Speed helps, but it's a trade off. The faster you go the more noise you make. And I Spior can verify, you don't always need the pumps. It all depends on the water. In shallow water, the diesel is king. In deep water , the nuke boat is the king. The fastest boat ever, the Russian Alfa class, was one of the noiseiest. It didn't care about noise , It intended to outrun torpedos. But it wasn't going to creep up on much. On the opposite spectrum, the Collins class (Australian) has manny of the capabilities of a nuke boat (Except speed).ORIGINAL: BrucePowers
ORIGINAL: Apollo11
HI all,
ORIGINAL: Dixie
Even more OT: I have read that a well handled diesel sub is a lot more difficult to detect than an equivelent nuclear powered one, can anyone out there confirm this?
That is correct.
The nuclear powered submarine must always run the pumps to cool the reactor(s).
The diesel powered submarine under water is very quiet because it runs only on battery...
Leo "Apollo11"
Yeah, but a nuclear boat under water is a lot faster than a diesel boat. Granted doesn't help as mnuch against a helo or a P-3 or the upcoming P-8. Speed does help.[:)]
If I were in shallow , coastal waters, say any body of water connected to the word "straits" and I'd want a modern diesel. If I didn't have to go very far. If I was waiting in ambush. If I had to chase down my prey, or cover a long distance, then the nuke has the advantage. And that includes against each other. the diesel is all about ambush.
The San Luis was in deep water. It held no advantage , and it had a green crew, and was a new boat. The Brit SSNs had every advantage.








