Submarine: Maximum speed while emergency blow?

[Mike_John]

Hi!

What is the maximum speed of a submarine, let's take one of the Los-Angeles-Class for example, if it's speed set to "flank" and it emergency blows his valves? The _horizontal_ speed should be about 35 knots. But how much is the vertical speed caused by the emergency blow?

Is there any submarine which has an extraordinary _vertical_ speed?
What maximum speed can/could the Alfa-type submarines achieve? They should run about 45 knots in _horizontal_ speed, how much (horizontal+vertical) speed could the get by driving "All ahead flank" and "emergency blow valves"?

Best regards!

Mike

 

[StingrayOZ]

Firstly I think most modern SSN can do over 35 kts. Although no one will confirm it a seawolf or virginia would do closer to 40kt at super flank flat out.

If your driving your sub horizontal and blow your ballast then you can still remain horizontal and then pick up vertical speed with it. I don't know how fast they rise just by ballast, you could work it out. I wouldn't imagine it would be huge, 5 kts?

However if you steer the boat upwards and trade some of your horizontal speed for the resulting vector speed you would be going even faster as you would be more hydrodynamic through the water. Although your pro may start to cavitate and become very ineffcient.

I wouldn't be suprised if a SSN going flank emergency blow, would be doing dam near 50kts. Which is bloody fast. Breach that baby and like a shark you might be able to get the whole bloody thing out of the water. This is all very hypothetical. On the red october they look pretty awesome when doing it too.

SSN's have pretty powerful reactors. France tried to adapt there SSN reactors to power a entire aircraft carrier.

 

[EnigmaNZ]

A couple of points, I believe the reactor in the Seawolf is larger and more powerful than the Virginia, being based on the Ohio, a reason the SW has a large diameter. I think it would give the Alfa a good run, the SW was to catch and prosumably surpass the best of the USSR at the time.
The sub breaching the surface in The Hunt For Red October was the USS Houston (SSN-713), a Los Angeles-class submarine.
The French SSN reactors are very small, about 40Mw iirc, the one adapted for the carrier is based on the larger reactor used in their new SSBN.

 

[Spacearrow99]

The French Rubis class reactors provide 48MWs of power.

The power plant of the Barracuda, will be based on technologies developed for the 150MW K15 pressure water reactor installed in the Triomphant class submarine and the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.