50 Insane Submarine Facts That WIll Shock You

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The US Navy's submarine force is known as the Silent Service- quiet, deadly, and utterly secretive, they represent everything that makes these weapons of war the most feared by sailors on the high seas. With nations around the world fielding submarines ranging in size from half of that of an aircraft carrier to barely the length of a school bus, these undersea terrors are as versatile as they are deadly. Hello and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're taking a look at 50 incredible facts about the history, development, and deployment of submarines. 50. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, served in the US Navy during World War II and was briefly made commander of the small submarine chaser USS PC-815, during which he claimed to have sunk two Japanese submarines off the coast of Oregon- though a subsequent investigation concluded there was no evidence of any subs in the area. One month later he was relieved of duty for shelling Mexican territory and supervisors recommended he be assigned “duty on a large vessel where he can be properly supervised.” 49. In WWII public weather reports were heavily censored to prevent enemy submarines lurking below the waves from learning about local conditions. A football game in Chicago was covered in fog so thick that the radio announcer couldn't see the field, but he was commended for never once using the word fog or mentioning the weather. 48. In April 1968 a Soviet strategic ballistic missile submarine, the K-129, sunk in the North Pacific ocean, prompting a massive search by the Soviets. Clued in that the Soviets were likely missing a sub, the US reviewed recordings from their extensive underwater hydrophone network and located the location of the sub's implosion within days. 47. After weeks of a fruitless Soviet search for their missing submarine, the US dispatched their own submarine, the USS Halibut, to the wreck site during the classified Operation Sand Dollar. Using deep submergence search equipment, the Halibut spent several weeks taking over 20,000 closeup photos of the wreck of K-129. 46. Wanting to recover the Soviet wreck in order to pilfer its secrets, the CIA enlisted the aid of American billionaire and known eccentric, Howard Hughes, who acted as a front for the construction and deployment of a specially built ship which would lower a claw to the sea floor and lift the destroyed sub to the surface. 45. Under the pretense of mining manganese nodules from the ocean floor, the Glomar Explorer then set off to the location of the wreck and succeeded in lifting up a portion of the forward hull, recovering two nuclear torpedoes, sonar equipment, code books, and the bodies of six Soviet sailors. 44. The CIA considers the recovery of Soviet submarine K-129 one of its greatest Cold War successes, and the bodies of the six Soviet submariners were given a burial at sea with full military honors by American seamen. Video of the burial ceremony was given to the Russian government in 1992 as a diplomatic gesture. 43. The only sinking of a submarine by another submarine while submerged occurred on February 9th, 1945, when the Royal Navy submarine HMS Venturer scored a direct hit on the U-boat U-864 off the coast of Norway. 42. In total, 9 nuclear submarines have been sunk around the world, and most remain on the bottom of the ocean floor with their nuclear weapons and reactors intact. 41. The Soviet nuclear submarine K-429 actually sank twice- once at sea from flooding during a test dive, and then after being raised, sinking two years later after flooding while moored. Raised once more, this unlucky sub was finally decommissioned two years later- no doubt to the great relief of her crew. 40. Only two submarine accidents have ever exceeded 100 onboard deaths- the Sinking of the USS Thresher in 1963 and Russia's K-141 Kursk in 2000. 39. The sinking of the USS Thresher was the greatest loss of life from a submarine accident ever. After a pipe joint failed, water burst into the sub and shorted out electrical systems leading to a loss of power. When the ballast tanks were blown to resurface manually, ice plugged the valves and prevented the sub from rising, causing the Thresher to implode at a depth of about 1,300 to 2,000 feet (400-610 meters). 38. Second to the sinking of the Thresher, the sinking of the Russian Navy's Kursk killed 118 sailors. Faulty weldings and poor workmanship led to a leak of one of her practice torpedo's hydrogen peroxide fuel, which caused an explosion equivalent to 220-550 pounds (100-250 kilograms) of TNT. After settling at the bottom a second explosion equivalent to 3-7 tons of TNT killed all but 23 of the remaining crew. The 23 survivors later died when their chemical oxygen generator caused a flash fire which consumed the remaining oxygen in the compartment they were sheltering in. 37. In May 2012 a dock worker wanting to “get out of work early”, started a fire aboard the moored USS Miami which consumed the forward section of the sub. The worker was sentenced to 17 years in prison and fined $400 million dollars- which we're sure he promptly paid off. 36. During the Cold War Finland developed two advanced submarines in cooperation with the Soviet Union. Fearful of advanced submarine technology making its way into Soviet hands, the US secretly threatened Finland with severe economic sanctions if it continued its partnership, which Finland promptly terminated. 35. Sound travels very easily through water, so submarines rely primarily on sonar to locate their prey. Experienced sonar operators are extremely valuable to any navy, and have learned to identify different classes of ships by the sound their engines and propellers make. 34. Computers are even better at identifying ships by the sounds they make then humans though, and the most advanced sonar systems can even identify individual vessels by the unique sounds they make due to their specific construction, variations in materials, and tiny flaws or imperfections in their engines or propellers. 33. In order to not give themselves away, submarines rarely engage their own sonar, and instead sit quietly for hours or even days listening to the sound of the ocean around them until an enemy gives themselves away by turning on their own sonar or by the sound of their engines and propellers. 32. When actively looking for an enemy submarine though, LFA sonar is the loudest man-made noise, reaching over 200 decibels. 31. The British HMS Artful is one of the greatest endurance submarines in the world, and can stay underwater for 25 years at a time- its onboard systems automatically produce oxygen and drinking water from sea water. 30. In case of global nuclear war, one of the ways the British nuclear submarine fleet checks to see if the British government is still functioning is to see whether BBC Radio 4 is broadcasting or not. 29. During the 1960s, afraid that Soviet subs could sever undersea communications cables which kept the US in contact with its overseas forces, the US deployed a ring of 480 million tiny copper antennas the length of a stamp and twice the width of a human hair into space around the earth. The antennas would help bounce radio signals around the world and thus ensure communications, but were ultimately made obsolete by the creation of the telecommunications satellite. 28. Each British nuclear ballistic submarine contains a sealed and unopened Letter of Last Resort from the current Prime Minister housed in a nested safe. The letters are handwritten instructions from the Prime Minister which the captain of each sub is instructed to open only if the British government has been wiped out. The letters are destroyed after each new Prime Minister takes office and replaced with a new one- only the British PM knows the content of the letters, but it is thought that they include commands for a captain to A) retaliate with nuclear weapons, B) not to retaliate, C) use his or her own judgement, or D) place the submarine under command of the US or Australia. 27. Submarines are the stealthiest ships in the sea- so stealthy in fact that in 2009 two British and French nuclear submarines collided with one another because they couldn't detect each other. 26. After the end of World War I, a german submarine washed up onto a beach in Hastings, England. 25. On February 23rd, 1942, the Japanese submarine I-17 surfaced near Santa Barbara, California, and attempted to shell an aviation fuel facility with its deck gun. Doing little to no damage, the shelling helped prompt the internment of Japanese-Americans for fear of enemy collaborators. 24. In 1998 a North Korean midget sub and her crew were lost when they became entangled in a South Korean fishing net. When fishermen notified the South Korean authorities, a South Korean ship secured the stranded submarine and began to tow it to port- only for the ship to be scuttled by the crewmen sealed inside who then committed suicide. 23. Half of the United States entire nuclear arsenal is stored aboard 14 ballistic missile submarines. 22. The third leg of the 'Nuclear Triad' after ICBMs and nuclear-capable bombers, submarines are the third element of modern nuclear deterrence. Because of their stealthiness and ability to hide close to enemy shores, submarine-launched nuclear missiles are the most survivable element of the nuclear triad. 21. Each of the US's 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines carries up to 20 nuclear missiles tipped with 8 100-kiloton nuclear warheads. 20. An Ohio-class's Trident nuclear attack missile can independently target each of its 8 warheads, striking 8 targets per missile. All together a single Ohio-class submarine can destroy 160 cities or military bases. 19. The maximum operating length for an Ohio-class submarine is classified, and officially annotated only as “Limited only by onboard food supplies”. 18. The largest submarine ever built was the Soviet Union's Akula class nuclear ballistic missile submarine, with a length of 372 feet (113 meters), a beam of 45 feet (13.6 meters), and weighing up to 13,800 tons. 17. The Akula class is one of the only submarines ever built with surface-to-air missiles as part of its weapons package. 16. The Indian navy currently leases one Russian Akula II submarine- the Nerpa, under a lease program with an option-to-buy at end of lease. 15. In August 2009 two Akula-class submarines operated off the East coast of the United States, marking the first known Russian submarine deployment to the western Atlantic since the end of the Cold War. 14. In August 2012 it was discovered that a Russian Akula-class submarine had operated in the Gulf of Mexico undetected for over a month, sparking controversy within American military and political circles. 13. One American or Russian nuclear ballistic missile submarine has enough firepower on board to make it the sixth most powerful nuclear power in the world. 12. Unlike their ballistic missile cousins, attack submarines are also known as hunter-killer submarines and specialize in anti-submarine warfare and targeting surface ships. Some even have cruise missile capabilities to strike land targets. 11. The first nuclear-powered submarine was the USS Nautilus, deployed in 1955. Three years later the Soviets followed suit with their Project 627 “Kit”-class submarine. 10. On October 1981 a Soviet Whisky class submarine ran aground on the south coast of Sweden, prompting an incident known as 'Whiskey on the rocks'. 9. Near the end of World War II, a German sailor's inability to properly use the toilet led to the sinking of submarine U-1206 and the capture of her crew. 8. On Friday the 3rd, 1986 Soviet submarine K-219 suffered a catastrophic explosion in one of its missile tubes. As the captain struggled to save the ship, the nuclear reactor which should have automatically shut down failed to do so. 20 year old Sergei Preminin volunteered to enter the reactor room and shut down the reactor manually, which he did. However, water pressure difference between his sealed compartment and the rest of the ship prevented the crew from opening the door and Preminin asphyxiated inside the sealed compartment. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Star for his bravery. 7. After the sinking of the K-219, a Soviet research ship located the wreck and discovered that its entire complement of nuclear weapons was missing. To this day their location is unknown. 6. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, American ships located a Soviet submarine near the coast of Cuba and dropped signaling depth charges meant to force the submarine to surface. Running too deep for radio communication and thinking that war may have already broken out above them, the three senior officers aboard voted to authorize launch of the sub's nuclear weapons in accordance with operating instructions. One officer, Vasili Arkhipov, was the single vote that prevented the unanimous decision required, and thus saved the entire world from a nuclear armageddon. 5. On January 25th, 1995, a team of US and Norwegian scientists launched a four-stage sounding rocket off the northwestern coast of Norway. Inadvertently following an air corridor which American ICBMs would use enroute to Moscow, the rocket appeared on radar as a US Navy submarine-launched Trident missile. Fearing a high altitude nuclear attack meant to cripple Russian radar in preparation of a full nuclear strike, Russia's nuclear forces went on full alert and the Russian nuclear football was brought to Russian President Boris Yeltsin who had to decide whether to immediately launch a retaliatory nuclear strike against the United States or not. Thankfully for us, he did not. 4. Per US Navy tradition, no US submarine is ever considered lost if it fails to return- it and its crew are considered to still be on patrol. 3. During World War II, two New Zealand trawlers came across a Japanese submarine that outweighed them by a thousand tons. Refusing to back down, the two fishing vessels repeatedly rammed the much larger submarine until they beached it, allowing the US to capture it and vital Japanese code books. 2. The US Navy operates a secretive submarine base in a remote lake in northern Idaho where it develops stealth submarine technology far from prying eyes. It is believed that an underground waterway to the ocean allows it to secretly deploy submarines straight to the Pacific. 1. British submarines fly the Jolly Rogers to honor submarine tradition. Know of any other amazing submarine facts? Let us know in the comments. Also, be sure to check out our other video 50 Surprising Facts About Aircraft Carriers? Thanks for watching, and as always, please don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
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Channel: The Infographics Show
Views: 1,245,954
Rating: 4.6202817 out of 5
Keywords: education, educational, the infographics show, submarine, submarines, united states, military, us military, the united states, submarine surfacing, navy, nuclear submarine, underwater, us navy, history, sub, stealth, ship, ocean, sea, how submarines work, american navy, united states navy, us submarine, us, usa, army, united states of america
Id: 5wg_vIcwTZQ
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Length: 15min 19sec (919 seconds)
Published: Tue Dec 18 2018
Reddit Comments

Nice, but it annoyed me greatly how he used the Nato Akula and Russian Akula names interchangeably. If someone wasn't familiar with the difference, they might think India now leases a Typhoon...

👍︎︎ 3 👤︎︎ u/Ahmazzan 📅︎︎ Dec 19 2018 🗫︎ replies
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