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Submarine technology wows visitors, veterans
By Deborah McDermott
dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com
October 20, 2008 2:22 PM
KITTERY, Maine — Madbury, N.H., resident Randall Tilton, a machinists mate firemen recruit, said he couldn’t believe his good fortune at being plucked for the submarine New Hampshire.
The newest of five crewmembers from the Granite State, Tilton just came aboard a month ago, seven months after joining the Navy. When he was in submarine school, he said his dad told him the newest in the Virginia Class fleet is called the New Hampshire. Lo and behold, when he checked there was an opening for an MMFR.
“I was lucky enough to grab it,†he said. “It’s quite an honor for me to be here.â€
That pride was evident Monday by not only Tilton but by the officers and other crew, who took time out from their day to give area media a tour.
The submarine will officially become commissioned as the USS New Hampshire on Saturday at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where she is docked throughout this precommissioning week of festivities.
One of several remarkable innovations of the New Hampshire is evident before even descending below. The sail — the fin-like structure on the top of the sub — is arrayed with two masts that take the place of a traditional periscope. Inside, a photonics cable equipped with a camera will snake to the surface and can do a 360 degree scan in five seconds.
All the information is transmitted to a computer screen in the control room, the command central of the New Hampshire. Dimly lit primarily from the many computer screens, perhaps 18 by 25 feet, as many as 16 crew and up to 25 during combat operations are stationed there when the New Hampshire is underway.
“You just hear, ‘wow’ when you bring people here,†said Glen Kline, the chief of sub. “This is an incredible technological leap from earlier submarines. Even old submariners who have been in the Navy for years say, ‘wow.’â€
The camera images that come onto the computer screen, for instance, can be magnified many times over. Cmdr. Mike Stevens demonstrated with a joy stick, zeroing in on the Memorial Bridge until individual cars and people could be seen.
In addition, there’s a digital chart, computers for each of the weapons hatches and the pilot’s console, the domain of Portsmouth resident and Chief Machinists Mate James Guild. It looks for all intents and purposes like the console of a 747 aircraft, “which is where the technology came from,†Guild said.
Stevens said for the first time with the Virginia Class there is an auto-pilot function which keeps the ship “on depth with less than a degree of movement†so that the ship is virtually “hovering.â€
This is important when the New Hampshire’s mission involves deploying Navy SEALS. One of the great advances of the Virginia Class is that it is intended not only for deep-sea warfare but also for shallow-water reconnaissance. She was built to be able to go within 2 miles of the shore, so that special operation forces can exit the sub, swim to land and return.
The New Hampshire is equipped with a lockout trunk that can fit nine SEALS “with all their gear,†said Lt. Cmdr. John Thompson. “They come in, shut the hatch behind, fill it with water, then when they're ready, you open the upper hatch and they swim ashore.â€
The SEALS, when aboard, will stay in the torpedo room, and this is where the versatility of the New Hampshire really comes into play. When the mission requires stealth in coastal waters, the torpedo room is emptied of torpedoes, the floor space is opened up, and in addition to extra bunks there’s even room for exercise equipment on what the crew euphemistically call “the dance floor.â€
When the New Hampshire is instead on a combat mission, the bunks come out, the Stairmaster comes out, and the room is filled floor to ceiling with torpedoes. They and their cradles come in and go out the top of the sub, which has a removable panel. The New Hampshire can carry 26 torpedoes, launched through four torpedo tubes. All of them are moved into place by hydraulics. Atop the sub are also 12 vertical launch tubes for Tomahawk land-attack missiles.
Thompson said the crew is on an 18-month deployment cycle. Once they know what their mission is, whether its more combat or more reconnaissance based, they will undergo training for six months or more before actually leaving port.
“We can tailor our training to the mission,†he said.
Sleeping quarters, and in fact all parts of the sub, are cramped, compact and somewhat claustrophobic for those so inclined. But that doesn’t include anyone aboard the New Hampshire.
“My personal space bubble is ... well, let’s just put it this way,†said Thompson, sidling up to a reporter. “I can stand right here and it doesn’t bother me. We have a high level for tolerance.â€
Free time is spent in the mess, which doubles at night as a movie room. Two big-screen TVs are on either side of the small room. The crew is lucky, said Thompson. They get first-run movies right after they leave the theaters and before they hit video release.
Guild said so many of the crew are new to the Navy and are working to qualify for various tasks. The more seasoned veterans let the new guys pick the movie.
“But we have the five-minute rule,†he said. “If we don’t like the movie within five minutes, we turn it off.â€
one photo
Submarine technology wows visitors, veterans
By Deborah McDermott
dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com
October 20, 2008 2:22 PM
KITTERY, Maine — Madbury, N.H., resident Randall Tilton, a machinists mate firemen recruit, said he couldn’t believe his good fortune at being plucked for the submarine New Hampshire.
The newest of five crewmembers from the Granite State, Tilton just came aboard a month ago, seven months after joining the Navy. When he was in submarine school, he said his dad told him the newest in the Virginia Class fleet is called the New Hampshire. Lo and behold, when he checked there was an opening for an MMFR.
“I was lucky enough to grab it,†he said. “It’s quite an honor for me to be here.â€
That pride was evident Monday by not only Tilton but by the officers and other crew, who took time out from their day to give area media a tour.
The submarine will officially become commissioned as the USS New Hampshire on Saturday at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where she is docked throughout this precommissioning week of festivities.
One of several remarkable innovations of the New Hampshire is evident before even descending below. The sail — the fin-like structure on the top of the sub — is arrayed with two masts that take the place of a traditional periscope. Inside, a photonics cable equipped with a camera will snake to the surface and can do a 360 degree scan in five seconds.
All the information is transmitted to a computer screen in the control room, the command central of the New Hampshire. Dimly lit primarily from the many computer screens, perhaps 18 by 25 feet, as many as 16 crew and up to 25 during combat operations are stationed there when the New Hampshire is underway.
“You just hear, ‘wow’ when you bring people here,†said Glen Kline, the chief of sub. “This is an incredible technological leap from earlier submarines. Even old submariners who have been in the Navy for years say, ‘wow.’â€
The camera images that come onto the computer screen, for instance, can be magnified many times over. Cmdr. Mike Stevens demonstrated with a joy stick, zeroing in on the Memorial Bridge until individual cars and people could be seen.
In addition, there’s a digital chart, computers for each of the weapons hatches and the pilot’s console, the domain of Portsmouth resident and Chief Machinists Mate James Guild. It looks for all intents and purposes like the console of a 747 aircraft, “which is where the technology came from,†Guild said.
Stevens said for the first time with the Virginia Class there is an auto-pilot function which keeps the ship “on depth with less than a degree of movement†so that the ship is virtually “hovering.â€
This is important when the New Hampshire’s mission involves deploying Navy SEALS. One of the great advances of the Virginia Class is that it is intended not only for deep-sea warfare but also for shallow-water reconnaissance. She was built to be able to go within 2 miles of the shore, so that special operation forces can exit the sub, swim to land and return.
The New Hampshire is equipped with a lockout trunk that can fit nine SEALS “with all their gear,†said Lt. Cmdr. John Thompson. “They come in, shut the hatch behind, fill it with water, then when they're ready, you open the upper hatch and they swim ashore.â€
The SEALS, when aboard, will stay in the torpedo room, and this is where the versatility of the New Hampshire really comes into play. When the mission requires stealth in coastal waters, the torpedo room is emptied of torpedoes, the floor space is opened up, and in addition to extra bunks there’s even room for exercise equipment on what the crew euphemistically call “the dance floor.â€
When the New Hampshire is instead on a combat mission, the bunks come out, the Stairmaster comes out, and the room is filled floor to ceiling with torpedoes. They and their cradles come in and go out the top of the sub, which has a removable panel. The New Hampshire can carry 26 torpedoes, launched through four torpedo tubes. All of them are moved into place by hydraulics. Atop the sub are also 12 vertical launch tubes for Tomahawk land-attack missiles.
Thompson said the crew is on an 18-month deployment cycle. Once they know what their mission is, whether its more combat or more reconnaissance based, they will undergo training for six months or more before actually leaving port.
“We can tailor our training to the mission,†he said.
Sleeping quarters, and in fact all parts of the sub, are cramped, compact and somewhat claustrophobic for those so inclined. But that doesn’t include anyone aboard the New Hampshire.
“My personal space bubble is ... well, let’s just put it this way,†said Thompson, sidling up to a reporter. “I can stand right here and it doesn’t bother me. We have a high level for tolerance.â€
Free time is spent in the mess, which doubles at night as a movie room. Two big-screen TVs are on either side of the small room. The crew is lucky, said Thompson. They get first-run movies right after they leave the theaters and before they hit video release.
Guild said so many of the crew are new to the Navy and are working to qualify for various tasks. The more seasoned veterans let the new guys pick the movie.
“But we have the five-minute rule,†he said. “If we don’t like the movie within five minutes, we turn it off.â€