# So if I was a sub captain, should I adopt this periscope pose

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-i-was-a-sub-captain-should-i-adopt-this-periscope-pose/516806>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 8, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-i-was-a-sub-captain-should-i-adopt-this-periscope-pose/516806 "2009-11-08T16:10:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-i-was-a-sub-captain-should-i-adopt-this-periscope-pose/516806/21 "2009-11-10T19:38:48Z")

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> [@Kobal2](#):
>
> Gotcha.
> 
> Yes, hence my initial puzzlement - why would he be required to spend hours on the scope, when sonar picks up and plots contacts far beyond the horizon ? But then, it’s so easy to forget those bits that come before “contact, bearing X, medium speed, closing !” and after “she’s going down !”. I blame subsims 😛

IANASubmariner, but my understanding from previous info (and this thread) is that this is a peacetime activity conducted in high-traffic areas, i.e. you wouldn’t be using the scope all too often in wartime (just as active sonar is shunned nowadays unless you _know_ what you’re looking for-- far better to listen than yell).

In peacetime, you don’t want to run a risk of hitting anything on the surface. As long as you’re not in an area near your adversaries, there’s not much harm in watching the periscope for stray Japanese fishing trawlers.

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-i-was-a-sub-captain-should-i-adopt-this-periscope-pose/516806/22 "2009-11-10T21:02:12Z")

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> [@davekhps](#):
>
> …In peacetime, you don’t want to run a risk of hitting anything on the surface. As long as you’re not in an area near your adversaries, there’s not much harm in watching the periscope for stray Japanese fishing trawlers.

You said it: [Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehime_Maru_and_USS_Greeneville_collision)

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