A couple of questions have come to mind upon my latest re-reading of “Clear the Bridge” by Richard O’Kane, and I thought I’d pose them to the group:
1. “80/90. 80 percent load, 90 percent speed” (p.63) While I’m somewhat sure that this has something to do with the charging of the batteries, but I haven’t found specifics…
2. “One bell landing” (p.353) I assume this means backing slow to kill any headway. In the context, it suggests mooring with the minimal amount of commands…
3. “Port ahead two-thirds, starboard back two-thirds” (p.421) This would seem simple enough, and I completely see the intent to pivot the bow to starboard much like turning a tracked vehicle. The question is: how tight of a pivot is possible? Given the location of the screws, it would seem that turning 180 degrees inside of a ship’s length would be improbable. Sure, it would be better than relying on rudder alone, but seeing how the pivot point is so far aft, on a no-wind, no current day, the radius of turning would still be fairly large.
4. One/two/three engine speed. I have yet to find any reference to exactly how many knots this was. Perhaps it is another way of saying “ahead one-third/two-thirds/full”?
Maybe I am over-thinking this a bit much, but I can easily foresee a time when I get asked that by the boy, so I figure I might head it off now and ask the resident subject matter experts. That, and it would clarify things a bit more to a non-submariner a bit…
Mike
