What naval vessel would be used here

thekingsguard

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Working on a story where the opening chapter has the US navy sending a vessel so that they can transfer an agent to a non-American submarine. It is a friendly, pre aranged transfer, but I wonder what kind of ship the Navy would send.
 

robjvargas

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It wouldn't matter. The transfer itself would be by helicopter. So any ship with a helipad would do.
 

blacbird

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If you're trying to be really stealthy, maybe a civilian ship would be used, a tanker or freighter capable of handling a helicopter. Back in the 1980s (I believe), a drill-ship ostensibly doing scientific research was employed to try to recover a sunken Soviet submarine. The effort failed, but wasn't revealed for many years thereafter.

caw
 

robjvargas

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Its not covert at all. Transfer takes place in the Indian Ocean.

Why by helicopter?

Modern submarines (nuclear powered or not) don't really have a deck anymore. Not a flat surface for walking. So a helicopter transfer permits putting the guy right into the conning station at the top of the sail.

Also, since subs don't have keels, they can behave a bit randomly on the surface.
 

John G Nelson

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I would suggest the CRRC (Combat Rubber Raiding Craft) Zodiac. I think it would fit best. Look it up and see if it fits your story line.

The Zodiac was a popular small craft used back in my Special Ops days....
Best of luck!

John
 

thekingsguard

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Modern submarines (nuclear powered or not) don't really have a deck anymore. Not a flat surface for walking. So a helicopter transfer permits putting the guy right into the conning station at the top of the sail.

Also, since subs don't have keels, they can behave a bit randomly on the surface.

Might be something to consider.

I would suggest the CRRC (Combat Rubber Raiding Craft) Zodiac. I think it would fit best. Look it up and see if it fits your story line.

The Zodiac was a popular small craft used back in my Special Ops days....
Best of luck!

John

You were spec ops? Thank you for you service!

Could a Zodiac be a viable craft in the middle of the Indian Ocean?
 

horrorshowjack

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You're planning on the transfer taking place in the middle of the Indian Ocean, out in blue water, is that correct?

Unless there's a compelling reason to do this, then it wouldn't happen. If for some reason you couldn't do it while the boat is moored, then it's still a lot safer to do the transfer via small craft in a harbor, or at least in a coastal area.

John G Nelson's idea of a CRRC transfer would be a plausible one in light seas, and there are a lot of vessels capable of deploying one.

Modern submarines (nuclear powered or not) don't really have a deck anymore. Not a flat surface for walking. So a helicopter transfer permits putting the guy right into the conning station at the top of the sail.

No. The only time you do a helo transfer with a submarine is if there's no other choice possible. It's a very dangerous evolution.

The bridge has to cover just as many degrees of movement as topside, but has a longer radius from the center of gravity. It's going to move a greater distance than topside, and you're trying to get him into roughly a much smaller area. Presumably whoever authorized the transfer would like Mr. Superspy to not break his hip bouncing off the sail.

The rotors on a helicopter generate enough static electricity that you can potentially electrocute the person you're transferring, or the handlers in the submarine's bridge. Yes seriously.

If you're trying to be really stealthy, maybe a civilian ship would be used, a tanker or freighter capable of handling a helicopter. Back in the 1980s (I believe), a drill-ship ostensibly doing scientific research was employed to try to recover a sunken Soviet submarine. The effort failed, but wasn't revealed for many years thereafter.

caw

1970s. You're thinking of the Howard Hughes's Glomar Explorer.
 
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thekingsguard

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You're planning on the transfer taking place in the middle of the Indian Ocean, out in blue water, is that correct?

Unless there's a compelling reason to do this, then it wouldn't happen. If for some reason you couldn't do it while the boat is moored, then it's still a lot safer to do the transfer via small craft in a harbor, or at least in a coastal area.

John G Nelson's idea of a CRRC transfer would be a plausible one in light seas, and there are a lot of vessels capable of deploying one.

No. The only time you do a helo transfer with a submarine is if there's no other choice possible. It's a very dangerous evolution.

The bridge has to cover just as many degrees of movement as topside, but has a longer radius from the center of gravity. It's going to move a greater distance than topside, and you're trying to get him into roughly a much smaller area. Presumably whoever authorized the transfer would like Mr. Superspy to not break his hip bouncing off the sail.

The rotors on a helicopter generate enough static electricity that you can potentially electrocute the person you're transferring, or the handlers in the submarine's bridge. Yes seriously.

1970s. You're thinking of the Howard Hughes's Glomar Explorer.

Yes, out in the blue water, roughly between Diego Garcia and Mauritious. Reason for the area of transfer is our protaganist is being sent to a semi-independant corperate undersea colony, who sent a submarine to that location to pick him up. Does that help?
 

Dave Hardy

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I went aboard the USS Flatley (FFG-21) via helicopter from the Nimitz in 1985. Basically the helicopter hovered over the deck and I was lowered on a line. The maneuvering took longer than the lowering, which was all of 10-20 feet (IIRC).

Thing is I was just a midshipman there for summer training. The ships were not going back to port anytime soon (there was a hostage crisis/hijacking in Lebanon at the time), so dropping off a couple of middies was not a big priority. They may have done something unusual to give us kids a taste of "Navy adventure", but I was more under the impression this was just another routine bit of business.

Maybe a submarine is different though. As an 18-year old mid, it was all new to me.
 

horrorshowjack

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Yes, out in the blue water, roughly between Diego Garcia and Mauritious. Reason for the area of transfer is our protaganist is being sent to a semi-independant corperate undersea colony, who sent a submarine to that location to pick him up. Does that help?

Got it. Two ideas seem plausible to me. If there's a carrier or amphibious group operating or transiting through, then you could stick him on one of the smaller ships. Have either a frigate (FFG) or patrol craft (PC) detour to the rendezvous point and drop him off. If John G Nelson and I are talking about the same thing CRRC are what they were using for boarding actions in the Gulf. All of this is range limited.

I think a better plan would be to use a submarine (SSN). You could have a sub homeported in Guam or Pearl Harbor on her way back from deployment pull in to Diego Garcia for supplies, liberty (probably still better than Sasebo) and/or picking up the agent. They can drop him off on the way home.

Since you're dealing with an underwater polis, I would think you can plausibly create a transfer via submersible or other gee-whiz method.
 

Hallen

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Do they never resupply subs like they do surface ships? Fire the cable across, pull across a much bigger cable, tie it off, and then winch supplies back and forth? Seems like that could work for moving a man too. I suppose with subs wallowing about like they do, it might make this impossible.
 

robjvargas

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I was onboard ballistic missile submarines for 5 years. During that time, 3 medical transfers took place. OFF the sub, not on. A zodiac makes sense for stealth, but for... I'll call it "administrative" transfers, it was helicopter transfers all three times.

Remember the helo transfer in Hunt for Red October? Tom Clancy knew whereof he wrote for that one.

Yes, it's dangerous. That's why there'd better be a DAMN good reason for the transfer at sea. One guy was transferred off after he somnambulated to the main hatch dreaming that it was time to go home.

And I've never heard of a submarine taking part in UnRep (Underway Replenishment).

But I was on boomers. The fast attacks *could* have been different. I just never heard of it outside of special forces actions.
 

BRDurkin

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Maybe a submarine is different though. As an 18-year old mid, it was all new to me.

Way different. Everything from the FFGs on up have flight decks where helos could land if need be. Submarines have no such decks; there's a lot less surface area to work with. But I was a surface Navy guy, and I'll let the sub guys work out the specifics on this.