USS Seawolf: Is This The World's Most Advanced Nuclear Submarine? | Super Structures | Progress
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- čas přidán 7. 02. 2023
- Mark Hamill provides a fascinating insider look at the USS Seawolf (SSN-21), one of the world's most remarkable structures. Called "the most complex military machine of the 20th Century," the $2.3 billion Seawolf submarine is a prototype for the U.S. Navy's undersea future.
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Glorious bit of 90s nostalgia warporn narrated by Mark Hamill
I worked on this bad girl at EB. This sub was a nightmare to build and I don't expect we'll see anymore but the 3 we have currently.
Very sad to admit, you are correct!
With the current state of the Global Politics, we currently need 20 or 30 of the Sea Wolf Class, Fast Attack Submarines!
"Seawolf" is the most badass name ever given to a warship, ever.
The "Seawolf" was a diesel electric from WW2 and highly decorated!
It's good, yes, but I would offer 'Dreadnaught' as a solid competitor.
I’m waiting for a ship to be named USS FAFO.
Ah, my favorite submarine ever. Beautiful piece of engineering and plain old American badassery!
I worked on SSN 575 and SSN 571 Nautilus as a pipe fitter at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo California where it was decommissioned. Ocean Engineering used this boat for special use and that’s where I worked. I had a Top Secret clearance as all did working on this platform so I can not say what we did and even I din’t know anything about it’s mission. Modular construction did not exist so we constructed every piece of pipe by hand as did all the other trades. We did excellent construction at every step and everything we did was inspected. It was a great time in my career. Today the Ballistic Nuclear Submarine is the most powerful weapons platform on earth, I call it, The Doomsday Machine.
Darn..... I wish I could see a structure like a modern sub up close. I am a little jealous to be honest.
@@NickanM You truly can't appreciate them until your standing in front of and in them.
On April 10, 1963, I was in the 5th grade.PERMIT. a friend classmate was doing a cross-sectional view of the USS George Washington ballistic missile submarine on the bulletin board in the back of our classroom. Both of our dads worked on submarines in Groton, CT. That morning, on April 10th, my friend came to school, and he told me that the USS Thresher SSN-593 was overdue at returning to Port. I was saddened by her loss. 8 years later, I was assigned to the USS PERMIT SSN-594. My interest in submarines began in 1961 after seeing the movie Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea. I'm proud to have served on the USS Permit SSN-594.
My father was a nuke on 575.... did some crazy things that are still classified to this day.
I had four friends on the USS Seawolf SSN-575 in 1971
WW2 Germany did the first module build of submarines. Funny thing is there slave labor made slight changes to random parts that forced the final fitter made corrections and repairs before they could fit the sections together.
It's a bit different building technology on a starvation diet.
I implemented CAD/CAM at DuPont. Our construction rework rate went from 20% to 1.5%.
And maintenance times most likely increased because as a mechanic, sometimes packaging things too tight they don't take into account the physical size and access required to repair/replace parts. As mechanics we hate engineers.
MAD mutually Assured Destruction. This thing is serious. The most sophisticated in the world. Now I understand why having these is important , it can be a game changer. They can destroy a surface fleet in stealth and then blast a tomahawk missile with mirv and blow stuff off the map.
engineering at it’s finest hats off to the engineers
Yeah, CD-ROM and eliminating paper for floppy disks. So cutting edge. What a load of crap. If these systems were designed and built properly they wouldn't be running the actually real and utterly pathetic "Windows for Warships" as their newest tech.
@@thomaswade3072 LOL no sh!t though.
Until it gets hit by Chinese supersonic missle
It is very impressive
@@michaelleggieri7135Russia/ Ukraine war shows us everything blows up if you shoot it.
The place I used to work machined the propellers for Seawolf. Used to have the T-shirt but haven't seen it in years.
Saw the interior of a even newer submarine and the wheels and 2+ men used to dive/steer the sub has been replaced with one man and a laptop. He simply inserts or clicks the desired action and the sub does the rest. The cool periscope mechanism you raise/lower turn etc is now a X-box controller. No nuclear engineering degree needed, only X-box EXPERIENCE.
Anyone read the book Blind Man’s Bluff? It’s about the history of the US submarine program and I highly recommend it!!
This is so cool!! I just love learning about technology!!
IT'S AN INSPIRING MACHINE and Narrated by Mark Hamil, now that was a surprise but he was really good at it.
Its a display of how inept military vehicle planning is. They went from hundreds to 3. Because it's a flaming piece of shit to build.
Just think how inspiring it would be if it was designed by Disney Imagineers and narrated by Mickey Mouse!
The Seawolf Class needs to go on a war time crash build program of no less that 15 more attack subs in 6-7 years. Looks like they will be needed sooner rather than later in Asia and they give capabilities other attack subs do not have.😊
The Seawolf Class is history; DoD has moved on from Seawolf to the less expensive Virginia Class submarine. We built 3 Seawolves, and have since built 21 Virginia Class boats. Less capable, but also much less expensive - and where submarines are concerned, more is better - much better.
It's about coverage, not capability; these are attack subs, whose job it is - predominantly - to take out enemy shipping with Mk 48 torpedoes, and land-based military facilities with Tomahawk cruise missiles. They have other roles, but that's the primary reason we build them.
Between the 21 Virginias, the 40 688 class subs - 30 of which have Vertical Launch Systems for Tomahawks, and the 3 SSGNs - converted Ohio-class ballistic missile subs now equipped for an attack class role - we are on a major treadmill building the foundation of our anti-Russian fleet, and anti-Chinese fleet, control apparatus. With the buffoons currently running Washington, we may soon need them.
My father worked at EB for 35 years, he was a project manager on the weapons systems for the boomers and fast attacks. Very interesting in the multitude of the various attack and insertion characteristics of subs. Correct EB secured a huge contract to build the VA class and certain aspects were carried over from the Seawolf class. As you noted the Seawolf was very expensive to build. He used to go out on the sea trials for the subs before they fully handed them over to the Navy. Some of the stories he has told me are riveting. Lot's of stuff he could never share because of the classified nature.
@@MrGsteele ❤q😂😂😂😂😂upi
The Seawolf class remains the gold standard even 30 yrs later. Just spare no expense, update the stealth design and build another 15 of these exemplary boats
Omg yes, because without the US Military everywhere, America cannot function. How on earth did America go from being a bunch of farmland and wilderness in 1776... To the richest nation on earth by 1900? We didn't even have soldiers and sailors obsessed with being everywhere, all the time. Yet somehow it happened anyway. Magic.
At one point Hamil equates how many stacks of floppy discs? Oh this must be old 😅😅
d got ❤ m S😅
I developed an engineering procedure to weld attach the two main pieces of the steam generator at the dock instead of inland and then ship to dock.
My great uncle, Donald Joseph Naze, perished on the USS Seawolf (SSN-197) during WW2. The sub was sunk by probable freindly fire claiming all on board.
Sorry to hear that about the FF, but those were heroes
SS-197. There were no nuclear submarines during WW II.
@@GH-oi2jf Same ship name given to other ships when no longer in service. A new Ford class carrier under construction now is the Enterprise. The Big E was our first nuclear powered carrier commissioned in 1960.
What about the ohio class vs seawolf?
Back when TLC wasn't reality shows
Love to all our military..may God protect USA..and our familys
If God is protecting us, what do we need these for?
What's the invisible man in the sky got to do with anything?
God is in the Air Force, he is also “All Knowing” 😂
You guys have my respect.......thank yous all........amen
dibber32
Seawolf, she’s a very quiet one. I can only imagine the true damage she can do.
This is ancient technology...
Not as ancient as you believe. The current VA fast attacks replaced the Seawolf. Lot's of characteristics are taken from the Seawolf.
Our military machine can't hold a feather to China ! It is ancient tech! Planned obsolescence!
I'm a fitter. I didn't work on any projects at this facility. Newport News back in the day structures are put together in assemblies and subassemblies
Reference the Virginia class block 5 to see the latest US attack sub. The Sea Wolf successor.
I used to take the subway to work. God Bless Submariners.
Fantastic!
Yeah great book!
Floppy disks the height of the world trade center
My phone has that memory
You generally cruise at about 60% power, at full tilt she can do 45-50 but it's not recommended to run like that for long.
When building them they had issues with material on the other hull sheering off. Not to mention the highly classified speed and depth.
45-50? Holy...$#÷&!
@@AluminataI believe it went closer to 60.
@chadjackson5113 that is a truly insane power train!
It’s an insane level of hull design that’s capable of being pushed that fast. However, a large submarine going at full tilt will leave a wake in the sea surface. US has satellites to look for these wakes.
@39:40
I find it interesting that today everyone says the Hunley sank the Housatonic, yet this documentary and others say it only inflicted minor damage. So which is it?
The Huniey DID sink Housatonic, well documented, but never came back. Lost with all crew. Had sunk in shallow water with her crew during trials. Poor design and concept. Has been raised and is in a museum
Also, the torpedo was not towed behind but was mounted on a spar attached to the bow. Whoever wrote this didn't do their homework.
Great video gents
This program (Seawolf) has as been around for 4 decades.
The most advanced when she was launched... Miles ahead of everything existed..
I knew Frank Holland. He was an Engineer aboard the Nautilus, when it sailed under the North Pole. He passed away, abput ten years ago.
I also met the retired and elderly General Electric Engineer who designed the electrical control system for its reactor.
I've been in the Reactor Compartment of the Nautilus. Oh its tight. Even dusted off the display dummies. All things Nautilus are cool.
@@lawrenceleverton7426 I'm sure it is. Frank told mr about the issues on their shakedown cruise. He and another crew member created the postal stamp to mark a batch of mail, as they went under the North Ole. After his time in the Navy, he taught Nuclear Safety.
That order could skyrocket if a global conflict breaks
Well, battle maneuvers are a feature that might not sit well with commercial transactions modes viability. I still accept the ice burg and sea creatures theory of submarines. Reff: Titanic.
it is just not the same without seeing depth charge mortars exploding all around the submarine.
With maritime chokepoints like the red sea rn, we should move from commercial shipping to submarining. At least in disputed waters. Maybe even have like a navy program where we could quickly be refitted for war if needed
I analyze steel for scrap brokers and was wondering what was up with the HY 100 I was finding. Have lots of HY 80 and HY 140
HY-80 and HY-100 are both weldable grades, whereas the HY-130 is generally considered unweldable. HY-80 is considered to have good corrosion resistance and has good formability to supplement being weldable.
What year was this film made?
Find out about the predacessor, SSN 575
“NURO SEAWOLF”
THAT WAS A BAD-ASS BOAT
This is the most sophisticated submarine of the 1990s. They even have manuals on CD-ROM lol
Lol my Dad worked at EB for 35 years (PM weapons). I remember the binders he would come home with.
@@chadjackson5113 thats awesome haha. Yeah I was a Stryker ICV driver in Iraq, I actually have 2 binders just for that vehicle haha.
Yep CD-ROM's were cutting edge technology in the early 90's before DVD's came out. I was still listening to a cassette player when this sub was depeloped.
Why do military videos always have the best drums?
The floppy disk reference was a terrible way to state the complexity of the submarine lmao.
I was a nuclear engineer in the US Navy. I truly think Hyman G. Rickover may have been one of the greatest engineers of the 20th century, if not the greatest. Yeah, I'm an ex-nuke Rickover fanboy, and unashamed. My hero was a Jewish mad scientist Admiral who somehow managed to convince Congress that it was safe to operate a nuclear reactor underwater, and then delivered on it. I am jealous that they now have all the manuals available in digital format. I know it's not a good look. But there were freeking literally tons of manuals on everything everywhere. You could stumble around in engineering, touch something and chances are there was either a manual for that if you didn't lose a finger, or there may have been a manual even if you did lose a finger. But my point isn't fingers, it is the manuals this metaphorical finger fingered - that is "fingered" in the context of pointing at things with manuals - with the "manuals" being the point.
I'm trying to so there were so many manuals. It's so cool that's now not on big physical paper binders. While having a lot of paper, also had other materials, because binders require other materials (including metal, which to be clear, is not paper) to properly function as minders. Although I do not recall there was a manual on the binders - they just went wild and figured nuclear engineers would derive the engineering that goes into the construction of a binder and intuitively grasp how to operate the binder - even if the binder comprised of more materials than paper. But that also is not my point, my point is the mass. They took up space and were heavy. I like manuals - I just like manuals more when they are digital so weigh nothing - much less than the something it was - which was a lot.
@kenashworth7672 I am also an ex-nuc. I was an RO on a SSN 637 class out of Pearl from 76-79. I remember when we would get back to port having to use some big mid 1970's copy machine at some office on shore, using ream after ream of paper, to make x-number of copies of the latest set of revisions of the nuc manuals. Then go back to the boat and spend hours updating all the binders back aft. I am also a Rickover admirer and highly recommend Polmar & Allen's book: "Rickover". The joke back when I was in was that the "G" of his middle names was for God. I spent much of my early 20s: underway, underwater, on watch.
I was a nuc officer on USS Flasher (SSN 613) from 1966 to 1971. Understand your point here. If all systems failed….we could probably sink somebody by hitting them with RPM manuals. Each one of the things weighed `5-6 lbs.
The USS Jimmy Carter is the “Seawolf Class” that technically doesnt exist. No “official” home port, mission, and no contact outside except for the officers once underway.
8:53
The first shots fired in the gulf war were by the assets of Operation Secret Squirrel out of Barksdale.
596 BS
Excalibur
Studying the movement of the sea feelin this creature pull in deepth
Can be interested on signing ❤🎉😮
Anyone out there know anything about the protruding knob forward of the tower and near the prow?
submaine ❤ (intro slide typo) …
It's old now but must still be comparable to the LHC. Or the latest iteration of it.
Its still way ahead of the Virginia class even now
Submaine? I think you have a typo in your screen
You didn't see anything... 👀
Mark Hamill 😁
You noticed that as well!
0:11 Can you imagine being in the sub crew during a rapid surfacing where the bow launches over 60ft above the water, and then falls the height of a 8 story building back below the waves !?!
While this sort of looks like a whale playing on the surface, you have to realize the scale of that sub about 40ft tall (nearly 15m without conning tower) and the nose went way farther into the air, then splashed down to submerged level again.
HOLD ON !! That's taking every person and machine on a wild roller coaster ride.
Tie EvErYtHiNg down (especially the torpedos)... tell the kitchen NoT to be cooking/serving anything at the time, and hope nobody was trying to use the bathroom.
How does a nuclear reactor like being tossed into the air, then dropped five stories or more while still generating about 80% of its rated power ??
( I guess they build 'em Navy tough )
Shame the program was cancelled with only 3 built.
The 3 Built helped in the designing of the Va Class. And they are awesome. Cap't Dave said the Seawolf was so fast things fall off. Believe him.
This is true my father worked at EB. The issue was the outer hull covering on the initial build it would sheer off. It was the fastest sub in the world. The cost was the reason they only built a few.
@@lawrenceleverton7426 The Seawolf was quieter at top speed than the Va class sitting in the harber. It's in a class of its own. Exceptionally well designed and built.
Not trying to nit- pick here , but speeding past all those ships lost , and fading beyond readable names , seems really disrespectful of all those who perished . Just my opinion.
To God be the glory; great things he hath done.
Oh, from 1975 to 1985, I helped build the Seawolf, Los Angeles, and Ohio class submarines.
Soy ex police Venezuela me gusta vida military la AMO...hasta morir los milutares son hombre del Bien cumplir su promesa .anen
Yes, Admiral Rickover, I was the one who ate your prized seedless grapes from the officer's mess. They were delicious.
Seawolf-class nuclear submarines like the USS Connecticut use passive sonar to identify and locate targets. Passive sonar is highly covert and has long detection range and it is the preferred way for submarine underwater detection in peace-time operations and daily sailing.
When it comes to offensive maneuvers or navigating in environments with complex bottom topography, submarines would change to positive sonar for detection. But some recent analysis suggest that submarines would also use passive sonar to cover their tracks sometimes,
Lived on a 688 for 3 years. Straight up the most broken boat on the east coast. Worst time of my life.
Unfortunately these were designed using early CAD/CAM. Many parts were over designed and almost impossible to manufacture. With each unit becoming almost a prototype.
Sure doesn't look impossible to me, lol
What makes you think military-industrial complex engineering facilities stopped designing when the prototype part was made? I've seen instances where fasteners went through 25 revisions after release. Never mind electronics going from SMT (surface mount technology) PC boards to stand-alone integrated devices. Check out how many transistors you can get on the head of a pin. Ever hear of Moore's Law? New advances in AI computer design are making it obsolete. And nowadays, virtually no discrete part is impossible to manufacture. The biggest drawback is the cost of desirable material in quantity (think graphene in large sheets). Another drawback is the current level of available technology, and the reluctance to invest in exploiting new avenues of thought. AutoCAD is a great program, but it isn't the program of choice for high-tech design.
The opener for the video says it all: We have the THICKEST, the LONGEST, the BEST, the FASTEST, and we have the MOST BEAUTIFUL submarine in the world. It can do things others can't... A typical American reportage.
America yea
How does navy select personnel for submarines?
19:20 Seeing dolphin there round 54kmh, but nuclear reactor, supposedly more than 150kmh 😁
11:47 we now know if a force makes threats about knowing where your at or that they know your on your way it’s just a scare tactic. It’s really the force making the threat that’s scared. But those times were different times yeah it was modern warfare for the time but the ground war was still fought the same as it was for the past 500 plus years
Brand new thirty years ago? Am I correct. Maybe that's where they grew the inspiration for a name that TV show airwolf
My brother was a medic on a nuclear powered sub off the sea of Japan when it's nuclear power was , in Jeperty and was in Need of being shut down !!! He ,and 6 other sea mate's volunteered to shut down the Reactor , least they not be able to Surface !!! ,& They ,weren't supposed to be thier ether !!! They were given an estimate on How long each man had to live ! They Saved the mission !, but ! ,They All were Only given 7 , year's to live !!! , all 6 of the other men died !!! , & my brother was operated on to install a machine into his body to keep him Alive ! I just got him Help to be in another vet Hospital in UTAH ! , cause the veteran's Hospital wouldn't help Help him ! ,His wife fell down in front of him ,with a cartiack & died ,later the next day ! That's What you get ! For serving your country !!! . IT SUCK'S !!! THANKS AMEN !
So many people commenting here seem to find documentaries like this, which showcase state-of-the-art technology at the time, hysterically funny. Perhaps they lack the awareness to see that today's state-of-the-art technology may seem just as 'laughable' 30 years from now. They also seem to forget that these systems don't stand still but are constantly being upgraded.
Today's technology didn't spring into being out of nowhere. It's the result of decades, even hundreds of years, of technological innovation and evolution.
I visited all Submarine every parts when I was working as Field Marshall in Submarine fleet.
Why is your video almost identical to the one Spark created and posted 3 years ago?
US Navy could use some replacement sub tenders.
Upk wala jo buta raha tha wo yahi to thi or uss Virginia
Liquid plasma display screens. A very old technology. LED or OLED of several types now instead.
Seawolf submarine 7:21 TV
😢
Ssbns and fast attacks ssns
The deterrent that keeps the reds at bay
Narrated by Mark Hamill?
This production is owned byu NatGeo and not licensed to this channel.
The liberty ship but didn't build his sub modular
It's 2023...let's see how much footage is from 2010 or earlierk....
The only thing about watching older documentaries is hindsight I guess. I’ve watched a few videos like this and they all mention the world trade centre. Oof 😥
It was the tallest building in the world at this point. Definitely america
Focus on saving the planet not blowing it up
Is Mark Hamill from Star Wars really narrating this?
Sleep in the torpedo tubes, what...?
could possibly go wrong?
If even someone talking to loud can get a sub found it make's me wonder. How long till sub crew's learn signlaguage. The language that move's at the speed of light not the speed of sound.
Maybe the best submarine was the first nuclear powered submarine, The Nautilus. All that have come after are the result of its development. G-d bless the men and women who have the responsibility to protect us and our country.
7:16 I disagree. Those were the most dangerous times in world history not just American. A nuclear war wouldn’t just affect American soil and Soviet soil. That would be a world wide catastrophe.
This looks like its from 1998
Kind of interesting that the information about thresher is totally false
Luke Skywalker!!!
*Film date - 1997*
It makes no difference whatsoever how advanced a weapon is if you don't have the best people/ person trained to use it.. When it comes to submarines the Royal Navy are no 1. All the very best USN submarine Captains have training by the Royal Navy, fact, whether you like it or not.
The best US army in the world
Amen lord 🙏🔎👀🙈
Excuse me but as I recall we are in the 21st Century.
Is it as good as a uboat