Three Blasts on Diving Alarm

Come on now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We did have sea trials before every patrol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SaltiDawg wrote: Could it be that during 3-4 year tours on an SSBN that they had to add sounding the diving alarm three times on surfacing to jog the memories since the last surfacing so long before? Or did the off-crew leave Post It Notes?

We also had to requalfy every patrol for the same reason.

This is an interesting thread which reveals some very serious inadequacies and incongruities in Past Naval operations within the submarine community. There were inconsistencies of klaxon operations upon surfacing from boat to boat. On the out word appearance it seems as if the Commanding Officers  of each submarine in the past had prerogatives which were exercised regarding whether the diving alarm was operated upon surfacing. These prerogatives should not have been an option as it it took away uniformity within the submarine service. Even more frighting is the stark revelation there were no Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on diesel boats or ORSE boards to inspect them.

It is proposed that an investigative committee headed by an Admiral From Naval Air, and Two Captains (along with numerous top heavy staff weinies) from the surface line look into how these past errors could be corrected. Recommendations are to be made how to  retroactively correct these serious mistakes, and what training should be instituted to re-educated the crew. A budget of 1.2 million will be allocated from the operating budget of defense department. Additional expenses may be incurred if an Air Force augmentation is required.

I have estimated doing over 1000 dives in my 5 years at sea 62-68. (this estimate uses research at the National Archives of the USS Carps deck logs) During a chat with the COB of the USS Maryland launching he said he had done maybe 300 dives in 21 years. I laughed and asked "if he had to take a refresher course before surfacing after a boomer patrol". He laughed and said "no but it was a close thing"

Doing that research would be relatively easy (if the deck logs were declassified, some years weren't). Just ask for the year you went aboard and the year you left and do the math.

Jon,
The Diving Alarm certainly could be heard by other vessels as a distinct transient.  That said, if the boat was surfacing it is inherently a loud evolution- as is submerging. I think the Surfacing Alarm would not be a major concern if you were about to blow all MBT and/or start the LP Blower or Diesel, or Blow MBTs with HP Air, bang hatches, and start cavitating all within a minute or so.

Generally on some boats, surfacing was initiated by saying "Surface" three times.  As you see here there are mixed reports as to whether in addition the Diving Alarm was also sounded on a routine surfacing.  Some report yes, some no. If I've read correctly, everyone agrees that three blasts were sounded following the word being passed three times in an emergency. 

I do think at least a couple of us may be confused on this point, because within the same class and same time period there seems to be conflicting resolutions. Just my own thought, I would tend to give more credence to the memories of COWs, OODs, and DO's then others - I think the rest of us may simply not remember as well. 

I'm quite sure that no one suggested anything other than two blasts on the diving alarm when submerging.  On the 637s there was a Dive Bill and also a Stationary Dive Bill for use in the ice.  Both had two blasts on the Diving Alarm following the 1MC announcement.

I was the OP and asked the question because in a book that I am reading the author reports three blasts on the diving alarm following the word being passed on a routine surfacing on a SSN-637 in 1971 to head to the barn in NLON.  At that exact time I was serving on the 2nd of 3 consecutive SSN-637s out of NLON all in the same Squadron as the boat in the book, if not on the boat in the book.  We did not at that time on that Class sound the Diving Alarm at all when doing a routine surfacing - only in an Emergency. When I posted, I knew that it was a mistake in the book I'm reading, but having seen the three blasts on routine surfaces in a few other books, I asked for recollections here. Still not sure who  did and who didn't as a matter of time or Class.

One additional action required in an Emergency Surface was that the EMBT Marotta Valves were to be monitored and possibly manually operated if directed - a dangerous proposition.




Edited by SaltiDawg - 30 Jan 2016 at 6:03pm