How submarines can move underwater, if combustion requires oxygen for burning gasoline?

Answer 1

Submarines run from a large bank of DC batteries driving electric motors. When the batteries are getting low, the sub surfaces to run the diesel generator to recharge the batteries.
Running on the surface, they use the diesel engines.

Nuclear subs use the heat of the reaction to produce High Pressure, Superheated steam for turbine driven propellers. The steam is recondensed and re-used.

Answer 2

Alex, just where have you been for the past 50 years? Except for Russia, and those countries to poor to have nuclear reactor powered submarines, the major world powers have been using nuclear powered subs. As for the others, and some older training subs, no one, except for very early, like the early 1900s, have ever used gasoline for the engine. The modern subs, and I include the German subs from WW1 onward through WW2 as well as all other countries, used diesel engines. Those engines were only used at the surface, or with what was known as a ":snorkel" for under water operation, but the sub was still within a few feet to about 50 feet below the surface. Underwater, electric motors were used to move the sub. Where, pray tell, did you ever get the idea that subs used gasoline engines, without a snorkel, underwater?

Answer 3

Most submarines are nuclear which requires no oxygen. When they were diesel they don't require free oxygen particles rather compressed air, because the energy is created from the burning of the heat lamp. Heat lamps in diesel engines are similar to spark plugs in gasoline engines.

Answer 4

Subs used to be run on batteries, not gas. Gas was used only if they were surfaced so that they could flush the sub with air. The batteries themselves leaked acid into the air, so they would have to surface once in a while anyway to refresh the air supply.
Today subs run on atomic power, no air to refresh.

Answer 5

Batteries, nuclear reactor or they carry the oxygen, e.g. in form of hydrogen peroxide as in a Walter-turbine:

http://jtmcdaniel.com/walter_turbine.html

The latter turns out to be a real pain as the unfortunate crew of the "Kursk" found out.

Answer 6

the old subs used combustion engines and a generator to build up their batteries when they were under water they ran on batteries and when the batteries got low they would come to the surface and run the combustion engines to recharge their batteries

Answer 7

They take a HUGE breath before the months-long submersions.

Some countries cheat, and use compressed oxygen/helium/argon mixtures.
.

Answer 8

they either don't burn gasoline (nuclear subs) or they DO burn gasoline, with oxygen supplied from tanks on board.

Answer 9

They use big electric motors when running underwater.

Answer 10

Thats why they are nuclear