Wendover Productions - Living Underwater: How Submarines Work

Short Summary

Main recommendation: The video's central conclusion is that nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines are valued because their stealth makes them survivable deterrents, and that stealth depends on staying submerged and navigating and communicating without giving away position. It covers how these submarines operate, live aboard, and avoid detection, using specific systems like VLF radio and inertial navigation.

Key Points

• Ballistic missile submarines act as a hidden, survivable nuclear launch platform, which supports mutually assured destruction as a deterrent.
• Only six nations are confirmed to operate nuclear-missile submarines: the US, UK, France, India, Russia, and China; analysts suspect North Korea and Israel as well.
• Nuclear propulsion gives near-unlimited range; food supply, not power or air, is the main limit on patrol length.
• Submarines communicate mainly via very low frequency (VLF) radio, which penetrates water to about 60 feet (20 meters) but offers very low bandwidth (about 700 words per minute of text).
• GPS and radar don't work underwater, so submarines use an inertial navigation system (accelerometers and gyroscopes) that drifts in accuracy over time.

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions: No step-by-step instructions are given for a viewer to follow; the actionable content is operational and procedural, covering the crew rotation (Blue and Gold crews, 77-day average patrols, 25-day turnover, then 8 hours on and 16 off), and the UK practice of prime ministers writing one of four last-resort letters (do nothing, defer to an ally such as the US or Australia, let the commander use judgment, or retaliate).
• American Ohio-class submarines are publicly known to dive to 800 feet (250 meters), and are believed to go deeper.
• A 2009 collision between the British HMS Vanguard and French Le Triomphant occurred at low speed with no injuries, despite both carrying nuclear warheads.
• Submariners' communications are screened by a dedicated crew member, who may withhold news such as a family death until the end of patrol to protect morale.
• Ohio-class boats can carry up to 24 Trident II missiles, though treaties and practicality usually mean they carry fewer than maximum.

Bottom Line

Submarine stealth is the core of nuclear deterrence, and it is sustained by a balance of depth, nuclear propulsion, careful communications, and imperfect but workable navigation; as tracking improves, the contest between hiding and finding will continue.