adrian@uunet.UU.NET (Adrian Hurt) (05/20/89)
From: Adrian Hurt <mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@uunet.UU.NET> Do any US submarines have anechoic coating? I know that the more modern Soviet ones do - it's called "Clusterguard". The British "Trafalgar" class also has such a coating, as well as a different propulsion system involving a water jet instead of a propellor. Also, just how much of a problem is the fact that Russian SSN's are much faster than Western ones? I'm thinking mainly of the "Alpha" class, which I have read can do 45 knots underwater - enough to outrun all Western submarines, and also most torpedoes. What would prevent such a sub from going around trying to attract the attention of a Western boat, then when the Western SSN fires at it, it fires back and then turns round and runs away at full speed? While I'm here, I'd like to correct an earlier statement. I mentioned the book "Pocket Battleship", and credited it to Theodor Krancke, its former captain. The book was in fact written by Theodor Krancke and H.J. Brennecke, another of the ship's officers. "Keyboard? How quaint!" - M. Scott Adrian Hurt | JANET: adrian@uk.ac.hw.cs UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian | ARPA: adrian@cs.hw.ac.uk
jrll@Portia.stanford.edu (john ralls) (05/23/89)
From: john ralls <jrll@Portia.stanford.edu> >Adrian Hurt <mcvax!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian@uunet.UU.NET> writes: >Do any US submarines have anechoic coating? I know that the more modern Soviet >ones do - it's called "Clusterguard". The British "Trafalgar" class also has >such a coating, as well as a different propulsion system involving a water >jet instead of a propellor. Also, just how much of a problem is the fact that >Russian SSN's are much faster than Western ones? I'm thinking mainly of the >"Alpha" class, which I have read can do 45 knots underwater - enough to outrun >all Western submarines, and also most torpedoes. What would prevent such a sub >from going around trying to attract the attention of a Western boat, then when >the Western SSN fires at it, it fires back and then turns round and runs away >at full speed? I'll try to answer most of this without revealing anything classified. The nature of the Special Hull Treatment is classified, but it can be assumed to do something like that. The USN is planning to use a jet pump for propulsion on the new Seawolf. It is visible in the artist's concept drawings. The newer versions of US torpedoes have better speed and depth to deal with the alpha submarines. On the other hand, the Russians haven't built many Alphas, and they are rumored to be unreliable and extremely noisy. A noisy submarine won't be able to hear a quiet one over its self noise. I know that's not very satisfying, but most of the stuff you really want to know is classified. John