# A Civilian Piloting a Submarine **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-civilian-piloting-a-submarine/534481 "2010-03-31T17:58:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-civilian-piloting-a-submarine/534481/21 "2010-04-01T19:34:54Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The second reason is that the throttleman actually operates the throttles under the supervision of a watch officer who can see the impact of the throttle operation on the reactor and the rest of the engine room. The design is pretty idiot-proof, but whereas the worst thing that can happen to a diesel engine or a gas turbine is that is could catch fire, the worst thing that can happen to a nuclear reactor is that you could have a core meltdown–which would be an environmental disaster. (Note that this is **very** unlikely, and has never happened to a U.S. submarine.) So direct, local control under direct, close supervision is thought to be preferable. Its been years since I did my very few training watches for throttleman, but wasn’t it because opening the throttles too quickly would spike reactor power? I know the reactor responded automatically to the amount of power being sent to the engines(which was some insanely nifty physics), but as I recall it would lag behind the throttle somewhat, and being too aggressive with the throttles could lead to exceeding some reactor power thresholds, causing a scram. The captain and a throttleman up topside wouldn’t have any of the necessary indications, or time to figure them out, so it was left up to engineering to answer the bells as quickly as safely possible. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-civilian-piloting-a-submarine/534481/22 "2010-04-01T19:44:10Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > No, but I don’t know how to fly a plane either. But if the choice were life or death, I’d try to figure something out. As stated before, if it were a nuclear sub, no chance in hell. There was something on the order of 1500 steps and 24+ hours(You do NOT heat up that much metal quickly without Very Bad Things occurring) to get from cold iron to standby. Just for the engine room alone. You could try, but it would be virtually impossible. As robby stated, the steam plant manuals and reactor plant manuals, when stacked, would be about 10 feet tall. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-civilian-piloting-a-submarine/534481/23 "2010-04-01T22:38:05Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > When I went on a tour of the USS Intrepid they also had those sound tubes (litterally a metal tube you yell into) as a last resort form of communication. Do modern ships still have those things? I’ve seen them on surface ships during my time in the Navy, but I don’t know if they are still putting them in or not in newly constructed ships. I’ve never seen one on a sub. > [@CutterJohn](#): > > Its been years since I did my very few training watches for throttleman, but wasn’t it because opening the throttles too quickly would spike reactor power? I know the reactor responded automatically to the amount of power being sent to the engines(which was some insanely nifty physics), but as I recall it would lag behind the throttle somewhat, and being too aggressive with the throttles could lead to exceeding some reactor power thresholds, causing a scram. > > The captain and a throttleman up topside wouldn’t have any of the necessary indications, or time to figure them out, so it was left up to engineering to answer the bells as quickly as safely possible. Exactly. Not only reactor power, but the throttleman also has to ensure that he doesn’t exceed the maximum allowable torque on the main propeller shaft. Theoretically speaking, there’s still no reason why you couldn’t automate the whole thing, but it would add a whole lot more complexity. Also, by not automating the throttles, you have the ability to “push the envelope” in a tactical situation. There were some throttlemen (on a flank bell) who could open the throttles so fast they would peg the needle of the steam demand meter at the stop, yet still be able to back off quickly enough such that reactor power didn’t exceed any limits. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-civilian-piloting-a-submarine/534481/24 "2010-04-01T22:59:32Z")
> [@Slypork](#): > > **robby** , thanks for answering that. I’ve always wondered why they did it that way. > > What kind of redundancy do they have? If something happened to the intercom or communications how would the engine room know to go to full or reverse? I dunno, but I heard the Nimitz-class uses carrier pigeons. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-civilian-piloting-a-submarine/534481/25 "2010-04-02T01:06:00Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > For what it’s worth, LostPedia says that the most recent submarine seen on the show “resembles a [Japanese Yūshio-class](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%ABshio_class_submarine) submarine”, a diesel-electric variety. Normal crew compliment is supposed to be around 80 people. It might be a little easier to pilot with a skeleton crew than a nuclear boat, but not much. > > Of course, there’s always the tried-and-true method of pointing a gun at the captain — that’s what Sawyer ended up doing the last time he was on a sub. I think that’s what Sawyer has in mind. There must be just a skeleton crew aboard - how else would they fit in all those sonic pylons? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-civilian-piloting-a-submarine/534481.md?page=1)