Fleet Submarine Doors: The Key to Survival!

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[@echohunter4199]

I’m just a retired Army Grunt but that hatch door is a piece of art! I could look at that thing all day, damn fine American engineering and workmanship! And in case folks don’t know, us Infantrymen have a strong respect for Navy Submariners, it takes courage to volunteer for that very important duty which we recognize.

[@dwaltjj]

I love to see the all the little details the engineers thought of. Like the anti-locking mechanism without the door being closed. Then again, I'm sure they learned from previous mistakes.

[@1SemperDad]

One advantage of the older oblong hatches over the modern round hatches is that the oblong hatches can be removed and passed through its opening. The round hatches cannot. Small maintenance advantage. On a 640 SSBN, that hatchway also serves as return air for ships ventilation. In the event of an emergency, it was was important to secure the ventilation supply valve BEFORE securing the hatch. Otherwise the compartment would pressurize (6-10lbs) and make it difficult to reopen the door. Don't know how many times I had to scream at a non-qual NOT to close that hatch before I had a chance to secure the ventilation supply. Ears be a poppin!

[@paulfarace9595]

Great information!

[@dfirth224]

That's why manhole covers are round. You can't accidentally drop them down the hatch.

[@daviddionne8296]

My buddy who served in the Navy said his Sub was so special... it even had screen doors......

[@PakaBubi]

I would love to go for few pints with this gentleman and listen to his stories.

[@paulfarace9595]

Make it Diet Dr. Pepper and come to Cleveland... it would my pleasure !

[@buzzedalldrink9131]

being about this guys size, I’m more impressed that he fit through that doorway!! guess that means there’s hope for me!!😊

[@barnaclebill1615]

I absolutely LOVED touring this magnificently restored sun a few years back!!! Now I get a more in depth tour at my leisure. I’ll gladly subscribe! My observation was it seemed as though the original crew just left for liberty & was returning for patrol. Love the videos! 😁👍👍🇺🇸

[@paulfarace9595]

Thanks for your kind words!😊

[@robertpoore7604]

I like how you guys have someone narrator and a assistant do the manual labor. Good team work.

[@IHateYoutubeHandles615]

In some movie or other there was a MUCH faster demonstration of spinning the wheel to shut the door. Was perhaps either Ice Station Zebra or the Abyss. When cleaned and lube it's very fast to use.

[@jefferythomas4414]

What keeps the guys in the flooding compartment from opening the door in a panic? A man's sense of duty and honor can only go so far.

[@cbr2317]

Well training, pumps, at depth you are prolly dead or unconscious from the pressure change and if you do manage to be on the opposite side of the pressure and open it that door will wing open so fast and kill you and now your buddies die too.

[@b1laxson]

Also knowing the wet folks are the only ones to stop or slow the leak. Your job is to deal with the issue in that room. If you run you can't get back in without water rushing into next and/or the door stuck.

[@Chiberia]

Water pressure, I'd assume - the amount of water pushing against the door would be so immense, that you probably couldn't even turn the wheel, much less open the door (in either direction).

[@paulfarace9595]

You're either too busy fighting the cause of the casualty on the bad side of the compartment or you can't make it to the door. Sadly it is known to have happened only once when USS Squalus sank. One man closed the door as the boat took a terrible stern-down angle and hecsaw a friend at the far end of the room unable to climb up the deck to his door. One was to be a groom and the other the best man.

[@ThorsDecree]

I can't say in the case of a door that opens outwards, but if the door has to open inwards towards the flooding compartment, then water pressure would prevent anyone from opening it. It's the same reason it's nearly impossible to open a car door from the inside if the car is underwater but not yet completely flooded -- pressure has to be equal on both sides of the door, otherwise it exerts a net force. Water is about a thousand times denser than air, and the pressure from air at 1 atmosphere is about 15psi. There are suction cups that can be impossible for a person to pull off just under the weight of atmospheric pressure, so multiply that difficulty by about a thousand and that's what it's like trying to overcome water pressure. If your compartment is completely flooded and the door has to open towards you, you would have to pull on it with thousands of pounds of force to have any hope of budgeting it. If the door only swings one way, then that would only be applicable in half the cases of flooding. I imagine the other half can be explained by understanding that if you open the door you might be dooming everyone else on board. That and locks, I reckon. But I'm no expert.

[@robertporterfield9578]

In my day it was common to "Set condition Baker!" when coming to periscope depth. This meant that all watertight doors were shut until the word was passed to "Secure condition Baker". This was done to have the doors shut when transiting those depths where a collision with a surface ship was possible and before we had the opportunity to visually check for their presence. As you suggested, the doors worked quite freely on the boats.

[@arniestuboud]

When setting BAKER I believe we just put the WT doors on the latch w/o dogging them. The other WT bulkhead item that needed to be closed was the "bulkhead flapper" which was inside the supply (and sometimes a return) air duct running between the compartments. These are actually double flapper mechanisms inside the air duct with a geared flapper door swinging open into each compartment and an operating lever in each compartment. That way whichever compartment was flooding its flapper door would be pressing against the flange seal of the bulkhead itself. Also a very clever design.

[@davidmbrownphotography]

You are all doing a great job with the channel! Even though I have been to Cod many times over the years, listening to all the stories and inside information from not just her war time service but through out all of Cod's history is just absolutely fascinating! See you and the Spring! Fair winds and following sea's Cod!

[@mikereinhardt4807]

Happy New Year, another great video! Looking forward to more in the coming year...

[@oldtugs]

Spuds are potatoes, dogs hold the door against the gasket and seat. When we young fellows sailed the diesel boats we would go through the door feet first, swinging on the curved handhold just above it - at very high speed as if the door was not even there. Going headfirst doesn't leave anything to hang on and makes keeping balance difficult. Clean the grease and paint off the hinges and lubricate them properly, you should be able to spin those handles easily and quickly. Also, you neglected to mention why the doors close from different directions fore and aft.

[@paulfarace9595]

"Officers don't swing like monkeys..." a quote from a WWII-era Submarine officer when he saw visitors swinging through doors. Now please inform us why they close from different directions!

[@oldtugs]

All ranks swung through the doors when we were in a hurry or just feeling limber. Our diving duty station was not always the same as our surfaced station and sometimes we had to pass through several doors before they could be closed. Regarding the doors, haven't you noticed a pattern? Which way do the doors close on control room bulkheads and why? That is a question asked of non-quals. Haven't any of your visitors asked?

[@paulfarace9595]

Pur visitors generally don't get onto the weeds with that kind of detail. Thinking of Cod's doors most seem to close towards control (smooth side) but the maneuvering room closes towards ATR. You got me... why?

[@Russojap2]

Very interesting! This series just keeps getting better and better, good work!

[@manitobaoutdoors7705]

I bought a surplus door like this for my downstairs bathroom in 1987. Probably saved my marriage, and you can't beat the privacy for when company comes over.......

[@paulfarace9595]

How did you mount a 300-pound door?

[@manitobaoutdoors7705]

It was part of a cut out section going for scrap price. I had it hoisted into my basement and we drywalled over the transition to make the walls.Pretty common when you live near a scrapyard@@paulfarace9595

[@Axel0204]

The Virginia-class uses the same elliptical shape of watertight door (there's only the one, just as on Los Angeles-class boats). The Ohio-class so far is the only US sub class I'm aware of that uses round watertight doors, although I've never been aboard a Seawolf-class boat, so I can't say for sure about them. Also don't know what the plan is for the upcoming Columbia-class boats.

[@polycarphunter2257]

I've found a good site. from the 50s TV show, the "silent service". great recreations from those war years in the pacific. i once toured the Pampinato.

[@josephmoylan9199]

Yup another. Nice video paul n co. The details make this channel the best

[@rclooking99]

I can confirm that the SSN637 class boats still used a hatch that same shape. Same for the boomers of that era. Great video! I wonder if the "safety" latch was from an engineer during design or installed based on experience from out in the fleet.

[@echohunter4199]

I was curious about the same thing, it’s a well engineered latch assembly, I can tell it was made so the door wouldn’t rattle so they designed a spring loaded piston to keep constant pressure against the latch so there’s no gap.

[@WanJae42]

The geometric name of that shape is a "stadium", believe it or not!

[@Comet8489]

Found your channel via BB-62, really loving the content so far and well done on the 10k! Glad the latch exists as I can imagine that door would really hurt if it wasn't secured and slammed on your hand!! Humans being humans, I wonder how many were injured because the person before them didn't open it all the way to the latch.

[@arniestuboud]

We had a machinist mate go thru a WT door which was off the latch. One of his fingers was smashed between the door and its bulkhead seal. He lost that fingertip.

[@davidphillips7321]

Where's the Screen Door ? Paul...LOL, Stay Safe, Stay Strong...Dave...

[@RicArmstrong]

That's better than the Polish submarine I was stationed on. Those guys kept forgetting to close the screen door when we were out at sea!

[@bebo4374]

Cool! A stupid ethnic joke! Next time do a REALLY stupid racist joke

[@williamorton7600]

Those 4 tangs on WTDs for 637s and 616s were the most painful injury - to catch your shoulder on that tang running through the door. Way worse than hitting your forehead on the MCUL trolley on 616s and 640s. As a fairly tall guy, had to learn quickly how to fold up and go through. Not a problem on my last ship 768.

[@paulfarace9595]

At our age we don't run anywhere 😂

[@bluerebel01]

Great video and very informative, It's time to get the Boatswain's Mate on the ball and grease that boat, lol. Happy New Year to you and all your crew. and thank you for the video.

[@scottgrimwood8868]

Another excellent video. This is best channel for information on US submarines in WW2.

[@libertycosworth8675]

Paul, yes chlorine gas is generated from a salt water compromise of the battery compartment. Chlorine gas - even at fairly high concentrations would be a pretty agonizing death. The gas typically used in the past for executions is cyanide gas, which at very high concentrations causes an almost instantaneous death - at the cellular level.

[@glennac]

Thanks Paul❣️ Fascinating details. Definitely keep them coming with more like this. 👍🏼

[@kennethbolton951]

It is amazing what Naval engineers can come up with, now I know what to do if beamed into an alien space/underwater craft visiting Monaco.

[@robertroth287]

Great series, glad to see the channel grow.

[@randyogburn2498]

Thanks. I went through the USS Drum several years ago but i didn't know exactly how those hatches worked. I did quickly realize they are a tight fit for a gentleman of some size. BTW from the your coats it looks cold on-board that would also make your grease stiffer. Happy New Year to the crew of USS Cod! 🎉

[@paulfarace9595]

Happy new year to you too! It's chilly in January in Cleveland and Cod isn't heated. Those DOORS should be refurbished.... never know if the Canadians might attack!😂

[@paulmaxwell8851]

Be on guard! We're un unpredictable bunch up here! Happy New Year to the crew of the USS Cod from British Columbia, Canada.

[@earlyriser8998]

another great video. Happy New Year

[@420glass]

Like number 10 Love your vids. Thanks for posting

[@Gareth1959]

Thank you for many interesting glimpses into submarine life, and Happy New Year to you all :)

[@williamgibb5557]

I have always wondered, how watertight or airtight all the cables were going between compartments. I understand not a big leak but still something with the hundreds there were.

[@paulfarace9595]

Very robust stuffing tubes .

[@johnpancharian480]

Happy New Year, and congratulations on a year of making the internet's best videos on fleet boats. I sure am glad you guys are here.

[@paulfarace9595]

Thanks for your kind words ❤

[@peterharband326]

Thanks for the peek below decks buddy.

[@tombowers3681]

I was at an auction, some years ago, and they had one of these sub doors. It was used and removed from a sub. I think it weighs more than 200 pounds. A few of us tried to lift it and failed so needless to say I didn't bid on it

[@jbmbryant]

Actually, the gas chamber in Cal used potassium cyanide, not chlorine gas. I think the germans used chlorine gas at one time, but went with mustard gas and lewisite, both much deadlier than chlorine.

[@paulfarace9595]

Thanks for the clarification... I'd ask the condemned prisoners but they can't talk! 😮😅

[@circular_logic6217]

Came here to say this as well, the potassium cyanide is mixed with sulfuric acid to create hydrogen cyanide. What's perhaps more surprising to me is that this is still on the books as a secondary method of execution in a few US states. The last use was in Arizona in 1999 of Walter LaGrand en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaGrand_case#Background

[@romeo9017]

Respect!

[@Mountain-Man-3000]

Happy new year!

[@bigsarge2085]

Happy 2024!

[@brucerumrey8894]

nice job on the video

[@1boortzfan]

Wondering if it's possible to flush the old grease and make the door function better?

[@donaldparlett7708]

Happy New Years guys. May your subs

[@Chris_In_Texas]

You didn't mention the dog in the upper left, what specifically its used for? I assume that your in the forward torpedo room so that would be upper starboard corner of the door. Thanks.... 🤠👍

[@wfoj21]

So, I wonder what the monthly/ quarterly maintenance on that door is like, compared to the monthly/ quarterly maintenance on a surface ship watertight door.

[@howardr222]

My boat the AJ Gokd SSBN 619 gold had the same doors

[@kcamera4975]

Great video! What about the ventilation ducts? Does each compartment have its own system?

[@paulfarace9595]

No there's a central ventilating system that can be sealed at the bulkheads.

[@arniestuboud]

@@paulfarace9595 See my post above.

[@MrJeep75]

Should grease those you never know when you might need them

[@Dag_Nabbit_]

So they finally removed all of the screen doors then?

[@tomwallace1513]

This would have been a good time to mention scavenger air.

[@robertbcope]

Is there a way to prevent someone on the opposite side from opening the door up? I can imagine a compartment flooding, people trapped inside, but not wanting to allow them to open the door up...

[@godlugner5327]

5:37 to do exactly that.... ☠️ Which is interesting because he says the boat can stay afloat with any compartment flooded except for the command compartment which they are in, I'm not sure why you would want to lock anyone inside the command compartment? If the lock was on his side it would make more sense to lock other sailors out of that critical space

[@paulfarace9595]

These aren't doors designed to keep people in or out of a compartment ... only in movies, do you see men trapped in one room trying to get out. You can lock the door on one side if you jamb the pipe persuader on the handle.

[@user-is9sf5wo5s]

bro did my boy murphy dirty

[@johnbeauvais3159]

In Run Silent Run Deep, the author describes a situation on the S Boat they’re doing training on where the hatch at the top of the conning tower closed and partially dogged but the third dog got on the wrong side of the lip and jammed the hatch open about a half inch. Was such a thing possible on a worn out hatch or was this just for the story?

[@paulfarace9595]

The author of the book is Ned Beach... not given to fudging facts. The outside hatches and doors can be set to not close as we demonstrate in this video. I guess they felt it wasn't critical because those doors and hatches were closed once and kept closed. Only the bridge hatch was used in a hurry and was closely monitored.

[@michaelyounger4497]

The S boat in the story was a first world war design with an older and less safe hatch. Ned Beach, the author trained/served in an S boat before going to a fleet boat so was very familiar with them.

[@arniestuboud]

As a quartermaster in Balao class GUPPY subs I can guarantee that the conning tower hatch can be dogged closed while still in the open position. I had a bad day when I did this and it clanked still open when we tried to dive. I reached for the surfacing alarm at the helm station quickly and the dive was aborted. That was NOT my best day!

[@burroaks7]

neat, they have a door off USS Trout in Chicago , I'll have to check it out next time I'm there

[@josephd.5524]

Has the USS Cod ever visited Newfoundland? Did they receive harpoon damage?

[@paulfarace9595]

In the early 50s Cod visited St John's and Halifax.

[@tomtrenter3208]

@@paulfarace9595 I wonder if the crew got lubed up on "screech" at St Johns, Newfindland?

[@guillaumeroncin5870]

Just a question : Were the doors on Tang class exactly the same ?

[@paulfarace9595]

Yes but beefier to reflect that class of subs deeper diving capability.

[@kevinkoepke8311]

Curious, who manufactured the doors?

[@paulfarace9595]

Good question ! With no visible builder's plate I'll assume it was the shipyard.

[@yakamarezlife]

Hey paul i have a question for you do you have a cribbage board on board?

[@paulfarace9595]

Yes and no. We have cribbage boards aboard but not the offical one made FOR Cod by EBCo. That was taken by a reservist (who bragged about it) but didn't want to return it. He's since died and we haven't been able to reach rhe family.

[@robertkelley3437]

What is the lever on the upper left of the hatch? There is a lever om the other side of the door.

[@michaelblum4968]

I think they are both part of a locking mechanism, to make sure the hatch doesn't unlock by accident.

[@1320fastback]

I found a old guide to closing water tight doors online that says to close the single manual dog opposite the door hinges first to apply light pressure to the seal. Then use the wheel to fully tightened evenly. It also said to release it last when opening.

[@arniestuboud]

That lever just keeps the door in the closed position without it being dogged tightly shut. Pulling it down from either side will unlatch the door so it will swing free.

[@dalehuff5740]

Is that a door or a hatch or are the terms interchangable

[@paulfarace9595]

What Tom Taylor said!❤

[@arniestuboud]

Doors go horizontally thru "walls" aka "bulkheads". Hatches go vertically up and down.

[@wdcjunk]

4:08 - there appears to be a length of pipe or something under the door. Care to comment what that is?

[@chrismaverick9828]

Given the size of the left end I would suspect it is a leverage bar to help force a bent or stuck dogging wheel. It could also be for "locking" it, so that it cannot be spun from the other side such as in the case of a boarding action. I could be entirely wrong, but it certainly fits the part in appearance.

[@wdcjunk]

@@chrismaverick9828 I was thinking about the shiny locking latch up there and using it to set the latch but hadn't considered using it to 'lock' it in that sense. I suppose if it was flooding you'd set the shiny locking latch to take the load and hold the door while you spin the handle. Flooding can create a lot of force on that door and getting that latch to fall into place under that sort of load could be pretty difficult I'd imagine.

[@paulfarace9595]

The persuade? Yes it increased the leverage and might be able to "lock" the door.

[@chrismaverick9828]

@@wdcjunk Yours is probably the most likely.

[@tomtrenter3208]

You missed 2 more things to close to be water tight.

[@paulfarace9595]

We're only talking about doors here... are you talking about ventilation?