hiiii

C Subs:


Concrete submarines could be the dumbest idea in naval history. Or, they just might give poor nations a way to checkmate their richer, more technologically savvy foes.

Going to sea in what amounts to a hollow rock is actually a well-proven idea. Concrete ships carried cargo during both world wars. College kids hold an annual concrete canoe race. And you'll find concrete barges, houseboats and sailboats in scores of marinas.

Now the Russians want to take the idea to a new low--with concrete submarines. Called C-subs, these 6-man vessels will differ from today's submarines in several important ways. Conventional submarines float until they take on water. C-subs will stay afloat by using four electric turbine pumps to propel water downward. The swiveling nozzles that direct this flow also will enable the C-sub to move.

C-subs will also fight differently. Conventional submarines prowl the seas. On a typical patrol, a C-sub will sink offshore, waiting for enemy ships to pass overhead. Then it will fire vertical-launch torpedoes. Because concrete is strong in compression, C-subs could sink well below the 1800-ft. "crush depth" for steel, according to the British Ministry of Defense (MOD). And on sonar displays, the concrete will be hard to distinguish from a sandy sea bottom.

MOD knows about C-subs because they resemble an idea floated by German marine engineer Heinz Lipschutz in 1957. The Royal Navy wasn't interested then, but MOD thinks that the new Russian C-sub has a feature that poor countries will find hard to resist--rocket-powered torpedoes. Developed in the early 1990s and code-named Shkval--Russian for squall--they can travel through the water at 230 mph, about four times as fast as conventional torpedoes.

Shkval-launching C-subs could shift the balance of naval power, cautions British defense analyst Julian Nettlefold: "With these craft being potentially so cheap to make, there is the danger of countries such as Iran and Libya using them to threaten American carrier groups or to barricade certain ocean routes."

(pakistan could employ these to guard karachi and gwadar from a blocade and make the india navy obsolete, as well as creating a underwater sam like system for water; call it the S2S or Submerged 2 Surface)
http://popularmechanics.com/science/...tb_40074_1.jpg

got that from Pakistanidefence forum.

Anon

"Now the Russians want to take the idea to a new low--with concrete submarines. Called C-subs, these 6-man vessels will differ from today's submarines in several important ways. Conventional submarines float until they take on water. C-subs will stay afloat by using four electric turbine pumps to propel water downward. The swiveling nozzles that direct this flow also will enable the C-sub to move. "

So if one of these things loses propulsion....

Say hello to Davey Jones for me.

Praxus

I'm sure the Russians will claim it has capabilitys far surpassing any American sub and that new Nuclear Submarines with modern weapons are no match for the mighty russian concrete sub!

Jay

C-Sub powered navy cannot fight a blue water or near blue water navy! This thing will lack power, propulsion and fuel to get in to the high seas, thats where most of the action is. And why wud its sonar signature be difficult to obtain? Sure it may not "glow" like a steel structure, but concretes do need steel rods, and I dont think it'll be very difficult to identify it. I can only remember "Red October". Other than that, I dont think any modern navy let alone USN needs to go near the shore to fight the enemy.

May be Ethiopia can use it against Ertriea.

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Praxus

I was just kidding around, my point was that the Russians always release amazingly bloated accounts of the capabilities of their Weapons.

lurker

Never heard about that "concrete" BS from anywhere except "Popular Mechanics".

I wonder where did author got his weed from

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Franco Lolan

US could be engaging in very shallow water in N,W,S of Taiwan. Devs in littoral warfare techn/tactics are needed.