Hi Gregory,
That's interesting material on the escape arrangements on the USS Torsk SS-423 sub you served on. I very much feel that practice is key in giving one a better chance of success. This is why I'm putting so much time and effort into converting my sub into a wet exit training sub. I like the escape device Kittredge & Heromenus obtained a patent on some years ago.
It's roots perhaps came from the Simon Lake patent #650,758 obtained in 1897.
But again not the type of design that will suit most PSUBs. I've attached to older post below regarding the Kittredge & Heromenus patent.
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=Z_ROAAAAEBAJ&dq=3045622
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=zhlLAAAAEBAJ&dq=581,213
http://cid-5085d10eb6afe47c.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Simon%20Lake%20Patent%20Details
Regards,
Szybowski
USS Torsk SS-423
From: brenthartwig@hotmail.com
To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Kittredge & Heronemus Submarine Escape Device Patent
Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:40:10 -0700
| United States Patent | 3,045,622 |
| Issue Date: | July 24, 1962 |
I meant to get this to you earlier Ray. Better late then never.
While reading the Captains books some time back, I noticed that on pages 154 and 155 that after George had done his record wet exit from the escape trunk of a large US Navy submarine off Hawaii at close to 128 fsw. That he and a Navy colleague by the name of Bill Heronemus, who had a engineering back ground, worked up a design for the US Navy to have releasable escape trunks, that could be cabled up to the surface and back for multiple trips. They soon acquired a US Utility patent on it, and assigned it to the US Secretary of the Navy. I'm not sure why they would need a patent on it, since other Navies will pretty much do as they please I thought. But perhaps some one here might know.
The Navy had at the time been using the McCann Rescue chamber of which Kittredge had a good amount of experience with, and it was hard to use and required a fair bit of time to get it onto the location needed, when at times every minute counts. The releasable sphere that Kittredge and Heromenus has worked up would be used right away. The US Navy chose not to use there design, and instead went with the DSRV's instead. Kittredge thought they were a good little submarine but that they suffered the same major defect as the McCann Rescue Chamber.
"When time is most important, it has to be mobilized and transported to the scene of a disaster. Interestingly enough, seventeen years later, after our patent had run out, the Soviets and the Germans put devices on their new submarines, similar to the rescue sphere that Bill Heronemus and I had come up with."
~ George Kittredge
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=Z_ROAAAAEBAJ&dq=3045622
I was thinking this basic design concept could be used for underwater habitats, as well as on larger live aboard submarines. Looking at the patent I few things come to mind. One is that I would like to add a ring of ballast tanks around the sphere at it's midsection to allow it to flow higher at the surface to better keep the waves out of the hatch, and then have a large deck area around the hatch for better surface ops. That said deck would also be part of and flush with the top of the main deck of the submarine when at home position.
I wonder how easy it would be for this sphere to realign it's self when it comes back from the surface, to seal the sphere against the subs flange in the current embodiment, if the sub is not level? I can think of a few options, but will have to work them out in CAD.
It also looks like there is a annular internal hard ballast tank mounted/welded to the sphere. I suspect it is to keep the sphere from sinking in the event that the sphere is swamped at the surface. A modern alternative could be to line the whole sphere with several inches of syntactic foam, or have a inner and outer hull like on the R300, the Bionic Dolphin, and the Bioni Orca with syntactic foam poured between th! em.
< br>Regards,
Szybowski
================================================================
Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] escape from sub
| From: | owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org on behalf of Gregory Cotton (gregc02@gmail.com) |
| Sent: | Mon 8/03/09 10:08 PM |
| To: | personal_submersibles@psubs.org |
All the old WWII diesel boats had two rescue buoys that could be released from the fore and aft torpedo rooms. They had a pretty substantial 1,200 ft (iirc) steel cable on a reel and the submarine end attached to a collar that would center it over the escape trunk. The rescue camber could follow the line down which would center it over the top hatch on the escape trunk. The whole aft torpedo room was the escape trunk.
Here is the arrangement from the old diesel boats, my boat the USS Torsk SS-423 (now the museum boat in Baltimore) is the same arrangement.
http://www.maritime.org/tour/ftr-escape.php
The top picture can be rotated in either axis.
Here is the operating procedure...
http://www.maritime.org/escape.htm
Hard to implement in a P-Sub!