# WHat does a submarine do when travelling underwater? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539 "2001-11-09T23:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/1 "2001-11-09T23:27:37Z")
I mean when travelling I walk, a car drives, a plane flies and a ship sails. What does a submarine do? Just another pedantic thought that will take up permanent residence in my head if I don’t find an answer. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/2 "2001-11-09T23:29:46Z")
I believe that submarines also “sail”, similar to other motorized, non-sail driven seacraft. But feel free to invent a new word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/3 "2001-11-09T23:31:14Z")
How about “submarinate”? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/4 "2001-11-09T23:37:45Z")
I’m pretty sure they say “sail.” Which isn’t any less accurate than an aircraft carrier or battleship “sailing.” So they do. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/5 "2001-11-09T23:50:04Z")
The OED under definition #2 for “sail” the verb (first sense of the word) says > [@](#): > > 1. Of a ship or other vessel: To move or travel on water by means of sails, or (in modern use) by means of steam or any other mechanical agency. I would assume that “on water” and “under water” would both apply here. Aren’t submarines always called “boats” and never “ships”? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/6 "2001-11-10T00:20:30Z")
The OCD defines “cruise” as: > [@](#): > > 1. make a journey by sea calling at a series of ports, usually according to a predetermined plan… ---
**Author:** ![MarkyDeSade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@MarkyDeSade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkyDeSade)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/7 "2001-11-10T00:22:20Z")
After spending years watching old submarine movies (Das Boot being #1), I can tell you that they do “set sail,” even underwater. I have heard the term “cruising” quite often, but it’s always in reference to the speed or (less often) the depth. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2001, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/8 "2001-11-10T00:24:38Z")
Submarine OODs (Officers-of-the-Deck) generally refer to themselves as “sub-drivers,” so I guess you drive a sub. For a sub on patrol (especially SSBNs, or “boomers”), they are often said to be “drilling holes in the ocean.” Boomers are also said to be going “3 knots to nowhere” when on deterrent patrol. Formally though, I agree, subs “sail” the oceans like any other vessel. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\*Aren’t submarines always called “boats” and never “ships”? \*\* Generally, yes, which is actually kind of odd if you consider an 18,000 ton Ohio-class “Trident” sub. It’s quite a bit larger than many surface combatant ships. [sub]Ha! I beat **Tranquilis**! He’ll be around soon enough, though. :)[/sub] ---
**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:** [November 10, 2001, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/9 "2001-11-10T00:40:45Z")
In practice, I should add, a submarine at sea is simply “underway,” as opposed to being “in-port.” –robby (ex-submarine officer) ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/10 "2001-11-10T02:46:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\*Aren’t submarines always called “boats” and never “ships”? \*\* There’s a general rule of thumb that says “ships carry boats”. If the vessel carries other vessels (e.g. liferafts), it’s a ship. I don’t know that this is a completely correct definition, but it’s how an old navy guy answered this question for me. ---
**Author:** ![MarkyDeSade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@MarkyDeSade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkyDeSade)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/11 "2001-11-10T03:03:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by robby \* > \*\*In practice, I should add, a submarine at sea is simply “underway,” as opposed to being “in-port.” > \*\* Yes, but all ships at sea are underway, no? ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/12 "2001-11-10T03:55:54Z")
Yes, sufrace ship are technically underway when away from the pier, but surface ships usually “sail”, while subs “get underway”. Trust **robby** : He may be a useless “O” Ganger, but at least he’s a Nuc. 😉 Submarines are “Boats”. Period. Surface ships carry boats, but submarines are boats, too, and if you call a sub a ‘ship’ to a submariner’s face, you’ll get an annoyed look at the flat minimum. More likely you’ll be corrected, maybe rudely. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2001, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/13 "2001-11-10T04:18:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MarkyDeSade \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by robby \* > > \*\*In practice, I should add, a submarine at sea is simply “underway,” as opposed to being “in-port.” > > \*\* > > Yes, but all ships at sea are underway, no? \*\* Most certainly. My point simply was that this is the expression submariners use to describe “sailing” at sea. Most of the expressions I mentioned in my first post above were just slang. And you really don’t hear folks use the term “sailing” much either. I suppose you might hear someone say that we “sailed” from Groton to our assigned operating area, but they would be more likely to say that we “proceeded” there (formal), or just “went” there (less formal). If I were trying to describe the condition of a submarine at sea in a legal record, such as a log book, it would be “underway.” I’d also indicate whether it was “submerged” or “surfaced.” The full log entry would read something like the boat in question is “underway, proceeding submerged at 10 kts to assigned op area.” [On preview, I see that Tranquilis finally snuck in.] –robby (useless “O” Ganger) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/14 "2001-11-10T04:40:30Z")
> [@](#): > > [On preview, I see that Tranquilis finally snuck in.] Late for watch, again. Guess I’ll have to clean the bilges, hmm…? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/15 "2001-11-10T04:53:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by micco \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > > \*\*Aren’t submarines always called “boats” and never “ships”? \*\* > > There’s a general rule of thumb that says “ships carry boats”. If the vessel carries other vessels (e.g. liferafts), it’s a ship. I don’t know that this is a completely correct definition, but it’s how an old navy guy answered this question for me. \*\* I’ve had this discussion concerning great lake freighters with a friend who is a naval architect. He is adamant that they are ships, and that ships carry boats. On the other hand, when I worked on these ships, we referred to them as boats. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/16 "2001-11-10T05:29:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muffin \* > \*\*I’ve had this discussion concerning great lake freighters with a friend who is a naval architect. He is adamant that they are ships, and that ships carry boats. On the other hand, when I worked on these ships, we referred to them as boats. \*\* Naval Architects design things that float, but _sailors_ give them life and soul. Trust the sailor. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/17 "2001-11-10T11:24:14Z")
To answer the OP, the tour guide at Norfolk Naval base called it “cruise” or “cruising”, when one of the tourists asked a similar question. (Wasn’t me!) Also, Subs are called “boats”, which I assume is called so because of WW-2 era U-Boats. * * * Plato? Aristotle? Socrates? Morons! ~Did you kick him in the head? Did you see the blood run down? -Better Than Ezra ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/18 "2001-11-10T18:19:26Z")
Since this is apparently a sub-mariner reunion of sorts I’ll take this opportunity for a slight hijack. An acquaintance had a ex-husband who was in intelligence with the army and although very talented with languages was something of a major screw up as an field intelligence officer and recently got yanked back to the states after his latest professional misdemeanor to teach languages. According to her one of his favorite stories at parties was describing how he got shot out a submarine tube for one mission where they could not deliver him to shore or surface. It occurs to me that this would kill someone if the tube is designed to fire missiles weighing thousands of pounds. Is being shot out of a submarine tube a feasible scenario if the depth is not too great? Just curious. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2001, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/19 "2001-11-10T21:03:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*According to her one of his favorite stories at parties was describing how he got shot out a submarine tube for one mission where they could not deliver him to shore or surface. It occurs to me that this would kill someone if the tube is designed to fire missiles weighing thousands of pounds. > > Is being shot out of a submarine tube a feasible scenario if the depth is not too great? Just curious. \*\* The story sounds like a load of B.S. to me. I don’t think being launched out of a torpedo tube is survivable. If I heard such a story being told at a party, I would have difficulty keeping a straight face. If you wanted to leave an unmodified submerged submarine, you would do so from one of the two _escape trunks_ (go figure). Subs equipped to deliver personnel (such as SEALS) actually use an attached dry deck shelter, described here: [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/dds.htm](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/dds.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539/20 "2001-11-11T07:42:01Z")
Actually, **robby** , the torpedo tubes _can_ be used to get swimmers out of the boat, but the swimmers aren’t _impulsed_, they swim (wriggle) out. If they _were_ impulsed, the swimmer would become a 21" diameter slug of compressed flesh about 2" thick. Yummy! I’ve seen the ‘swimming out’ bit a number of times, but then I belonged to a specops squadron when I was still in boats. Most other boats would never see this. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-submarine-do-when-travelling-underwater/92539.md?page=2)