BigOl64 wrote on Oct 7^th, 2013 at 5:43pm:



BigOl,
you think you know everything.

I know a guy who worked as a sailor in an Australia submarine.
He reckons it was terrible.
Everyone was so covered in diesel fumes that it took a week to
get rid of the smell after they went on leave.
Whenever he tried to take a shower on the sub there was
always some homo trying to look at him or touch him.

The submarine service is either for people with a death wish or homos.

Bobby. wrote on Oct 7^th, 2013 at 6:04pm:



You always know some bloke who luckily seems to be an expert in what ever subject you need to bullsh1t about and sedipitously agrees totally with your point of view. 


You even feel the need to tell me all about how I did my job, because of one of these expert blokes that you seem to know; bugger mate you're a civilian, start acting like one, by not pretending to be a frggen expert on everything military.



People still enlist and the still serve in pretty hash conditions, because not everyone is a soft c0ck!

What's this nonsense about smelling like Diesel fumes - get with the program and the times. In the RAN that was old types of submarines such as the Oberon Class which did not have a sealed off section from the engine to the rest of the boat.(note Australia did not have any submarines during WWII, it did have a very old Dutch crewed boat it supported off WA during this time to practice antisubmarine defence) The Collins Class has three engines located across different sections of the boat. They are sealed off and the modern air scrubbers combined with OHS legislation ensure that toxic crap is not floating around the boat.

Hence this is why all the Submariners who crewed O Boats stank of diesel fumes. Those who transited to Collins from O Boats joke how they in the past could always be identified on land long before being ID by their Dolphins by the stink of diesel which had worked its way into the pores of their skin and hair remaining even after a good scrub/bath. Collins Class Submariners do not have a diesel smell as this was deliberately included into the compartmentalisation of its design for OHS and survivability reasons.

As to how you cannot swing at cat in a Collins I suggest you see if you can get on board and see how much room they actually have. Compare it with an Oberon such as the boat that is docked at Darling Harbour I'm sure you will spot the difference.

Bit of trivia - Georg von Trapp (The father of the family of which the Sound of Music movie is loosely based) served in the Austrian submarine service in the First World War. Primitive diesel submarines, crappy ventilation and no snorkel system meant that he suffered significant health problems for the rest of his life.

Old Codger wrote on Oct 7^th, 2013 at 1:57pm:


No, that would introduce a whole raft of other problems.

Perhaps the greatest problem is that we would beholden to the USA to refuel those boats as we have no nuclear infrastructure of our own to do it.

Then there would be the problem of being beholden to the USA to train the nuclear technicians required to run the nuclear reactors in the boats.

Finally, there is the problem of disposal, once the boats have run their lives.   We do not have the facilities to ensure long term, safe storage of highly radioactive nuclear piles and fuel.

All that, apart from the problem that the US does not export nuclear submarines.  They do not trust other nation's with their military nuclear technology.

Bobby. wrote on Oct 7^th, 2013 at 2:02pm:


They are actually extremely effective weapon systems, Bobby, which are extremely difficult to find and destroy, which is why they are so valuable as a means of deterrence for Australia.  With them, any potential attacker must invest large amounts of money, time and effort in acquiring the means of detecting and destroying them if they intend attacking us.

Your comment was extremely insulting to every submariner who serves in the RAN and I would suggest you reconsider it (although, it appears you've decided instead to dig yourself an even deeper hole.  Where is your enlightenment now, I ask?  In the dirt?     ).

Blue jam,


"As to how you cannot swing at cat in a Collins I suggest you see if you can get on board and see how much room they actually have."


My comment there was made in direct reference to a USN WW2 sub (see post #175).  That sub was the USS 'Pampanito' in San Francisco.

OC

bobby,


"They buried the F117s rather than let anyone have them.'


That is interesting, I never knew that, they usually send them to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson AZ.

Do you have a link?


OC