I wonder, how deep attack nuclear sub can dive?

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SUMMARY

Attack nuclear submarines can dive to depths exceeding 1,000 meters, with some reports suggesting maximum depths around 1,400 meters. However, operational torpedoes are generally limited to firing at depths of 400 to 800 meters due to design constraints. The term 'test depth' is used by the Navy to denote the maximum safe operational depth, beyond which submarines require inspection for hull integrity. Endurance for these submarines is primarily limited by food supply, allowing for underwater operation of 6 to 9 months, while reactors are typically fueled for over 20 years.

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  • #31
After my navy time, I worked on sonar systems, with the guys who did all of the special effects (noises, etc.) for the Hunt for Red October movie.

Chi, thank your father for his service for me (and thank you for living through a fairly difficult family lifestyle)! And of course he's right, they do go faster than that. I've never told anyone, not even my son, any of the specific digits either :smile: we 'bubbleheads' are 'funny' that way :smile:

Abraham, most naval reactors are water cooled and moderated. It's a two loop system. Primary coolant (pressurized fresh water) runs through a heat exchanger (steam boiler) to make steam on the secondary side which is then used for motive force. There were a few liquid metal reactors as experimental prototypes, but only a few.
 
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  • #32
rolerbe said:
...
Abraham, most naval reactors are water cooled and moderated. It's a two loop system. Primary coolant (pressurized fresh water) runs through a heat exchanger (steam boiler) to make steam on the secondary side which is then used for motive force. There were a few liquid metal reactors as experimental prototypes, but only a few.

I'm 99% sure all US nuclear reactor at sea are of the pressurized water reactor (PWR) type. And you are right we had one reactor at sea for about a year that was cooled by liquid sodium. The S2G was on the USS Seawolf (SSN-575) put to sea April 2 1957. However it was replaced on December 12 1958 because the practical performance of the S2G liquid sodium liquid metal fast reactor (LMFR) never meet the theoretical performance specifications. And a PWR was able to put out similar performance specs without the complexity of the LMFR.
 

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