Why do military submarines hide propellers?

  • Oct 14, 2021
click fraud protection
Closed submarine propeller. l Photo - youtube.com
Closed submarine propeller. l Photo - youtube.com
Closed submarine propeller. l Photo - youtube.com

There is hardly a country without submarines in its navy. Submarines have many tasks. With their help, they reconnoiter, attack, and mislead the enemy. Therefore, the more inconspicuous the submarine, the better. One of the noisy devices on the submarine is the propeller. Engineers in the modern world do not stop improving it. If suddenly a submarine is on land or in a repair dock, then the first thing they do is hide the propeller. What for? After all, in fact, this is a simple propeller, which is both on the plane and on the motor boat. But everything is not as simple as it seems at first glance.

What is wrong with the submarine propeller

German hydroacoustics calculated the position of the submarines from the noise they produced. l Photo - hibiny.com
German hydroacoustics calculated the position of the submarines from the noise they produced. l Photo - hibiny.com
German hydroacoustics calculated the position of the submarines from the noise they produced. l Photo - hibiny.com

The first submarines were noisy and slow. Their propellers allowed a speed of no more than 3 knots per hour. In addition, the "propellers" made a lot of noise. This was not considered a major problem until after World War II. German hydroacoustics quickly learned to determine the location of enemy submarines. They did it simply - with the help of special devices they caught the noise emitted by the propellers, and then mathematical calculations were used.

instagram viewer

Submarine propellers are always closed as soon as the submarine is docked. l Photo - cont.ws
Submarine propellers are always closed as soon as the submarine is docked. l Photo - cont.ws

The naval powers were faced with the question of how to make military submarines less visible to the enemy. If the issue was resolved quickly with the shape of the body and the sounds emitted in it, then with external noise absorption it skidded. The designers experimented not only with the size of the propeller blades, but also with their number. The next impetus for the secret development of stealth technology for submarines was received during the Cold War. In the course of the arms race, the military began to hide their achievements from the eyes of opponents (as well as allies). This is how a kind of tradition arose - to close the propellers of submarines if they found themselves on land or in repair docks.

>>>>Ideas for life | NOVATE.RU<<<<

Why hide the propellers of submarines from prying eyes

Seeing a propeller, a specialist can calculate its main characteristics. l Photo - wonderfulengineering.com
Seeing a propeller, a specialist can calculate its main characteristics. l Photo - wonderfulengineering.com

Agree, it is always interesting to know - what is going on there with competitors? What interesting developments did they have? Are they overtaking in technical terms? The answers to these questions are obtained through espionage. It is also relevant for developments in the field of military submarines.

Designers have learned to design propellers that do not cause cavitation. Collapsing air bubbles create noise. In aquatic environments, it can be caught for miles. It was cavitation that gave out the location of the submarines.

Submarine propellers can create cavitation. l Photo - navalpost.com
Submarine propellers can create cavitation. l Photo - navalpost.com

A specialist, seeing even a simple photo of a submarine's propeller, can calculate whether it makes noise or not, what speed the submarine can develop, what interference it creates in a specific range. Using these data, hydroacoustics can easily adjust special devices so that they detect even the most "invisible" submarine. To prevent this from happening, propellers are removed from military submarines, and they are also covered with tarpaulins or camouflage netting as soon as the submarine is in the dock.

Share, what do you think - what is the reason for the tradition of hiding the propellers of military submarines from prying eyes?

IT IS INTERESTING:

1. Why are cardboard and plywood houses being built in American suburbs?

2. Why do American men wear a T-shirt under their shirt?

3. Will the water protect from shots, as shown in the films?