I know there are four basic status of submarines.  I want to know the official terms of them.

1)  Completely submerged. Everything is under the sea. Deep diving.

2) Periscope depth. Everything is under the sea except for periscopes, antennas for Radar ECM or Communications and snorkel.

3) Fairwater depth??? I want to know the official term of this status. I see a submarine’s hull is totally under the sea, but major part of the sail is above the water including sail planes.  I often observe this state of a submarine while degaussing in the calm water.  I think MBTs may be fully flooded.

4) Surfacing. Totally rises to the surface.  All the MBTs are filled with air.

I want to know the official English terms to explain these four basic status of submarines.  I apologize if these terms are classified, but I believe they are not.

I don’t expect someone can understand Japanese here, but status number 3 is called “浸洗状態” in Japanese.

I would appreciate it very much if someone would tell me those terms, especially the status number 3.

Thank you in advance.

I tried first, however, the Japanese submariner  admiral, a friend of mine, said that he did not have an authorization to inform English translations to me.  So I asked in this BBS.

Help me, please, or those are classified information?

Thank you for the advices.

Sorry to be so late for the replay.  My daughter is going to marry this weekend, so I don’t have enough chance to use our computer, especially on non-wedding topics.

Japanese Navy seems to be much primer than US Navy, at least superficially, especially in the field of universal science.  For example, we are not allowed to openly discuss the applied chemistry on submarine air treatment, such as how carbon monoxide is removed from the submarine atmosphere.

I was foolish enough to address a letter sealed in a closed envelope to the official office of the submariner Vice Admiral, not to his home address.  He replied to me openly, in his hand writing card, that he was not authorized to answer my questions.  He seemed to show his secretary or orderly that he had no intention to leak any information to a civilian whether it is classified or not.

As a father of an American Citizen, I have no intention to inquire any submarine operation at all.  If I have made a serious mistake, I want to be forgiven.

Sorry to be so late for the replay.  My daughter is going to marry this weekend, so I don’t have enough chance to use our computer, especially on non-wedding topics.

Japanese Navy seems to be much primer than US Navy, at least superficially, especially in the field of universal science.  For example, we are not allowed to openly discuss the applied chemistry on submarine air treatment, such as how carbon monoxide is removed from the submarine atmosphere.

I was foolish enough to address a letter sealed in a closed envelope to the official office of the submariner Vice Admiral, not to his home address.  He replied to me openly, in his hand writing card, that he was not authorized to answer my questions.  He seemed to show his secretary or orderly that he had no intention to leak any information to a civilian whether it is classified or not.

As a father of an American Citizen, I have no intention to inquire any submarine operation at all.  If I have made a serious mistake, I want to be forgiven.

I have been reading  the Basic Enlisted Man’s Submarine Textbook from 1961 NAVPERS 16160-B, as well as the Navy Supplement to the DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms.  I was a little bit surprised by the broad-minded liberal generosity for the publication of the once-classified information of the Navy, though they were declassified and obsolete now. 

I have seen the modern diesel submarine in the condition of deck awash or flooded down only two times.  They were seemed to be under Degaussing or Deperming or magnetic measurements in the very calm sea.

I know this condition is very critical to the submarine buoyancy, unless it has the good old classical conning tower.  My understanding is that if a mere small wave floods into the fairwater structure above the water surface just only a little bit, it increases the negative buoyancy and induces furthermore water flood into the remaining fairwater structure, and falls into a vicious cycle.　I believe that the only negative tank can be used to control the buoyancy to keep the depth of the submarine of this condition. 

I think this condition in very dangerous to a modern submarine without any conning tower, so modern submarines use this condition in only limited situations, such as magnetic measurement or deperming in the tranquil waters under appropriate supervision. 

I know this condition is not critical for an old boat with a water tight conning tower situated above the main hull.  However, this condition is still used for modern submarines with no conning tower, at least in the limited conditions.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine museum of Kure:

https://www.jmsdf-kure-museum.go.jp/en/" rel="nofollow -

indicates the four basic condition of submarine, in Japanese Language, including this condition, between surfaced and periscope depth.  But no one there knows the correct English term.

Dear Mr. Brian Flynn,

I would like to add one more status between your third and fourth of them. 

On 1 January 1947, USS Mingo (SS-261) decommissioned at Mare Island.  She was transferred on loan to Japan under the Military Assistance Program and renamed Kuroshio (SS-501) on 15 August 1955.  Her initial role was as a underwater training target for surface vessels.  She continued to serve the Japanese Navy as Kuroshio until decommissioned on 31 March 1966, and returned to US NAVY.

Dear Gerry

Than you for your kind advise. 

Deck Awash is a little bit familiar word to me, though I can’t find it in the U.S. NAVY DICTIONARY: Terms, Abbreviations, & Acronyms.

Like an old submarine underway with her deck awash and only the conning tower is above the water:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rgGtfI2ckfs/TZHUyKOCT7I/AAAAAAAAEYY/iDA_b8KfN-U/s320/USS%2BTarpon%2B6.jpg" rel="nofollow -