The Trade by Rudyard Kipling - Royal Australian Navy

A Day at Sea - from
the Diary of a Submarine
Captain
I have been in Command of HMAS
COLLINS since 4 April 2012, my third
submarine Command and a submarine
I have served in during three previous
posting tenures over a period of seven
years. As a result I know her pretty well,
my wife might say far too well. COLLINS is
the first and the namesake of her class of
six submarines and carries the appropriate
motto of ‘Vanguard’. At 78 metres and over
3000 tonnes she is large as conventional
submarines go, but her size belies her
stealth and her exceptional manoeuvrability
above and below the water. As she sits
alongside the submarine wharf at the
Western Australian Fleet base a calm
exterior masks the frenetic activity inside as
we prepare to sail on a Monday morning
for deployment. We will be away for roughly
three Months, fairly typical of submarine
deployments but not as long as some.
COLLINS herself spent over six months
away on a deployment to the West Coast of
the USA and Canada in 2000, a memorable
trip for which I was the Executive Officer
(XO) at the time.
As we make final preparations for departure
every one of the 60 Ships’ Company
has a job to do in preparing individual
departments and the boat as a whole for
sea. I am greeted by the gangway sentry
followed by the Officer of the day and from
there a succession of personnel to brief me
on everything from operational preparations
to material issues and anything which may
potentially impact sailing or our employment
over the coming weeks.
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EDITION 2, 2012 20
The crew has undergone a rigorous
preparation in terms of training both ashore
and at sea testing their preparedness to
deal with anything from a major fire to a
torpedo attack. This process takes weeks
of graduated training working closely with
the submarine sea training unit to ensure
the crew and the platform are ready for any
contingency over the coming months. I am
extremely confident that we as a team are
ready to go and the mood on board reflects
this.
As we wave goodbye to family and friends
attention quickly shifts to a safe departure,
pilotage out to sea and finally disappearing
West of Rottnest island to reappear weeks
later. We will miss loved ones and be
incommunicado for the majority of our
time away, with a visit to Singapore mid
deployment providing an opportunity for
respite. Once dived we will stay dived
for the majority of our time away settling
immediately into the daily routine. The only
reference to day or night being the lighting
in the control room at periscope depth,
darkened at night to facilitate periscope
watchkeeping.
With such a vast coastline any deployment
for an Australian Submarine involves long
distances, in this case we will travel over
5000 nautical miles by the time we arrive
home. It takes a submarine with plenty of
range and endurance to do that, particularly
without a nuclear reactor.
by CMDR JJ Cupples, RAN
Living underwater for long periods takes a
particular type of individual, someone who
works well within a relatively small team and
can rise to a challenge while maintaining
a sense of humour. Submariners undergo
suitability testing prior to joining which tends
to ensure the right people are recruited to
the service. That said, my crew is diverse
with a range of different backgrounds and
personalities all of which combine well
together. There is a strong espirit d’ corps
typically among submarine crews and a
highly professional yet informal relationship
required in such a work environment. The
mood is upbeat as we depart particularly
for those younger crew members who have
yet to experience an ‘up top’ deployment
and everyone looks forward to the
challenges ahead. This is one of the best
times as a CO, heading overseas with a
well prepared boat and crew.
Once we have left the confines of the
harbour I head down off the bridge and get
a chance to have a chat with some of the
crew as we head out to the diving position,
the prospects of a ‘run ashore’ in Singapore
are already the subject of discussion. My
Ships’ Company consists of a range of
different ranks and employment categories,
male and female to manage the many
complex onboard systems, everything
from operating and maintaining the various
sensors to running the diesels and other
machinery.
The food onboard is excellent, prepared
by two cooks and a steward in a small but
well equipped galley, four square meals a
day and little opportunity for exercise at sea
ensures that our better halves see more of
us literally when we return alongside. Most
of the crew operate in two watches, six
hours on, six off in a 24 hour rotation. When
off watch the crew can entertain themselves
with movies or music, play station and
similar games or exercise on the limited
equipment carried, I tend to read a lot when
I’m away.
As the Captain I’m the only person onboard
with my own cabin, a ten foot by five foot
space with room for a bunk, a sink, a TV
and a small fold out desk. Most of the
crew sleep in five or six berth cabins which
are pretty cosy with larger communal
areas (messes) for eating, watching TV or
whatever.
The weather as we dive is good with a light
breeze and gentle swell from the South
West, I sign off on the orders to the crew for
the next 24 hours with the focus on settling
into the dived transit profile. Each day at
sea is different and there are many factors
which need consideration in everything that
we do, some of which include the weather
and its effect on the boat, the nature and
depth of the water we are operating in,
surface contacts in the area, biologics
(whales and fish) and many others. These
will influence how we operate, how fast
we go, what depth we maintain, when we
snort 1 (to charge the battery) and for how
long. In a three dimensional environment
there is a lot to consider.
Getting the boat underwater and heading
North is a good feeling, back in her natural
environment the boat is at home and will be
our home for the next few months. Living
and working in a submarine is challenging
but also extremely rewarding and everyone
onboard is here because they want to be,
doing an important job well.
Also, answers to a couple of
questions you may have always
wanted to ask ….
How long do you get to be on land after
deployment?
Normally we will enjoy a couple of weeks
alongside following a deployment, usually
a short self maintenance period and an
opportunity to take some leave.
How often on average do you talk with
your commanders back in Australia?
Not often once we have sailed. We tend
not to transmit once we are away for
security reasons. We can receive messages
via signal at sea regularly and we have
a system whereby we can receive and
sometimes send messages from and to
family through our headquarters which
works well. We currently don’t have access
to other forms of two way communication
such as email although this will probably
change in the future.
Do you get claustrophobic ever or miss
the open air? What do you miss most?
No, not claustrophobic, but you miss the
ability to do normal everyday activities and
FEATURE
your personal space is limited. Aside from
missing family and friends it’s difficult to
keep fully abreast of what’s happening in
the world, aside from the occasional news
broadcast and that can sometimes be
frustrating. I missed the Sydney Olympics
back in 2000 and ended up with about 50
tape cassettes from people sending me
different events. Not quite the same if you
know the results.
What do you think is the most common
misconception about submarines?
Probably simple things such as the idea
that you can look out a porthole and see
the fish or that we go around pinging away
on our sonar as you see in the movies.
Submarines don’t have windows and in
any case its pretty black in the depths of
the ocean, sonar for submarines is largely
a passive tool that we listen out on for
ships and other submarines. Pinging or
going active on our sonar would give the
submarines position away.
What changes have you seen during
your time as Captain?
Plenty of changes for the better, particularly
in looking after our people. There are a
number of fairly recent initiatives which
ensure a better work life balance for the
crew, less work when we are alongside and
more flexibility to do professional courses or
take leave even with the boat at sea.
1 Snort – drawing air through a mast at periscope depth
to enable the running of diesel generators whilst dived.
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THE TRADE
EDITION 2, 2012