ANGLE ON THE BOAT - The angle of the keel from the horizontal.

ANGLES AND DANGLES - A submariners' term for a critical exercise that usually takes place right after a nuclear submarine leaves on a patrol. Once in deep water, the sub dives deep and then comes back up, both at a steep angle. Anything that is not properly secured will fall down, making some noise. These are known as dangles, and they must be corrected before a sub is fully rigged for silent running.

BATTLE SURFACE - A surfacing operation during which the submarine is made buoyant by blowing suitable tanks and then held down by the bow and stern planes and then held down by the bow and stern planes and motor power until she leaps upward. Submarines handled in this manner come up flat or nearly flat, instead of bow first, and suddenly.

BLOW THE MAIN BALLAST TANKS - To blow the sea water out of the main ballast tanks so that the submarine can come up and float on top of the water.

BOAT - Submariners call their craft a "boat" although the modern submarine is big enough to be called a ship. (The Soviet Submarine, Julliett 484, anchored in Providence is over 300 feet long).

BOW - The front of the submarine.

BOW AND STERN PLANES - Guiding fins that determine the submarine's angle of dive and permit the submarine to stay at any desired depth under water.

BROACH - To surface without intent. To stick the bow out of the water when rising to periscope depth.

BULKHEADS - The walls of the submarine.

CAPTAIN - Any officer of any rank in command of the boat.

CHIEF OF THE BOAT (THE CHIEF) - The chief petty officer in charge of personnel and senior member of the enlisted men (the crew). A most important member of the submarine organization.

CIRCULAR RUN - Sometimes a torpedo's steering mechanism will go wrong and the torpedo will run in circles. The sub that fired it has to maneuver fast to get out of its way.

CONNING TOWER - Where the captain stays to direct a submerged attack.

CRACK THE HATCH - Open the top hatch slightly to let the air pressure vent out of the submarine.

CRASH DIVE - Getting the submarine beneath the surface of the sea as fast as possible to escape an enemy plane or warship. A term generally out of use among submariners inasmuch as most all dives today are crash dives.

"DEEP SIX" - Means six fathoms deep (36 feet). Used as a slang expression for throwing something overboard. "We gave it the deep six."

DEPTH CHARGE - A fearsome weapon used against submarines. A high explosive in a watertight container shaped like a garbage can. It is dropped on the submerged submarine by a destroyer or other anti-submarine vessel. The United States now has atomic depth charges.

DOWN THE THROAT - The most difficult of torpedo shots. Instead of firing at the side of a ship (a large target), the sub's fish are shot at the very narrow bow of the enemy as it heads directly toward the submarine.

FISH - A torpedo. A self-propelled weapon powered by a turbine engine and shot from a torpedo tube with compressed air.

FLOOD DOWN - Fill ballast tanks until the decks are awash.

FLOOD THE MAIN BALLAST TANKS - Filling these tremendous tanks with sea water makes the submarine heavier and permits it to sink below the surface of the sea.

GANOMIE - A strange creature who fouls things up - a seagoing Gremlin.

GENERAL ALARM - An electric bell that sends officers and men to battle stations.

GREEN BOARD - When the hull opening indicator lights on the Xmas tree are all green, it is safe for the submarine to dive.

HEAD - A highly complicated toilet.

INTERCOM - The loudspeaker system of the submarine.

JURY RIG - Temporary repairs of damage to a ship (normally at sea).

"KINGSTON" - A particular valve from the bottom of a ballast tank to the sea. The Soviets "copied" this technology. Their submarines, to include the Juliette 484, also used Kingston valves and even labeled them as "Kingstons" on their submarines in the Cyrillic alphabet.

PERISCOPE DEPTH - The depth at which a submarine can run underwater and still be able to raise its "scope" above the level of the sea to take a look (48-68 feet).

"THE PICKLE" - The periscopes on the Juliette 484 and United States submarines operate with electricity. Aboard United States submarines, the "pickle" is the switch that raises and lowers the scopes.

PORT - The left side of the submarine. (Easy to remember: "port" and "left" both have four letters.)

PRESSURE HULL - The submarine's internal hull which is cylindrical and built to withstand heavy pressure, as against the thinner external hull which holds the ballast tanks.

RIG FOR DEPTH CHARGE - All openings between compartments are closed off so that if a depth charge causes a leak in one, the water will not flow into the rest of the submarine and sink it.

SCOPE - Short for periscope; the eyes of the submarine. There are two on each boat. They can be raised above the water while submerged and permit the submarine to see without being seen.

SCREWS - Propellers.

SPREAD - A number of torpedoes fired at the same time but at different angles.

STARBOARD - The right side of the submarine.

STERN - The rear of the submarine.

TAKE THE CONN - Take control of the ship's movements.

TDC - Torpedo Data Computer. A mechanical "brain" which helps the submarine figure out the exact direction to fire the torpedo.

TIN CAN - A destroyer.

TRIM DOWN - Reduce buoyancy until the ship is running virtually awash.

WARDROOM - A compact, furnished little room.

WARHEAD - The explosive part of the torpedo.

XMAS TREE - An electronic indicator in the control room. This device shows by means of red and green lights (hence its name) whether hull openings and tank vents are open or closed.

Last Updated:
2/8/03