USS Tucson Sailaway
USS TUCSON SAILAWAY
by Frank Griffith
| We, Frank Griffith, Loinse Renneckar and leroy Kochert just returned from
a 4 day trip to Hawaii where we were guests of the US Navy aboard the USS Tucson, a Los
Angeles class submarine . It displaces 6200 tons with a length of 360' and a beam of 35'.
We departed Phoenix on Thursday 10/1/98 aboard a Navy Gulfstream executive jet, with 23
other people from Phoenix. We flew to North Island in San Diego where we refueled to do
the leg to Hickam in HI. The jet has spaces for 25 passengers, and we were full, thus the
refueling stop was necessary. We then flew at 43,000ft. to Hawaii and were taken to our
hotels in Honolulu. It was a super flight where one was able, in fact invited, to visit
the cockpit and talk with the pilots. They would review all of the instruments and discuss
their previous trips. This plane and the crew are on call to ferry VIP types all over the
world. As I write this they are on their way to Singapore and they were in Europe last
month. They have a lot of experience being passenger friendly. It is operated by the guard
unit in Hawaii. Our pilot is a captain for United Airlines and flies a 747 on the routes
from SF to Seoul, Hong Kong and Japan. On Friday morning at 6:30 we left our hotel for the
trip to Pearl Harbor. There were at least 12 submarines in the port, more subs than any
other type of boat. We got to the USS Tucson and were welcomed aboard by Captain D. Murphy
,his fellow officers and the COB (Chief of the Boat). They really made you feel welcome.
We descended into the boat and were directed to the dining area. This area seats about 30
people and with our hosts we filled it. The captain had a welcome speech and introduced
all of the officers and chiefs who would escort us and be our guides for the day. On
behalf of the Tucson Sailing Club I presented our burgee to the captain. He was unaware
that the USS Tucson was a member of the TSC, as were other crew and officers. He did
appreciate the burgee and said it would be flown from the mast when surfaced. We were
divided into groups of four with an escort. We three TSC members and Debbie, from Phoenix,
were a group. After the introduction and some guidelines, each group proceeded on a guided
tour of the sub. We were underway prior to beginning the scheduled tour. Our group, two at
a time, went immediately to the bridge, wing, where we were outside the boat and took
pictures. The TSC burgee was flying immediately below the Stars and Stripes and that was a
beautiful sight. I have several pictures of the TSC burgee flying on a nuclear submarine
and my recollection is that it is a pretty nifty thing to see. It is quite crowded on the
bridge, Lee and I were sharing a small space with one of the officers who was a lookout
while the Capt. was standing on top of the boat. We left the bridge and L~Louise and
Debbie were next to enjoy the view and experience. The next stop was the sonar room, where
a petty officer with many years experience explained the operations and had us put on
earphones to get a live demo of the operation. We could detect a large ship in the
distance and hear his propeller turning. We could define his direction from our location
and the rpm of his prop. It was quite a show. We were unhurried and stayed for a half hour
or so to get a better understanding of the responsibilities of this part of the crew. They
are the eyes of the ship while it is submerged. We heard from several of the crew how much
trouble was caused by sail boats. They are particularly sensitive to our silence. These
comments came from several operating areas of the boat. The next stop was the torpedo room
where we witnessed a "water slug" simulated shot of a torpedo. We were carried
through the entire launch mode with a loud noise associated with the water thrust
necessary to project the torpedo from the launch tube. It was loud. They have room for 24
torpedoes and/or Tomahawk missiles in the torpedo room. The boat also has 6 vertical silos
that accommodate Tomahawk missiles. The chief in this area explained how unique the
situation was when the boat was in the Arabian Gulf. He noted that the USS Tucson was able
to deliver a Tomahawk missile which is made in Tucson. He said that the boat motto while
they were in the gulf was "From our desert to yours". He did not say that the
Tucson delivered the missiles to Afghanistan. We also toured the auxiliary engine room.
There are batteries that are 5 high and weigh many tons that hold the reserve power
necessary to operate the boat for 6 hours should there be a problem with the reactor.
There is also a 15' long diesel engine that is used to keep the batteries charged, if
necessary. I guess it was about now that we were directed to go to the dining area and
have lunch. The "El Charro", a local Tucson restaurant, is noted in the dining
room with a plaque and has several reminders that the boat belongs to Tucson. These
include a series of stained glass panels depicting desert scenes common around Tucson. The
waiters wear smocks to keep their uniform clean. The embroidery on the smock reads"
El Charro Downunder". They really try to identify with Tucson. We had a Mexican
dinner that would challenge any such dinner in a Tucson restaurant. The chef got a well
deserved round of applause. After lunch Louise stated that a bit of chocolate would sure
taste good. Her back was to the table where a 30" by 20" 4" thick chocolate
cake was waiting to be served. We then proceeded to the control room where we would do a
series of "Angles and Dangles". There are two steering positions in the boat,
the port station controls the stern dive planes and the starboard position controls the
bow planes and the rudder. We were going to be cruising between 250' and 600' doing turns,
dives and ascents. It was much like an acrobatic plane having fun in the sky. Each of us had a turn, several turns in
fact, at the controls. The Capt. would give an order to change direction and it would be
repeated down the line until the driver was told to do the maneuver. We would dive at 15
degrees and then turn up at 15 degrees. We would turn right and left as if we were trying
to ditch the cops. It was exciting to envision what was going on. While in the drivers
chair it was not readily obvious that the dive angle was as steep as it really was. When
Lee relieved me at the helm, I almost fell on my face due to the angle. NOTE- The sub does
not have an autopilot The Capt. ordered us to do a couple of dive-ascent pairs at 30
degrees, however we were unable to achieve beyond about 22 degrees. He concluded that we
were going too slow. He then increased the speed to "Full Ahead", then we did a
true 30 degree maneuver. It was certainly a noticeable difference. We came to periscope
height once to clear the area. When ascending the periscope looks straight up to clear the
area above the boat, i.e. look for sailboats. After we are at periscope depth , and no
more, the Capt. and another officer scan the area for other boats. We spot a trawler about
a mile away and his position is noted. We then dive to 400' and do an emergency ascent.
All of the water in the forward ballast compartment is evacuated with high pressure air.
We rise with added buoyancy in the bow and power to cover the 400' in 20 seconds. We erupt
from the water like a broaching whale, halfwit of the water. You can feel the acceleration
on the way up and the negative gravity at the top of the arc. The Capt. said that the
fellow in the trawler probably wouldn't forget it either. We immediately submerged again.
It was better than an "E" ticket ride at Disney World. The Capt. related a story
about some of the entertainment aboard, specifically the car races down one of the
walkways. Each section of the ship would enter a small car type vehicle in something akin
to the soapbox derby. There were entrants from: officers, nubs, torpedo room,
communication, navigators, sonar and kitchen sections. When aligned for the start of the
race the Capt. would order the boat to dive or ascend, thus giving a sloped track. The
kitchen crew won, their boat was made of ice and had pieces of potatoes stuck in the
position as drivers. They slid to victory quite easily. What a way to use a nuclear
submarine. Another pastime enjoyed by off duty personnel is to slide, in a controlled
manner, down the passageways while at a steep angle. We also did this a few times. I was
interested in knowing the frequency range wherein an object could be detected. I was
wanting to know for the purpose of sounds on a sail boat and wanting to be visible. The
Capt. said that if he told me, he would have to kill me.! suggested that he tell Leroy,
who was standing next to me. I didn't find out. We went to the surface and proceeded to
Pearl Harbor and our mooring. No one else wanted to go to the bridge so Leroy and I were
on the bridge for the hour it took to come back to our starting point. This was a terrific
trip and the three of us look forward to presenting the trip to the club at the November
meeting. We will be presenting a series of slides and a video of the boat and crew. We
also purchased several items from the ships store that we will resell to the members who
want such items from the boat. We in the TSC have an opportunity to connect to a fine
bunch of people and they are most hospitable. I will keep in contact with the Capt. and
bring you news of their whereabouts as I know it to be.
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