Back in the 80's, while on SUBRON 10 staff, I was "invited" by the squadron deputy to accompany him to a month long conference at the COMSUBLANT enclosure.

 

First pain was when we arrived, the billeting office wanted to put me in the Chief transit barracks. My O-6 stated "hell no, squadron is paying for his TAD and we will stay in a nearby motel". Guess who won?

 

Anyway, when the conference started, we were broken into work groups, each assigned to a specific area of the new submarine design. I was assigned to the propulsor (propeller) work group. After a day or two of bouncing various designs around, I suggested that we use the shrouded propulsor design of the Secondary Propulsion Motor (SPM). Shroud designed to reduce cavitation and increase efficiency. So, I guess I am the daddy of that design on the Virginia class.

 

The moving of operations to middle level was also introduced. With the photonics mast and no other sail hull penetrations, it was logical and allowed moving all operations oriented groups in the same area. We didn't see the "fly-by-wire" ships control concept, so that came later.

 

Wish I had kept the notes from the conference, but they had to be sent by courier to SUBRON 10 and kept in a SECRET safe in operations on the Fulton.

 

Not bad for an EMCS(SS) who was also the SUBLANT battery inspector and the SUBLANT 6L16 Oxygen Generator inspector and a member of the SUBRON 10 Propulsion Examination Team.

 

Ok then, we got some of your money, some of ONR's money and others.  Not enough though (from our point of view).  Working through the days after the Soviet Union rolled over and the world didn't need as many 'blue water' submarines was interesting.  The days of 'make it better (quieter)' to weighing dB/$ taught me a lot.  I held on to the sale of several of the sections and the formation of new companies with some of our folks going there.

Looking back, it was a great time.  Just like 'the old boats'.  You just gotta forget 'watering batteries' in the South China Sea. 

Thanks for your help in making the submarine force the 'silent service'.

I was The Director Of Ship Silencing.  NAVSEA - 05H.  Crystal City CM-4 Ground Floor, Corner Glass Office., opposite Marriot.   Best view on the block... one way glass, watching girls primping in their reflection on the glass.  lol

If your tasks were funded thru NSRDC, it almost assuredly was my money.

Tis true about the analysis.  And investigating the acoustics of Carnegie Hall when it started to go bad in the late 60s. 

However the group I was associated with at New London, Newport (RI) and Cambridge (MA) was comprised of leading acoustics experts working with silencing projects from enginerooms to hull coatings.  Mainly structural acoustics using finite element analysis and real time active noise and vibration control.  Some of the group were the same folks who developed the 'packet switch' for ARPA which led to mainframe computers and later desktops to 'talk' to each other (internet). 

It was a pleasure to work with these folks whose smarts and common sense approach to submarine silencing projects was a wonder to watch and take part in.

I'd describe some of the specific things we worked on but there are some folks waving papers that I signed telling me not to go there. 

If you worked at NavSea offices when they were over near Crystal City, then we may have been in the same building maybe at the same time.  Kind of like knowing each other because we 'went to different high schools together''.

Unless I have confused my dates, one Claim To Fame for BB&N in the late 70s or early 80s was the analysis of the audiotape surrounding the gunshots at the Grassy Knoll in Dallas in November 1963.

Interesting. At that time - 1981-1984 I was the Director of Ship Silencing and thus responsible for the Development and R&D of Submarine Propulsors and establishing Quieting Requirements for OPNAV of all then Current and then future Submarine designs.

When I Retired in 1984 I continued in these fields for twelve more years.

An exciting time.

 

Oh yeh, the billeting officer wanted to put me in the Chiefs Barracks for the duration of the conference. My deputy squadron commander (O-6) nixed that and we stayed at a nice hotel off base.

Wonder if the idea of a radar picket submarine will be revisited.. given the use of photonic masts, etc.

And Joe, perhaps you can ride DELAWARE (SSN-791)