctober, in which writerTom Clancy foresees thesilent drive units which wetake for granted today. Aswell as the heaviest

submarine of the 20thcentury, the Russians alsobuilt the fastest; the Alfaclass.

With a titanium alloyhull and nuclear power,the 260 foot Alfa wascapable of a maximumsubmerged speed of 45kts. As well as travell ing fast, Alfa could also dive to 2,500 feet, over twice asdeep as most subs of the time.


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The End of the Cold WarThe 1980’s saw the last period of accelerated development of the nuclear

submarine, which slowed down when the Cold War came to an end in 1990.

The Royal Navy nuclear powered attack sub HMS'Conqueror', accompanied by the frigate HMS 'Argonaut'. The'Conqueror' became the first nuclear sub to sink an enemyvessel in action when it sank the Argentine 'GeneralBelgrano' in 1982.

T O R N A D O

SILENT

FAST

DEADLY

In the field of fighter submarines,British Hydrospace have alwaysexcelled. The Tornado class heavyfighter sub continues this dis-tinguished pedigree. Unlike other

fighters, it is fitted with the EuroMilPBRS as standard, giving the Tornadothe capability to strike enemies with asledgehammer blow before they canrespond.

Tornado. Nothing else even comes close.

b r i t i s hHYDROSPACE


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By the end of the 20thcentury, Russian sub-marine technology was atleast 10 years ahead ofthe USA. Submarines hadbeen using active sonarabsorbing surfacecoatings since the early1980’s, but the searchwas on for a way ofpropelling a submarinewithout a noisy exposedpropeller. Russianscientists concentratedtheir research efforts ondeveloping a practicalelectromagnetic drive.

An electromagnetic drivefunctions by taking inwater, charging it withnegative ions and thenaccelerating the charged

water by using a circularelectromagnet array. Thishigh speed water is thenpassed out of an exhaust,propelling the submarineforwards. Anelectromagnetic drive hasno moving par ts; i t issilent in operation.The prototype electro-magnetic ‘Silent Drive’unit was given its first seatr ial in 2002, on amodified Russian Alfaclass nuclear sub. TheAlfa escaped passivesonar detection at rangesas close as 200m but hadone problem; the silentdrive used power at analarming rate and the Alfacould go no faster than

25kts.Even though the electro-magnetic drive degradedperformance, the Russiannavy went ahead withproduction of anoperational silent drivesub, the Akula III class of2004. When the Russo-American technologysharing agreement of2005 was signed, silentdrive research data wasimmediately madeavailable to US scientists.Work started in the USAon finding a way ofimproving the poweroutput from anelectromagnetic drive.

US scientists spent twoyears modifying magnetpower outputs and findingalternative ways ofintroducing negative ionsinto water, but to no avail.The breakthrough camewhen Eddy Sowleski, atalented aero propulsionengineer, proposed theElectroMagnetic-DuctedImpeller (EMDI) drive.

The prototype EMDI driveconsisted of a standardelectro-magnetic dr iveexhausting through a tube

THE 21ST CENTURY

LD-12 loading robots in the docking bay of a modernsubmarine carrier.

As silent dr ive subsbecame more wide-spread, pioneeringengineers at LegendreSous-Marins (LSM) inFrance began work on a new concept insubmarines. Theyrealised that, as well asbeing stealthy, asubmarine needs to befast and manoeuvrable.

They established that themain cause of drag on asubmarine was tur-bulence close to thesurface of the hull. To getrid of this, the new subwould be coated with avery rough skin, thetexture of which wasinspired by the skin ofsharks.

With very large diveplanes for increasedmanoeuvrability, powerfrom a lightweight fusionreactor l inked to astandard EMDI drive andall-composite structure,the new sub promised

unrivalled performance.Construction began on aprototype to test thesenew theories. To furtheremphasise the advanceddesign of this sub, LSMnamed it Nautilus.

The Nauti lus waslaunched at Cherbourg onJanuary 21st 2014,exactly 60 years after theUSA launched theirnuclear Nautilus. The newsub was as much of arevelation as its 1954nuclear namesake andwent on to raise theunderwater speed recordto 63 kts. Moreimportantly, its advanceddesign allowed it tooutmanoeuvre anytorpedo then in existence.

The design of the Nautiluswas used as the basis forthe Requin Tigre class of2017 which was producedin very large numbers andsold by LSM to, amongothers, Russia andAmerica.


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containing a 32-blade fan.While the EMDI drive wasnot totally silent, testsproved that it wasterrifically powerful. Thedesign was refined andsoon it was ready to begiven its first sea trial.

The attack sub USSMinneapolis-Saint Paulwas chosen to be fittedwith the prototype EMDIdrive. This sub promptlyset up a new worldsubmarine speed recordof 59 kts on May 31st2008, dur ing the firstEMDI sea trial. The firstproduction EMDI sub, the19,800 ton Nevada classof 2007 was also the firstEMDI sub to be fitted witha variable pitch fan. Bystopping the fan androtating its blades to alignwith the flow through theimpeller, the Nevadacould run in total silenceat speeds up to 21 kts.Under full EMDI power,Nevada could run safelyat up to 57 kts.

The First AdvancedTechnology Submarines


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Anumber of inter-national companiesestablished underwaterprospecting teams to gather seafloormanganese and it was notlong before thesecompanies star ted tounder take full-scaleunderwater mining.Seafloor mining com-plexes such as theAustralian Neptune werebuilt, housing over 300workers, 1800 feet underthe sea. During the late2010’s, the advances inunderwater miningtechniques were leadingto some companiesreaping huge benefits forrelatively little outlay. Thisslowly led to the underseamining companiesbecoming moreeconomically powerfulthan any others on theplanet.

In 2021, a dispute overmining terr itory ledConDyn International touse its security fleet oftwo Requin Tigre class

submarines to str ike apipeline owned by theChinese state-ownedconglomerate Norinco inthe South China Sea. Thesituation degraded into aconflict, but at the end of ital l ConDyn owned ther ight to mine an extra80,000 square miles ofterritory.

The progress of thisconfl ict was fol lowedclosely by other miningcompanies. The resultproved that economicsuccess could be

achieved through the useof force. Even thoughcorporate wars wereforbidden by inter-nationallaw, secret wars went on,especially in the poorerregions of the worldwhere payoffs or thethreat of a run on thecurrency had moreinfluence.

In 2024, the Chinesegovernment passed aruling that all corporatewars should beregistered, allowingcompanies to legallybattle in China’s territorialw a t e r s .The Chinese stated that the resolution would“protect inn-ocent civiliansby forcing corporations to fol low governmentguidelines”, but theeconomic pressure put onChina by ConDynInternational and SubAmInc helped in pushing theresolution through.

The Chinese resolutionwas condemned by manyof the world’s govern-

Corporate Wars

During the early partof the 21st century,the governments of

the world werebeginning to adopt amore tolerant attitude

toward each other.War betweencountries was

becoming rare andafter the world

depression of the 90’sbusiness began to

flourish.

ments, but over the nextyear severe economicpressure from several oil-producing multinationalsforced these countries tofollow China’s lead.

Corporate wars soonbecame an accepted partof business life. They areless violent than thenational wars of the 20th

century because civiliancasualties and collateraldamage is rare. After all,a company which hasbeen bled to death in awar is useless to thevictor.

By 2026, the smallercompanies were sufferingat the hands of the tyrannical multi-

nationals.

The establishment of theMercenaries Union in July2026 redressed thebalance and ensured thatany company had accessto an effective defenceforce. Mercenary pilotsnow make up over 60% ofthe world’s corporatedefence sub crews.


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In 2025 the first truefighter sub, the Eagle waslaunched. It was similar inappearance to the RequinTigre class, but while theFrench sub was designedfor government forces,Eagle was purely forcorporate defence units.This meant that Eagleweighed just 324 tonscompared to the 1225 tonRequin Tigre. The Eaglewas also fitted with thelatest sensor systems toenable it to carry out acomplete engagement ofthe enemy with totalstealth. Informationgleaned from these

sensors was projectedwithin the two-crewcockpit using a 3-Dprojection system takenstraight out of a f l ightsimulator.

Within a month of i tslaunch, it had set anunderwater speed recordof 68 kts and had themanoeuvrability to match.Eagle was soon beingsold to mercenary pilots,and was even adopted bysome government forces.

Due to the crampedcockpit of the Eagle, itwas unsuitable for longjourneys. Modified

transport ships were soonin widespread use as abase for several Eagleclass fighters. During theGulf War of 2028-29,however, al l the subcarrier ships in the regionwere targeted and sunk inthe first hour of the war.Warfare had grown toosophisticated for surfacevessels to survive. TheEagle continued to beused for shor t-rangedefence work, but itlacked the endurance tobe used as an effectiveweapon.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEFIGHTER SUBMARINE


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SubAm Inc, who hadthe largest under-water mining operation inthe world, was finding thattheir sub carr ier shipswere poor operatingplatforms for such apotential ly effectivesabotage weapon. In2032, they started workon a very ambitiousproject; the constructionof a submarine whichwould carry fighter subsinto action. By 2038, theproject had taken SubAmto the brink of bankruptcybut, just as the companywas selling off their lastmine, the orders began toflood in for the new

vessel. SubAm werecatapulted to the forefrontof sub manufacture, andhave not looked back.Today, they offer acomplete range of subsincluding the fastestproduction sub in theworld.

The launch of the first60,000 ton Enterpr iseclass sub carr ier tookplace on October 1 2039,heralding a new era insubmarine warfare.Capable of carrying up to6 Eagle class fighter subs,it could take them totrouble spots anywhere inthe world and operatethem indefinitely. As well

as the fighter subs,Enterpr ise carr ied anarsenal of 20 cruisemissiles, making it acomplete offensiveweapons system.

Upgrades to theEnterpr ise class nowallow it to operate tenfighter submarines andeven though the Tsunamiclass has stolen somesales from SubAm, theEnterpr ise is sti l l theworld’s most popularsubmarine carrier. TheEnterprise has only onefault - the pr ice tag of$2360 million puts it out ofreach of all but the veryrichest buyers.

The First Sub Carriers

Modern Fighter Subs

The latest trend in fightersub design is towardslarger, more heavily armedvessels. The last five yearshas seen several 200+ tonfighter subs coming intoservice, including the mostadvanced fighter sub in

existence, the Tornadoclass heavy fightersubmarine, launchedearlier this year.

From the Turtle of 1776to the Tornado of 2050,submarines have beenstealthy and powerful.

Today’s fighter subs havethe added advantages ofspeed and manoeuvrability,but the goal of submarinewarfare has remained thesame throughout - destroythe enemy before theyknow what’s hit them.

After the Eagle class of 2025,subsequent fighter sub designstended to be smaller and the Lightningclass of 2043 represents the pinnacleof light fighter sub design.

S T R I K E H A R D

S T R I K E F A S T

The Particle Beam Rocket System (PBRS) is thenewest weapon in underwater warfare.

The PBRS uses a high energy particle beam pulseto vaporise a cylinder of water, then fires Mach 2armour-p ierc ing rockets a long th is cy l inder ;neutralising any underwater threat.

O N E DAY

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“Milaro, as one of thelargest companies in Italy,have been forced tooperate SubmarineCarr iers to protect ourmarine facilities againstattack from hosti lecompanies. Our twoAmerican built Enterpriseclass sub carr iers areequipped with a widev a r i e t yof weapons to deter anyaggressor.Our main armament

consists of ten Italian-made Aquila class fightersubs, which are comfor table andhandle beautifully. I wasone of a team of Ital ian pilots who evaluated theAmerican Lightning classback in 2046 and eventhough the American subis faster, I prefer theAquila.The Verona normallypatrols the ocean on its

own. The Roma, oursister ship, will usually beat por t while we are atsea, but she may becalled to assist us in timeof emergency.

ONE DAY..... on board theSub Carrier Verona

In the second of our ‘One Day’ series, we look at atypical day in the life of Captain Roberto Deladra,a fighter sub pilot on the Enterprise class subcarrier Verona, operated by Milaro Inc.

My day begins with thegentle sound of classicalmusic, normally Vivaldi,from my alarm, the lightsin my quarters slowly getbrighter and soon I amawake. The time I get upis governed by when I last

slept. Shifts run 14 hourson and 10 hours off andare organised so thatVerona always hasqualif ied personnel atevery battle station.

After washing anddressing, I leave my

spacious and comfortablequar ters to get somebreakfast. The canteen iswell equipped, but servesfish far too often. When Iam at sea, I prefer to stickto eating vege-meat withpasta, rather than fish.

O N E DAY

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ONE DAY..... on board theSub Carrier Verona

A sonar visualisation of Verona at 3600 feet taken from Captain Deladra's Aquila.

O N E DAY

6 0

When I come on duty, Ireport to the briefing roomfor updates on the tacticalsituation. How I spend therest of the day isdetermined by thisbriefing:-

If there is no threat, Iwill either spend the timesor ting out any crewproblems in my role as anofficer, or I might bescheduled to take anAquila out for a trainingmission. Most of my non-combat time is spent inthe crew room, where wehave the finest entertain-ment systems availabletoday. As well asholographic TV, we havethe latest interactive videosystems. The softwarefrom an Aquila simulatoris linked to the interactivevideo /holo TV, and thisgets a lot of use from the pilots.

If we are in a time oftension, I may have tocrew one of two ‘ReadyAlert’ subs, fully armedand ready to launch within

90 seconds of receivingthe call. Strapped in for 5hours at a time, the cosycockpit of the Aquila isessential for Ready Alertduties.

If we are in a full scalebattle, I will brief and flymissions with bothcorporate and mercenaryfighter crews. During

battle operations over mylast two years with Milaro,I have claimed six enemysubs including two fightersubs.

I come off duty after 14hours of operations. Imight catch a movie in thecinema, go to theswimming pool or even gofor a walk around the 3

ONE DAY...on board the Sub Carrier Verona

miles of corridors on theVerona before retiring tomy quarters and going tosleep.

The pay as a Milarofighter sub crewman ispretty good. I earn asmuch as a seniorexecutive, but of course Iam frequently in verydangerous situations, so itis not unreasonable toexpect a decent salary.Mercenary fighters canearn even more, but it’s atough l i fe. For us, a

conflict may last a week ortwo and we’ve never beeninvolved in more than twoa year. The freelanceguys are almost always atwar and I haven’t met amerc who’s survived thebusiness more than acouple of years.

Overall, working as afighter sub pilot isrewarding, well paid andcan be very demanding. Iknow that I could neverreturn to a desk job, but itdoesn’t matter. Even if my

contract with Milaro isterminated I know there’splenty of work availablefor me as an experiencedfighter sub pilot.”

Our thanks to CaptainDeladra and Milaro fortheir help in thepreparation of this article.

In August’sUnderCurrents...

ONE DAY on the 1200-ton Russian sub-Arctic

prospecting vehicleNovoselov.

U N J O U R

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The Verona returns to its home port of Naples at the end of a 3 month cruise.

THE BEST JUST G O T B E T T E R

The world’s fastest attack boat is now fully compatible with the Ferrara Mk96high-speed torpedo.

Lightning class lightweight fighter sub.

A P P O I N T M E N T S

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CLASSIFICATION 2-G TRANSPORT SUB CAPTAINS

(experience of Jumbo class transport subspreferable).

CLASSIFICATION 77-M (or equivalent)DRILLING MAINTENANCE

ENGINEERSCLASSIFICATION 59-S (3)

GEOPHYSICISTSCLASSIFICATION 1-M HEAVYEQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE

ENGINEERSApplications should be made to:-

Atlantic Mining Corp.

Undersea Division, Atlantic Tower, New York, NY, USA

Classification 2-EReconnaissance SubPilotClassification39-H UnderseaTractor DriversClassification35-K ComputerProgrammersSend details to:-Pacific UnderseaMining Corp., TheQueen Mary Building,Long Beach, LosAngeles, CA, USAPACIFICUnderseaMining Corp

Contact Deathwatch ASW,Tenerife on 0267-297302-DASW.

‘I’ Qualified Fighter SubInstructors Required.Training syllabus includesgeneral ops, combatmanoeuvres and operatinghigh speed subs at depth.Experience of Tornado orLightning class essential,exper ience of Typhoon,Hurricane, Bataan or Asrinclass useful. Contact RichteurInternational on 0473-572921-RICH.

Wanted: Fighter Sub Pilotfor highly paid site defencework. We’re not going to the mercs - they’ve ripped us off once too often. ContactBox No. 7535, c/oUnderCurrents.

SITUATIONS WANTED

Experienced, Transport SubPilot, captain on UST-23Dcommercial subs, seekingother opportunities preferablyin the corporate defencesector. Replies to Box No.2730, c/o Under-Currents.

SITUATIONS VACANT

Worldwide underwateremployment opportunities.Send now for FREE details. McKinley MiningCorporation, Norfolk Virginia0464 - 368214-MKMC.

Get out of the water!Sub Fighter Pilots wanted astacticians/advisors for newmercenary Anti-Sub Outfit.We’ve just bought three ex-USNavy Boeing 777 Anti-SubWarfare (ASW) jets and we’reready to kick some ass!

O F F R E S D ' E M P L O I :

CLASSIFICATION 24-M PIPELINEMAINTENANCE SPECIALISTS

CLASSIFICATION 105-MSUBMARINE OVERHAUL CREW

Details should be sent to:-North Sea Underwater Mining plc10-15 Longthorne Street, London,

England, Europe

NORTH SEAUnderwater Mining plc

MORE SITS WANTED

Classification 'B' Sub Pilot,with over 8,000 hours onDragon class high-speedrecon subs and the reflexes ofa fighter sub pilot. Seekingwork in mercenary/commercial defence Tel0430-750309-KRIS.

Sub Pilot Available,A, C and W qualif ied,experience of Lightning classfighters, 11 months corporateservice, looking for a way outof the 9 to 5 grind. Replies toBox No. 2517, c/oUnderCurrents.

SAFETY IS OUR BUSINESSIn 15 years of sub ops, Prescott escapesystems have demonstrateda 100% success rate; savingthe lives of over 350submariners. Our escapepods are in use worldwide,installed as standard onboth British Hydrospaceand Wooldridge Industriessubmarines.

PRESCOTT ESCAPE SYSTEMS

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