For Comparison - Boomer plans!

[aramis]

I found some deck plans for a boomer (US SSBN, Trident Class) online.

http://aimm.museum/Assets/booklets/SSBN-740-(USS_Rhode_Island)-WA-2007-03-04-35.pdf

Plans on page 6, using 5' (1.53m) squares. enlisted bunkrooms are 9-man, and roughly 3 squares, chiefs are 6man, and roughly 6 squares. Officers are 2 man, and about 2.25 squares (1.5sq x 1.5sq). Captain and XO each get 6 and 5 squares, respectively. Plans are incomplete.

about 52 squares (~26 Td) for 12 officers
About 32 squares (~16 Td) for 12 chiefs
about 72 squares (~36 Td) for 126 EM (there are additional berths not shown, and no hot bunking)
Above counts heads and offices, as well as bunkrooms.
about 95 squares (~48 Td) additional "quarters" features (laundry, mess, mess stores, Air Cond/LS)

126 Td shown for 152 persons (of 167 aboard - 3 officer and 14 EM berths not accounted for)

I recall from a tour (many years ago) that some EM berths are on another deck, and seem to recall that 3 of the officer SR's are 3 man, rather than 2 man.

 

[Patron Zero]

Awesome Aramis, thanks for sharing that tasty nugget of technical goodieness !

 

[RandyT0001]

What is "data processing equipment"? Reason I'm asking is that it takes up about 4 dton of space on the starboard side of the Forward Compartment, 2nd level just aft of the sonar room located in the bow. As a rough estimate this sub is about 1200-1400 dtons in Traveller displacement. So this "data processing equipment" or as it is commonly known, the computer, occupies a room all by itself that is about 4 dton in size. So despite the advances in miniaturization and processing speeds between 1977 computers and 1994 computers that means that she still needed 4 dtons of computer space to function. I have often heard that our (US) submarines are as complex machines as our spacecraft (shuttle). Hopefully all those people that tend to disparage Traveller computer rules as being out of step with today's advances and are way too big and clunky will see that as vehicles get more complex and have to survive dangerous conditions (undersea and/or space) will have a need for increased computing power despite advances in processing speeds, memory, etc.

 

[Whipsnade]

Hopefully all those people that tend to disparage Traveller computer rules as being out of step with today's advances and are way too big and clunky will see that as vehicles get more complex and have to survive dangerous conditions (undersea and/or space) will have a need for increased computing power despite advances in processing speeds, memory, etc.

Randy,

That's very true, but I should point out that much of the computing "volume" you're talking about has to do with the submarine's various "sensors". I'm not even going to hint at how much but, for example, the sonar dome and sonar strips aren't everything required for the overall sonar system.

From 1977 on, the Hobby's best "explanation" for Traveller's large computer volumes was that said volume subsumed all sorts of sensor and communication equipment which weren't at all listed in the ship construction rules. However, when later versions added such equipment, there were some complaints that computer sizes didn't drop enough. The "explanation" in those cases became, for example, that the sensor volume listed in the construction rules only referred to the physical sensor apparatus and the ship's computer still had to handle the processing of sensor data.


Regards,
Bill

 

[Whipsnade]

Wil,

Great find! Various & Sundry Comments:

- While the vacant and vague nature of the plans aft of the forward reactor compartment bulkhead doesn't surprise me in the slightest, I am surprised at the level of detail forward of the same bulkhead.

- The pamphlet's history section doesn't mention another USN vessel named Rhode Island, perhaps because of the Navy's embarrassment on the matter. USS Henry Jackson SSBN-730 was originally designated USS Rhode Island SSBN-730. When that senator died suddenly, the USN's only real naming convention - name ships with an eye towards sucking up to the politicians who sign the checks - kicked in and the 730 hull was quickly renamed. During my time at Electric Boat, you could still see plenty of Rhode Island 730 ballcaps and other memorabilia around. The state of Rhode Island actually had to sue the Navy to have the commissioning silver from the old predreadnought battleship returned because the Navy for some reason wanted to keep it for the Jackson.

- The enlisted man (EM) berthing quarters squeezed between the ICBM tubes each contain nine berths, or "racks", in three tiers of three each. There are several lockers for personal gear and even a door separating the space from the rest of the compartment. These 9 Man spaces are excellent accommodations when compared to what's used in the rest of the fleet.

- These Ohio-class SSBNs I helped build were larger than the CGN I served aboard.


Regards,
Bill

 

[aramis]

I found them whilst looking for support for a political position post on another board...

Bill: I believe I mentioned the 9 man bays... also of import is that the plans make it look easier to go in/out than a walkthrough shows them to be.

Tridents are "spacious" for subs... and CRAMPED by any other (more sensible) standard. Even death row inmates get more space per person.

 

[Whipsnade]

Bill: I believe I mentioned the 9 man bays...

Wil,

Yes, you mentioned them and I described them.

Tridents are "spacious" for subs... and CRAMPED by any other (more sensible) standard. Even death row inmates get more space per person.

Death row inmates aren't volunteers in the normal sense of the word.

I found berthing aboard the Ohio-class more spacious than that on the two cruisers I served aboard. My first berthing compartment on California housed 42 men in a space smaller than car garage while the one on Dale housed nearly the entire engineering department in one huge "flat". When I was "senior" enough aboard California, I was invited to move into "Nine Man", a small berthing compartment one deck above M-Division's main berthing compartment, by the other eight men there. It was smaller than the 9 Man "pods" I saw aboard Pennsylvania and Tennessee when I worked at Electric Boat. We did have an office below main berthing which was used as rec space after hours and, of course, we could go topside, but the Ohio-class crews had better berthing arrangements than I did.


Regards,
Bill

P.S. Going by the numbers you were kind of enough to work out, starship crews in the 57th Century are housed much like SSBN officers in the 21st: ~26 dTons for 12 people or just over 4 dTons for every 2 people.

 

[PFVA63]

Hi

Thanks for posting this info, it looks real interesting. I haven't had a chance to look at it too closely yet, but I was wondering, do the numbers posted above include only the berthing, or does it also include stuff like mess areas, galleys, lounges, scullery, pantry, other stores, ward rooms, passages, and/or other support stuff, etc? I tried to do a quick check myself, but I thought I should check to see what assumptions you had originally made in your calcs.

Regards

PF

 

[aramis]

the various grade-based tonnages only include bunkrooms, offices, and heads.

 

[PFVA63]

Hi

I know that nuclear and non-nuclear vessels can be quite different in layout and accommodations, etc, but here is a small set of plans for a diesel electric boat (HMS Upholder) for comparison. Unfortunately they are not as detailed, but they appear to show most of the vessel.

Regards

PF