The Navy Vol_37_Part1 (Feb-Mar-Apr, May-June-July 1975)

Kindly Sponsored byAdelaideSteamshipIndustriesPty LtdENGINEERING DIVISION1180 OLD PORT ROADROYAL PARK, SATelephone: 47 5144FOLD A WAYFURNITUREPTY LTDManufacturers of• Folding Camping Products• Garden Furniture• Nursery Furniture13-19 COORA ROADHUNTINGDALE, VICPhone: 544 6222Kindly Sponsored byEvan EvansPty LtdSWIMMING POOL COVERS• All Types • All Sizes220 ALBION STREETBRUNSWICK, VICTelephone: 383 1388By Courtesy ofGEELONGCOMMERCIALCLEANERSESTABLISHED OVER 25 YEARSFor Quotes, ContactNOEL SPALDINGon 21 641724-Hour Service — 7 Days a Week38 TOWNSEND ROADWHITTINGTON, VICSupport the Advertisers whoYouSupportSUBMARINE ESCAPE VEHICLEPLANNED FOR SWEDISH NAVYThe Royal Swedish Navy rescue organisation inlands toraplaca its existing submarina rescue balls with a submarinerescue vehicle (URF). This URF is to be based at the RSwNDiving Centre (MDC) at Sjodal, south of Stockholm, and inthe event of a submarine accident it will be transported bytrailer to the nearest suitable harbour to the incident andtfrom there, will be towed to the position where its servicesare required.The specification of the URF. tomeet the requirements of the RSwN.has been drawn up by Kockums MekVerkstads. well known Swedish submarinedesigners and builders, inconjunction with the noted Frenchsub-ocean specialists. Comex ofMarseilles. The principal particularsof the URF are tabulated for the sakeof clarityOperational methodOn receipt of a Subsunk' alarmthe URF would be immediatelydespatched, on its trailer, to thenearest harbour to the accidenthaving suitable launching slipwayor lift-off facilities. A surface towingvessel would be simultaneouslyordered to the same port.Meanwhile, at the MDC. two diverswill be pressurised to the appropriatedepth and then transported ina special personnel transport (PTC)to join the URF which will then belaunchedThe URF will be towed to thevicinity of the accident, on thesurface or. in bad weather, in the submergedcondition, receiving poweren route by way of an umbilical cordincorporated in the towing hawser.On arrival, divers from the towingvessel will disengage the towinghawser leaving the URF free tocommence rescue operations.Using its passive sonar the URF willhome on the automatic pinger withwhich all Swedish submarines are tobe fitted for such an eventuality.From a range of about 100m activesonar will be used, providing apicture of the seabed ahead of theURF and enabling its operators toavoid any obstacles.Visual contact will be made at arange of 2- 10m and. by means of themanipulator with which the URF isequipped, a steelwire rope is connectedto the rescue hatch of thecasualty. The URF will then winchitself down to mate with thesubmarine enabling the hatch to beopened and the casualty's crewtransferred.The URF embarked divers mayhave to assist in the matingoperai.on should any deck gear orwreckage cover the rescue seat.In the event of the rescue seatbeing badly damaged, making aproper docking impossible, areserve procedure will be followed.This consists of the submarine crewmaking a free ascent to the URFfloating a few metres above themwith its rescue compartment pressurisedto the prevailing depth.Pressurisation will be carried out bythe surface vessel with the URFeither surfaced or just submerged.Prior to the free ascent of the submarinecrew, the rescue vessel willbe positioned by wire ropes securedby the URF's divers.Once the rescue has been completedthe surface vessel's diverswill reconnect the towing cableumbilical and tow the URF. againsurfaced or submerged according toweather conditions, back to the startpoint for disembarkation of the survivors.The URF's own divers may bedecompressed in the rescue vehicleor be returned to base in the PTC forcontinuing decompression.The order for the URF andaccompanying PTC. valued at SwCr12.6m (Aug '73 level), was placedwith Kockums with deliveryscheduled for October 1977.Principal particular* and performance dataLength__ (44ft Sin)BreadthCo (14ft I in)Heightco (12ft Sin)DisplacementDraught, surfaceco 2 90m (Sft Sin)Freeboard, f'w'd entrance hatchesee 0 80m (2ft 7in)Speed.max ahead submergedmax astern submergedmax lateral submergedmax vertical submergedmax towing, surface and submergedDiving depth, maxmax for divers activitiesco 3-0 knotsco 1-7 knotsco 0-6 knotsco 0-4 knots100 knots440m (1.500ft)max for standard rescue procedureWOm (l'.0" 'max for reserve rescue procedureMMEndurance, max mission time for URF is 40hrassuming following minion profile:TowinglOhrSearch and rescueICfcrTowinglOhrSafety marginat 2 knots ahead speed, with sea-water at IS"C and maxeconomy of aux power consumption the battery will befully discharged afterComplement, operators' compartment2 oauxiliaries compartmentI r._.divers' compartment2 diversrescue compartment25 survivorsPersonnel transport capsule (PTC)max internal pressureenduranceTrailer with URF. length (ex cab)widthheightmax permissible speed16 50m (Ml I In]4 30m (l«t I in)4-70m (ISft SinMfcm/hr (17ntfllPag* Thirty-eight THE NAVY February/MarctVApr*.February/March/April, 1975THE NAVYPage Thirty-nine