SONAR SYSTEM A system of hydrophone/transducer arrays, computers, and displays enabling a submarine to determine what is in the water surrounding it, including other ships.
SONIC VELOCITY The speed of sound waves.
SONOBUOYS Small objects dropped from, ASW aircraft that float on the surface and listen to the ocean below, then transmit that information up to the aircraft. A method of giving an aircraft sonar capability.
SOPA Senior Officer Present Afloat or Senior Officer Present Ashore.
SORTIE An exodus of a group of ships from a port or anchorage.
SOSUS Sound Surveillance System. A network of underwater passive hydrophones and data relay cables buried in secret locations in the Atlantic to track enemy submarines. Triangulation gives enemy submarine positions accurate enough to know their approximate location but not accurate enough to fire on them, even with nuclear weapons.
SOUND SIGNATURE The collection of characteristic sounds, both broadband and narrowband tonals, that uniquely identify a class of ship, and sometimes, the exact ship itself.
SOUNDING The depth beneath the keel as measured by the fathometer.
SOURCE RANGE CHANNEL SELECTOR SWITCH A rotary switch on the Reactor Plant Control Panel that energizes or deenergizes certain nuclear instruments and turns on or off some reactor protection circuits.
SPEED OF ADVANCE (SOA) The speed the ship plans to go during transit. Also the speed of the PLAIN or box.
SPHERICAL ARRAY A sphere in the nosecone of a submarine fitted with transducers over most of its surface to be able to hear in all directions (except the baffles). Useful since it not only tells the bearing to an incoming noise, but also its D/E (deflection/elevation). The D/E can give clues that the sound is relayed via bottom bounce or surface bounce, or even that a close contact is deeper or shallower than own ship.
SPIN UP Start the gyro and computer system of a weapon in preparation for launch.
SPL (SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL) A detailed recording of an enemy submarine’s sound signature obtained by covertly driving an attack submarine in circles around it with a special tape recorder energized. Very dangerous operation requiring approaches to within 10 feet of the enemy hull. Risk of collision is great, but intelligence gained is considered worth the risk.
SQUADRON An organization of about a dozen submarines of the same class under the command of the Commodore. The Squadron usually owns the piers, the tender ship, and a torpedo recovery salvage ship. Squadron commander (Commodore) has only administrative control over the submarines — operational control at sea is done by COMSUBLANT.
SQUIGGLE (SGWLC) Steam generator water level control system.
SSBN A boomer. Literally stands for Submersible Ship, Ballistic missile. Nuclear.
SSN A fast attack submarine. Literally stands for Submersible Ship Nuclear.
SSTG’S (SHIP SERVICE TURBINE GENERATORS) The two turbines aft that turn the ship’s electrical generators and provide electrical power.
STANDARD SPEED Speed between All Ahead Two Thirds and All Ahead Full. Gives about 18 knots.
STAND-DOWN Rest and relaxation period for an attack boat crew after an extended 4, 5, or 6 month deployment.
STARTUP RANGE Lowest reactor power level, in which neutrons are generated by radioactive decay and occasional spontaneous fissions.
STARTUP RATE The speed, in decades per minute, that reactor power level is changing. Positive startup rate means power level is increasing. Negative means the power level is decreasing. See Decades Per Minute.
STARTUP RATE SCRAM A scram caused by a high startup rate. Setpoint is about 9 decades per minute.
STATION NUMBER ONE Position off the Russian northern coast used by either a submarine waiting in ambush in wartime or a coven intelligence gathering ship in peacetime. Location coordinates are in the SIOP WARPLAN.
STATUS BOARD A white board in the control room used to indicate the status of miscellaneous things of interest to the OOD such as torpedo tubes (empty, flooded, door open, or warshot loaded), time of sunrise, etc.
STEADY A report from the helmsman that the ship is on the ordered course and is not turning.
STEAM EXPLOSION One possible result of a reactor overpower accident, in which too much heat is added to the coolant in a short time. The water expands into steam, and the pressure rises dramatically, finally breaching the reactor vessel, causing it to physically explode.
STEAM GENERATOR A large heat exchanger with superhot primary coolant flowing inside tubes, with cold water from the condensers pumped in the bottom. Primary coolant boils the water to steam for use in turbines. Also called a boiler.
STEAM LEAK, MAJOR When one of the large steam pipes ruptures in the engineroom or AMR 2. Result is rapid cooking of engineering crew unless the leak is isolated using MS1 or -2 valves. Steam leaks are also dangerous because they will overpower the reactor.
STEAM PLANT CONTROL PANEL (SPCP) Console in the maneuvering room that monitors the steam plant. Has the large throttle wheel in front that controls the speed of the main engines. Manned by the throttleman.
STERNPLANES Horizontal control surfaces at the tail of a submarine. Similar to the elevator tail surfaces of an aircraft, the sternplanes cause the ship to rise or dive.
STERNPLANESMAN Enlisted watchstander in the Ship Control Party who controls the sternplanes at the Ship Control Panel.
STRAIGHT BOARD Indications on the Ballast Control Panel showing green bars, indicating that all hatches and vents are shut — final announcement indicating ship is ready for dive.
SUBEX Submarine exercise.
SUBMERSIBLE Small deep-diving submarine designed for short trips to the ocean bottom to gather data. May be manned or a robot.
SUBROC Submarine launched rocket with a nuclear depth charge. Obsolete and eliminated since analysis indicated it would severely damage the firing ship due to the nuclear blast.
SUBSUNK An emergeicy transmitter that releases from a submarine hull autom; i.cally at a certain depth that calls a distress signal to the satellite that a submarine is sinking. System taken out of service for fear of it going off mistakenly, giving away the ship’s position.
SUCKER An emergency air breathing mask for use during toxic gas emergencies or radioactive contamination release to the submarine’s atmosphere.
SUPERCRITICAL A condition of a nuclear reactor when power level is increasing and each fission neutron generation’s population is exceeded by the next generation’s.
SURFACED-AT-ICE Ship rigged to stay for a long period of time surfaced at a polynya. Ballast tanks are partially filled with air and monitored.
SUSTAINER ENGINE The jet engine of a cruise missile. It sustains continued flight.
SYNCH A radioman’s term meaning the ship’s radio equipment is tuned and receiving radio signals from the transmitter.
TAPE MODE A fire-control casualty condition in which the tape module is used as the operating system instead of the disk module. Reduces speed and capability of the Mark I fire-control system.