When submarine dives, why do its crew inside tend to whisper or just talk barely?

Question

When submarine dives, why do its crew inside tend to whisper or just talk barely? Any sailor or naval officer or even scientist could explain?

Is it the standard naval procedure anywhere? Is it anything related to the radio communication?

Answer 1

I served for five years on the SSN-751 and I have a good idea how to answer your question. My experiences point to the fact that when a sub is transitioning from surface to sub-surface a LOT of stuff can go wrong. Most of the time I never felt much like chatting, although there were some times when my watch section (including me) were racked out and dead to the world. There are a lot of things to pay attention to when submerging, not a time to take lightly.

For most, I believe, we were just being hyper vigilant trying to catch the smallest problem (flooding, etc.) as SOON as it happens. Just my two cents though.

Answer 2

Submariners whisper in the movies especially for subs during WWII as these subs did not submerge very deeply and sounds were more easily detected from the surface. The strategic advantage to a submarine is its stealth...meaning inability to be seen. But they can still be heard by either passively listening for sounds emitted from the the sub or actively emitting sound in different frequencies and then listening for the sound to reflect back (active sonar).

There are times during complicated operations when conversations are limited to only necessary communications to support the mission. Under normal circumstances whispering to prevent from being detected wouldn't be necessary as the sound of a person's voice would not transmit well through the air inside the sub and through the layers of the sub and eventually into the surrounding water. However, if for extra stealth you can rig for quiet and excess noice is strictly prohibited. If you were rigged for quiet and someone were to bang on something inside the sub that sound could be easily transmitted making it easier for the enemy to determine the location, depth and direction of the sub...thereby defeating the main strategic advantage of a sub....stealth.

Naval procedures are classified and kept confidential.

Answer 3

That is not actually true.When submarines dives,you can talk chat normally with your mate sailors.Silence procedure only applied in the situation when your presence in the ocean is going to be minimized to be caught by the other submarine sonar signal.The other submarine sonar signal is the eye and ear of the enemy,it's very sensitive.It could hear a dime falling,a fart and a whistle.If you talk,they can hear you.If the enemy is from a non-english speaking country,and hear u speaking english,they surely will chase you down.

Answer 4

Sensors and listening devices from other vessels can hear when you make noise. But these days they can hear the sounds from the engines and nuclear power plant too, and tell where the Sub is, so I imagine it doesn't matter all that much any more.

Answer 5

you can talk normally anytime while submerged only when you rig the sub for ultra quiet the sub becomes super quiet shutting down a lot equipment ,no fans music etc, you can still talk normally , but when the ship is rigged for ultra quiet you either on watch or in the rack (bed) i was station on subs for 8 yrs

Answer 6

Noise is the enemy of submariners. They stay alive by being quiet. They use sonar to detect the noises made by other ships. If they hear you first, your dead.

Answer 7

Only if they're rigged for ultra-quiet in the face of enemy sonar nearby....

Answer 8

so enemies can't track them with sonar

Answer 9

sound travels thru water..so the less sound you make the less likely you are to be detected....

Answer 10

i dont know maybe is just because they're excited and nervous