steel tube

in which we put three thousand pound hydraulic pipes,

4,500 pounds per square inch high pressure air,

everywhere you can reach we've got 450 bold AC

power, 250 volt DC power we have

fans and pumps. We armed with the

weapons have almost unimaginable suspected power

we propelled with a nuclear reactor

and then we take it out and intentionally

sinked in salt water. That's not inherently safe.

The latest Los Angeles class fast attack submarine

is limited in its capability by only one thing:

how much food she can carry. Usually its 60 days supplies for her crew of almost

150.

Getting them on board is a tricky maneuver

everything that enters the submarine goes through a narrow

hatch: food, men and weapons.

The low is a sealed world of work, drills,

sleep and more work in a cramped and sunless enviroment.

The Topeka is preparing to go out on patrol

only a handful of people know where she's going

and for how long she may be gone 12 hours

for six months patrolling close to Russia,

or lurking in the Red Sea. This is the world

the submariner regardless of his nationality

The former Soviet Union

still has the largest submarine fleet in the world

though much of it consists of aging diesel electrics

like this Foxtrot.

She is nearing the end of her useful life nonetheless

this patrol could take her far as the Mediterranean

and for six months

Returning from two months sea trials in the Atlantic

is her majesty's submarine (HMS) Unseen. She is also a diesel-electric

and is the Royal Navy's most modern non nuclear submarine.

Submarines have

always inspired both fascination and fear.

their movements remain closely guarded secrets

in the lives at the men on board is a

mystery. They all belong to a closed society

members have an exclusively male club.

Separation is a fact of life

shared by all submariners and their families

want a man goes on patrol he may as well be

on the moon

it's a continual cycle love separation and reunion

some say it's like a divorce every six months

others that it's a honeymoon

Not at myself but my views on the Navy so so as much concerned and

going to see I think to spur love affair pressure on

a marriage. ownership to see the ones I T A

the last minute safety at sea maybe 5-6 days with a little pools

we go out and spend six to eight weeks it's a in a BBC

BBC regular but it all the time you can come to the family car want to them

me there hardly the family hardly the children have to launch

I want to your own they really understand six months

put even have only gone for a week

then are gone for a few days in the store ask mom where's daddy

that sort of thing stand in front window where's daddy when she coming home

was dead you know her dinner he said and

you've seen for I am

he takes any kind

p

i like it

him

when his bold moves away from the dock a submariner enters a world which he

cannot share with anyone

except those around him by tradition

submarine service is the most secretive among the military

in any country

once the topeka reaches deep water of San Diego

she will die entering her true the first dog was frightening I mean a school that

Allah the some dreamworks a

put together without any died when she stood there and the of

afterward and festival out some control thank you this is wrong and I'm

backwards

and that goes down from within actually died after the Dec when your study on

course

merge Fisher static course worshipers I'm

operating a submarine

requires precision teamwork

the captain's orders are repeated and relate several times before being

carried out

it's part of a system of multiple checks

designed to eliminate possibility there merchant 150 be

online be nice

dying way the the Friday

to submerge ship a submariner must do what every surface sailor dreads

take water on board ballast tanks are flooded for extra weight

and diving plane steer the boat below achieving what's called

neutral buoyancy is a fine balance between submerging

and sinking thanks a lot wash nicer

up 33 down

72 technically it would be possible to automate

or any of these functions 7 wanna submarine operators deboers 1500 feet

a minor mechanical problem could push it to crush on him go quicker to identify

emergencies signs computers cannot combat them

as in the cockpit of an aircraft there is no we're on our mistakes

seeing the foxtrot crew taker down you could be forgiven for thinking you are

watching

war two movie but once again rigorous

teamwork is everything more than any other branch

naval service each man relies absolutely on his crewmate to do his job correctly

submariners overall navy's know their lives depend on each other

whoever else maybe friend or foe they share a common enemy

the sub-mariner has only one enemy

and thats all-round him the immensely powerful

and utterly implacable C

the United States nearly suffered a tragic disaster

drama not always written when the submarines responded to the bottom of

the sea

of the North Atlantic historically submarine ing has proved dangerous

business

reflected in the traditional hazardous duty pay

CD even peacetime brings its own disasters

as in the case at the square looks like to help

33 survivors now report everything about it the bench and the prospect of rescue

remains uncertain in most of the waters of the world

you cap recovers submarines as one admiral said

the only point in locating a wreck is to know where to send the flowers

of fun tonight coming home a second miles

attorney want rescue workers proved

act this way why family back toward

to

the safety record a bar submarines

is not perfect in particular we have lost two nuclear submarines over the

course of the program

the thresher 1963 in a scorpion in 1968

were very

significant events an hour program April 1963

a pleasure made her last day and again the watery tomb for a

129 men 8 the thresher was the deepest dive in combat submarine in the world

her loss caused by flooding and a reactor shutdown

was a tragic reminder that submarines operate along

in an environment as unforgiving space

there is no margin for mistakes in a submarine

you're either online or did

for the deck for sports right

bike

reversed course there a unique way by here

alright 25 require

measure analyze a record want

euro responded all my aspect where r

wright 25 degrees or commander injury on skews

putting to Piqua through her paces usually he wants to crew

but not this time among other things

it's a good checked to see if everything stowed correctly

if you're being chased the last thing you want is a tin of baked beans

banging against the whole and giving your position away

they call it angles and angles

to this day the US Navy will only admit

speeds in excess of 20 knots but it's accepted that boats like the Topeka

are capable of nearly twice this speed almost fifty miles per hour submerged

in the underwater games tag played between the superpowers

speed and maneuverability are essential ingredients

vital for outrunning your opponent and hopefully

even his torpedoes largely remain almost two-thirds turns

now let that Gary writer static or smart

you Petty Officer sure

is a nuclear engineer his work spaces

after the cruise mass and occupies almost palpable

it's a classified area where no cameras are allowed

beyond this store is the heart of the Topeka

the nuclear reactor

highly radioactive uranium generates intense heat

which superhits water in a separately both types to produce steam

this drives a turbine to create electricity

which in turn powers the propeller

although nuclear safety is taken very seriously

there's a friendly rivalry about the pros and cons of working on nuclear

as opposed to diesel electric boat's they call as new clips

we call in these woods is this the smaller you get from like a long time

with with the Rio Samaras

mean as you can see over that week we were there