The Submarine Safety Program (SUBSAFE), is a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_assurance" rel="nofollow - quality assurance program of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy" rel="nofollow - United States Navy designed to maintain the safety of its https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine" rel="nofollow - submarine
fleet; specifically, to provide maximum reasonable assurance that
submarine hulls will stay watertight, and that they can recover from
unanticipated flooding.
SUBSAFE covers all systems exposed to sea pressure or critical to
flooding recovery. All work done and all materials used on those
systems are tightly controlled to ensure the material used in their
assembly as well as the methods of assembly, maintenance, and testing
are correct. They require certification with traceable quality evidence
which track the item from the point of manufacture (including all
records of the creation of the product, i.e. source materials as well as
smelting and hardening process for metals) to the point of installation
within a SUBSAFE boundary. These measures increase the cost of
submarine construction and maintenance.
SUBSAFE addresses only flooding; mission assurance is not a
concern, simply a side benefit. Other safety programs and organizations
regulate such things as fire safety, weapons systems safety, and nuclear
reactor systems safety. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUBSAFE#cite_note-Sullivan-1" rel="nofollow - [1]
From 1915 to 1963, the United States Navy lost 16 submarines to
non-combat related causes. Since SUBSAFE began in 1963, only one
submarine, the non-SUBSAFE-certified https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scorpion_%28SSN-589%29" rel="nofollow - USS Scorpion - (SSN-589) , has been lost. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUBSAFE#cite_note-Sullivan-1" rel="nofollow - [1]
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History
On 10 April 1963, while on a deep test dive about 200 miles off the northeast coast of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" rel="nofollow - United States , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Thresher_%28SSN-593%29" rel="nofollow - USS Thresher - (SSN-593)
was lost with all hands. The loss of the lead ship of a new, fast,
quiet, deep-diving class of submarines led the Navy to re-evaluate the
methods used to build its submarines. A "Thresher Design Appraisal Board" determined that, although the basic design of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thresher-class_submarine" rel="nofollow - Thresher class
was sound, measures should be taken to improve the condition of the
hull and the ability of submarines to control and recover from flooding
casualties. It included addressing the following issues on Thresher:
- Some silver-brazed joints could have been sub-standard. One or
more of these joints is believed to have failed, resulting in flooding
in the aft part of the ship.
- The crew was unable to access vital equipment to stop the flooding.
- Saltwater spray on electrical components caused short circuits, reactor shutdown, and loss of propulsion power.
- The main ballast tank blow system failed to operate properly at test
depth. Various restrictions in the air system coupled with excessive
moisture in the system probably led to ice formation in the blow system
piping. The resulting blockage caused an inadequate blow rate.
Consequently, the submarine was unable to overcome the increasing weight
of water rushing into the engine room. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUBSAFE#cite_note-Sullivan-1" rel="nofollow - [1]
SUBSAFE certification
SUBSAFE certification is carried out in four areas; Design, Material,
Fabrication, & Testing. The exact procedures are documented in the
initial design & construction for new submarines, while undergoing
routine maintenance in naval depots, and in the fleet maintenance manual
for operating submarines. During each step, quality evidence is
collected, reviewed, approved, and stored for the life of the submarine.
This process is reinforced with external and internal audits.
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