- Jun 19, 2014
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You SICK bastard!I really can't say "too soon." The day after the Challenger accident, we were saying we hoped Christa McAuliffe enjoyed vacationing all over Florida. Gallows humor is only for those who faced the gallows I guess.
Hadn't been following this until friend who's obsessed with the story mentioned that the submersible was carbon fiber wrapped.
Carbon fiber can be simply described as really strong duct tape.
Here's a cylinder getting wrapped.
Afterwards, it gets baked and hardened but it still has an underlying problem. And you may already be ahead of me. Wrap a bottle in duct tape. You can imagine that it will do a good job of holding pressure in the bottle because as the pressure pushes out it will try to stretch the tape which is very good at not stretching. However, it would be very easy to poke your finger into the side of the bottle especially if the pressure in the bottle is (360x) less than outside the bottle. Carbon fiber does very poorly against impacts. It's hard to manufacture and expensive. Its biggest advantage is that it's lightweight which is great for a spaceship, airplane or even a car. But does a submersible need to also be lightweight?
When carbon fiber is used in pressure applications it's to keep the pressure in not out.
Apparently (i.e. googling), the only person that thought this design would work was the head dude. Dozens of experts told him not to do it. It wasn't sanctioned by anyone in the industry. In fact, the industry response was "we're not surprised". At least one employee was fired for complaining. And they operated in international waters to circumvent whatever regulations govern this sort of thing. And if the thing had made previous dives then it would have already had micro cracks.
Tl:DR
Dude had a death wish.
And inspirational... That was the most important part...being inspirational. Due to, you know, not having any 50 year old white dudes involved...supposedly.But, it was SO imaginative and innovative...
Either with with real submariner experience or real structural engineers. But the design was bleeding edge forward thinking disaster.And inspirational... That was the most important part...being inspirational. Due to, you know, not having any 50 year old white dudes involved...supposedly.
Neither... it's "bubblehead"So...
Is it Submarine-er or is it Sub-mariner?
My ear seems to prefer the latter.
Alex.
So...
Is it Submarine-er or is it Sub-mariner?
My ear seems to prefer the latter.
Alex.
Neither... it's scrap debrisNeither... it's "bubblehead"
The Silent Service. No one can hear you scream.Bubblehead? Scrap Debris?
This is a photo of Dudley "Mush" Morton and Dick O'Kane.
Put some respect on their names.
Two of the greatest sub-mariners (or submarine-ers) in US history.
Morton changed the way skippers handled their subs. He was given command of the Wahoo, a boat with a forgettable battle record. He quickly turned things around and Wahoo became the hottest boat in the Pacific. He was ultra aggressive and was the first to have his XO on the periscope while he was focused on the broader tactical situation (a set-up that later became standard). O'Kane was his XO on Wahoo and learned from him. He got his own command, Tang, and became a legend in his own right.
Morton was KIA when his sub was sunk. O'Kane became a POW of the Japanese after his own defective torpedo sunk his boat. O'Kane, applying what he learned from Morton, sank more ships than any other American submarine skipper. After his release from captivity, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
We know all about Nimitz, Bull Halsey, Ray Spruance, and the carriers Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet. Give some credit to guys like Morton and O'Kane, boats like Wahoo and Tang, and the commander of the submarine fleet in the Pacific, Adm. Charles A. Lockwood.
Alex.