204
T/ze Last Resource
there are hundreds of diesel—electric submarines, more limited but
capable of being very dangerous, patrolling the oceans nearer to
their supply bases. To keep track of these vessels and to improve
techniques of detection and attack, is the task given to the Anti—
submarine Warfare branches of the navy. And in view of the
difficult nature of this job, particularly since the advent of the
nuclear—powered submarine, it is hardly surprising that ASW
research and developments accounts for a large proportion of Navy
budgets.
Destroying an enemy submarine presents few worries compared
with nding it in the rst place. Such weapons as the ‘Limbo’
depth—charge mortars of the Royal Navy pose a serious threat for
any submarine that dares to approach too close. For attacks on
submarines at a greater range, modern homing and wire—controlled
torpedoes can be launched from ships or aircraft (particularly anti—
submarine helicopters). The great drawback with torpedoes
launched directly into the sea from a surface ship or submarine is
the time that the weapon takes to reach its target. To reduce the
chances of alerting the enemy, many U.S. ships are now armed With
the ASROC—a rocket which delivers a homing torpedo in the
vicinity of the enemy submarine. There is also a SUBROC. This
weapon is shot out of the water by the attacking submarine using
compressed air. Once clear, the rocket is boosted to reach the target
area within a few minutes where it parachutes a homing acoustic
torpedo. The sudden appearance of this weapon severely restricts
the freedom of a human operator to take avoiding action. Instead a
defence computer takes control and, for example, may launch a noisy
decoy which leads off the attacking weapon away from the sub—
marine. The decoy is then allowed to be overtaken and destroyed by
the attacking torpedo. But, on the whole, the attacker has the
advantage when it comes to such contests. This is far from the case
when it comes to nding and identifying potential enemy sub—
marines.
Aircraft such as the British Nimrod and the American Orion carry
out most submarine ‘hunting’. Nimrod, an aircraft based on the
Comet 4 airliner, is the rst jet to be used for these purposes. It can
y out to mid—Atlantic at 500 miles per hour before settling down to
patrol slowly, ying on only two of its four engines. Included in its
extensive submarine detection kit is an instrument which ‘sniffs’ the
air for traces of diesel submarine exhaust and another which locates
T/ze Last Resource
there are hundreds of diesel—electric submarines, more limited but
capable of being very dangerous, patrolling the oceans nearer to
their supply bases. To keep track of these vessels and to improve
techniques of detection and attack, is the task given to the Anti—
submarine Warfare branches of the navy. And in view of the
difficult nature of this job, particularly since the advent of the
nuclear—powered submarine, it is hardly surprising that ASW
research and developments accounts for a large proportion of Navy
budgets.
Destroying an enemy submarine presents few worries compared
with nding it in the rst place. Such weapons as the ‘Limbo’
depth—charge mortars of the Royal Navy pose a serious threat for
any submarine that dares to approach too close. For attacks on
submarines at a greater range, modern homing and wire—controlled
torpedoes can be launched from ships or aircraft (particularly anti—
submarine helicopters). The great drawback with torpedoes
launched directly into the sea from a surface ship or submarine is
the time that the weapon takes to reach its target. To reduce the
chances of alerting the enemy, many U.S. ships are now armed With
the ASROC—a rocket which delivers a homing torpedo in the
vicinity of the enemy submarine. There is also a SUBROC. This
weapon is shot out of the water by the attacking submarine using
compressed air. Once clear, the rocket is boosted to reach the target
area within a few minutes where it parachutes a homing acoustic
torpedo. The sudden appearance of this weapon severely restricts
the freedom of a human operator to take avoiding action. Instead a
defence computer takes control and, for example, may launch a noisy
decoy which leads off the attacking weapon away from the sub—
marine. The decoy is then allowed to be overtaken and destroyed by
the attacking torpedo. But, on the whole, the attacker has the
advantage when it comes to such contests. This is far from the case
when it comes to nding and identifying potential enemy sub—
marines.
Aircraft such as the British Nimrod and the American Orion carry
out most submarine ‘hunting’. Nimrod, an aircraft based on the
Comet 4 airliner, is the rst jet to be used for these purposes. It can
y out to mid—Atlantic at 500 miles per hour before settling down to
patrol slowly, ying on only two of its four engines. Included in its
extensive submarine detection kit is an instrument which ‘sniffs’ the
air for traces of diesel submarine exhaust and another which locates