Submarine Escape Training Tower
Encyclopedia
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
. It is a tall cylinder filled with water with several entrances at varying depths each simulating an airlock
Airlock
An airlock is a device which permits the passage of people and objects between a pressure vessel and its surroundings while minimizing the change of pressure in the vessel and loss of air from it...
in a submarine. Since the 1930s Towers have been built for use by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, US Navy, Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
and in several other countries.
Royal Navy SETT
The Submarine Escape Training Tank (SETT) is a 100 feet (30.5 m) deep facility primarily operated to conduct training with submarine escape equipment
Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment
Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment MK-10, also known as Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment is whole-body suit and one-man life raft, designed by British company RFD Beaufort Limited, that allows submariners to escape from a sunken submarine. The suit provides protection against hypothermia...
, operated by the Royal Navy.
The facility, located at Fort Blockhouse
Fort Blockhouse
Fort Blockhouse is a military establishment in Gosport, Hampshire, England, and the final version of a complicated site. It is surrounded on 3 sides by water and provides the best view of the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. It is unique in two respects - firstly, it was built over a number of...
, Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
opposite HMNB Portsmouth
HMNB Portsmouth
Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
, includes a fresh, chlorinated water column with a single escape chamber (as fitted to some classes of RN submarines) mounted at the base, through which students can conduct a fully representative escape cycle from 100 feet (30.5 m), closely replicating actions which would be required if forced to abandon a distressed submarine from depth. The SETT has its own dedicated boiler house to maintain its water temperature at 34oC (94oF). The SETT was commissioned in 1954, with the first students trained in July of that year. Since that time completion of ‘the Tank’ has been a rite of passage for all RN Submariners. Training includes ascents from increasing depths as a major element, but in addition is underpinned by lectures and practical training in how to survive within a disabled submarine, operation of emergency equipment and survival techniques on reaching the surface – a package of potentially life saving skills. Over the years, the SETT has been used to train submariners from Italy, USA, Greece, Canada, Israel, Russia, Venezuela, Turkey, Australia and the Netherlands – with the staff and facility enjoying a worldwide reputation for excellence and good practice. Owing to a combination of increased safety associated with modern submarine design, submarines operating in areas where escape would be impossible with current equipment and the risk associated with the conduct of training, the RN discontinued pressurised submarine escape training in March 2009.
The staff at RNSETT are drawn from the ranks of the UK Submarine Service. All members of SETT staff form part of the SMERAT (Submarine Escape and Rescue Advisory Team), some members form the UK SPAG (Submarine Parachute Assistance Group), and some form part of the UK contribution to the NSRS (LR5) Team. All staff are trained in advanced life saving techniques and diving medicine.
The tower is also privately hired to civilian SCUBA dive
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
clubs for the purpose of recreational diving. It is a popular 'novelty' dive amongst UK divers since it allows new trainees to extend their depth experience in a safe, controlled environment with good visibility and warm water temperature - two conditions in short supply in the UK. For similar reasons it is also used for freediving training, with participants including World Record holder Tanya Streeter
Tanya Streeter
Tanya Streeter is a British/Caymanian world champion free-diver, inducted into the Women Diver's Hall of Fame in March 2000...
. In addition, SETT has been used frequently for both underwater equipment testing, and to support media activity - notably hosting Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
on a number of occasions with some presenters completing ascent training.
Other facilities
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Pacific Fleet submariners prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and was converted for use as an airport control tower after the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. Across the harbor, the tower on Sub-Base Pearl Harbor was used between 1932 and 1983. Neither of the U.S. escape towers in Hawaii are in use. The towers were also used to train SCUBA equipped divers (SEALS) or demolition teams to access or egress the submarine during Special Operations. The tower once located on Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
was in use between 1930 and 1994 and has since been razed. The Submarine Escape Trainer, a 40 feet (12.2 m) high, 84,000-gallon pool was constructed at New London in 2007.
Similar facilities are operated by the Royal Australian Navy at the Submarine Escape Training Facility at , and in Norway, Sweden and Turkey at Gölcük Naval Base
Gölcük Naval Base
Gölcük Naval Base is the main base of the Turkish Navy on the east coast of the Sea of Marmara in Gölcük, Kocaeli. It is the principal base for logistic support with various facilities stretched over of land....
. The German Navy
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
operates a 36-metre deep escape training pool, built in 1977, at Einsatzausbildungszentrum Schadensabwehr Marine (Damage Control Training Centre) in Neustadt in Holstein
Neustadt in Holstein
Neustadt in Holstein is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Bay of Lübeck , approx...
.
External links
- "Rescue Tank May End Sub Deaths", November 1930, Popular Science two page 1930 article on the new US Navy SETT in New London, Connecticut
- Submarine Escape Training Tank - Royal Navy site
- Royal Navy Submarine School (RNSMS)
- Horsea Island Dive Centre
- International Submarine Escape & Rescue Office
- UK- International Submarine Escape & Rescue Training