Submarines
Uploaded by Admin on Jan 30, 2000
Wouldn’t it be fun to ride a torpedo, or drive a nuclear reactor around underwater? In this research paper I am going to illustrate the ingenius submarine.
The submarine is one of the most important strategic and tactical weapons systems of the 20th Century, and this importance will increase in the 21st Century. The tiny, leaking, creaking, and unsafe submarine boats of the 1890’s, displacing under two hundred tons and carrying a handful of men and a few torpedoes have grown into massive, sophisticated and deadly weapons systems. These displacing as much as 26,000 tons, carrying a crew of over a hundred and armed with missiles which can destroy large areas of the world.
Every day hundreds of submarines are patrolling the oceans of the world. Many of them are on routine training, but some are armed with strategic missiles and for them every patrol is as fully functional as if they were at war. The surface of the ocean is hostile enough on occasion, but the depths are always hostile to man. Yet, for many centuries man has dreamed of penetrating the depths of the oceans and now this dream has become possible.
A submarine is a ship that travels underwater. Most submarines are designed for use in war - to attack enemy ships or to fire missiles at enemy countries. These submarines range in length from about 200 feet to more than 550 feet. Their rounded hulls are about 30 feet in diameter. More than 150 crew members can live and work aboard such warships. At war a submarines will attack from beneath the surface of the water. A submarine needs to remain underwater to be effective. Early submarines did not stay submerged for long periods, because they had to surface often to get air for their engines and crews. Today’s nuclear submarines can stay underwater for several months at a time.
A submarines long, cigar shaped body enables it to move swiftly while underwater. A pressure hull, made of high strength steel or titanium surrounds the ship and prevents it from being crushed by the pressure of the water around it. Built into the bow and stern of the pressure hull are tanks that, when filled with water, give the submarine ballast (weight) for diving. Submarines that are not built in the United States usually have a second, outer hull. The space between the hulls is used to...