"crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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"crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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"crash back" or "all back emergency" - Submarine

Note; I decided that the following two articles be copied in full, since both the subject matter, and the manner by which the order to execute the recovery maneuver was ordered - are IMO of much importance. One was not without a fatal outcome, whilst the other helped towards a different type of departure.

1) - When the Enlisted Man chose to act!!

USS CREVALLE SS-291
By Glenn Smith (#8073)

Motor Machinist First Class Robert L. “Bob” Yeager was a ‘plank owner’ in CREVALLE, having been a Fireman in her at commissioning June 24th, 1943. By September 11th, 1944, he had reached the ‘exalted’ rank of first class petty officer (wartime speeds promotions!). On this day, CREVALLE was in her fifth war patrol, and was searching for the enemy off the south coast of Celebes Island. The commanding officer, LCDR Frank Walker made a decision to surface at a high rate of speed in order to get up quick for a look around, alert that enemy planes may be patrolling this close to land. As CREVALLE broached, her bow planes failed in the full dive position. Two men had reached the bridge, LT Jim Blind and lookout Gunner’s Mate Second Class Bill Fritchen. But the combination of speed and the bow planes in full dive drove CREVALLE back down with a steep down angle, stranding Blind and Fritchen, and throwing all of the officers below decks into a dazed pile in the conning tower or control room. Manning the phones in the control room was Machinist Bob Yeager. Yeager recognized immediately the danger facing CREVALLE as the boat raced toward the bottom. He asked plaintively “are there any officers on the line?” He heard none. He quickly gave the order “all back emergency!” Slowly, ever so slowly, CREVALLE clawed her way back up to the surface. Technically, only the diving officer or commanding officer should have given the backing order, but Yeager’s training and submarine qualification program had instilled in him that individual initiative in submarines is imperative, and sometimes requires junior men to take extraordinary action. When the situation stabilized, and CREVALLE made her way back to the surface, Lookout Fritchen was quickly found. LT Blind was not. It was later determined that Blind had deliberately shut the topside hatch by force from the outside, thus helping save CREVALLE. LT Blind had been married to his Australian sweetheart for less than two weeks. A board of inquiry concluded regarding the actions of Planesman Yeager that: “”His experience as battle-station stern planesman since CREVALLE’S commissioning had probably qualified him better than any other man on board to make such a decision”. Yeager was awarded a Silver Star.LT Blind was awarded a Navy Cross, and his citation read:

“*BLIND, HOWARD JAMES (KIA)
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Howard James Blind (0-108587), Lieutenant, U.S. Navy (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism and intrepidity in the line of his profession upon the occasion of a surfacing accident to the U.S.S. CREVALLE (SS-291), on 11 September 1944. As Officer of the Deck, upon reaching the bridge and observing that the ship was re-submerging with the upper conning tower hatch open Lieutenant Blind fought his way through a torrent of water and with complete disregard of his own safety struggled with the hatch until it was closed, although the ship had submerged at the time to a keel depth of 150 feet. His action was a major contributing factor to the saving of the ship and her crew and undoubtedly cost him his own life. His actions and conduct on this occasion was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States.

Commander, 7th Fleet: Serial 03215 (December 6, 1944)
Born: April 30, 1921 at Chicago, Illinois
Home Town: Casper, Wyoming

Source; Universal Ship Cancellation Society (USCS)
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2) - when the Admiral failed to act!!



Near the Ocean Floor
by Joel P. Adams


Before I began my career in the venture capital business, I had the great fortune to serve as a nuclear test engineer with General Dynamics' Electric Boat Division (EB) in Groton, Connecticut, for seven years.

One particular Alpha sea trial of a 688 fast-attack sub - the U.S.S. La Jolla sticks out in my mind. We left port the evening of July 26, 1981, as the wind on the Atlantic picked up to about a Sea State Three. This provided enough broad-band ambient noise so that La Jolla could conduct most of her maneuvers without being detected by the Soviets, trawling the North Atlantic gathering intelligence on U.S. warships...

We ran on the surface for a few hours as the crew (I was part of EB's team of 20 civilian engineers working the sea trials), completed its lengthy checklist testing the satellite systems, on-board life systems, turbine engines, propulsion systems, etc., before the Captain gave the order for the submerged run. We proceeded down angle on the diving planes until we reached periscope depth and set out on a level trim. The crew tested the launch tubes by firing test probes, and tested the propeller shaft seals for leaks before going deeper. The Captain gave the order to bring the S6G plant to one-half power- the reactor went supercritical to keep up with the demand for more steam. The Captain ordered a full stop after an hour so that the engineers could conduct more tests. It was early morning on the 27th when we prepared to make a series of deeper dives and high-speed submerged runs.

The reactors surged to supercritical as we dove down to 360 feet at approximately 6000 rpm. Admiral Rickover (four star admiral best known as the "father of the nuclear navy") joined us in the engine room around 6:00 a.m. to run his part of the sea trials - putting the sub under maximum stress. The Admiral gave the "crash back" order, which threw the sub into high-speed reverse. Taking the La Jolla (weight about 7000 tons) from a full speed forward to a dead quick stop. The engineers from EB quickly took data on the subs' performance. We waited for the "ahead 1/3 " order, which steadies the sub, from the Admiral, which if even a few seconds too late, drags the sub into reverse speed due to the full reverse thrust of the propeller (subs are not designed to go backwards). The Captain called "ship dead in the water" - but the Admiral again did not give the "ahead 1/3 " order. We started to move backward as the sub went into full reverse thrust (we were up to twelve knots) and we went down fast - the sound of the hull popping. The nose of the submarine had been thrown into a diving angle and the sub listed or rotated severely. The Captain had to make a choice, and called the "ahead 1/3" order himself, to regain control of the sub. The sub plummeted several hundred more feet over the next three minutes, taking us to within a half of the subs length from the bottom, as he tried to gain control. My EB team knew the ship had never gone significantly below 400 feet prior to this day, and the U.S.S. Thresher had met a tragic end under similar circumstances. Making matters worse, we realized we were caught in a contest of wills and ego of military personnel and we were too close to our lower limit - crush depth. Fortunately for all concerned, the Captain was able to regain control of the sub, narrowly escaping impact. Admiral Rickover, retired shortly thereafter at the age of 81.

We need to make tough decisions every day. These decisions demand thoughtful and rapid action while retaining composure. I expect this of myself, and my partners, and I look for these skills in our entrepreneurs.

Source; here

For info; A more comprehensive account of the 'incident' can be read in the Washington Post article titled RUNNING CRITICAL
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency"

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"crash back" or "all back emergency" - Surface ship



1) - USS Barbey (DE-1088/FF-1088) - Knox-class

After fitting out and completing sea trials at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Barbey got underway on 4 February 1973 for shakedown training in the Hawaiian Islands. Before post-shakedown availability at Long Beach, which commenced on 12 May, the ship enjoyed a three-day liberty at Acapulco, Mexico, plane guarded for Hancock and conducted acoustic tests at Seattle. The availability included a drydock period from 5 June to 9 October during which workers at Long Beach Naval Shipyard modified her flight deck and hangar to accommodate a light airborne multi-purpose system (LAMPS) helicopter and installed an experimental controllable-pitch propeller (CPP). Testing and adjusting the new propeller system occupied the ship through January 1974.

--------------------------------

On 30 August, following her return to San Diego, Barbey lost all of the blades of the CPP during tests and had to be towed by Florikan to Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

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During the first six months of 1975, the warship reinstalled the CPP and subjected the new propeller to extensive trials at sea.............. On 30 June 1975, Barbey and all other destroyer escorts were reclassified frigates, and she was redesignated FF-1088.
Source; Wiki

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1a) - USS Barbey DE1088/FF1088 - Crash Back

Three screenshots from the results of a Google Books search that displayed the book titled:-
Technology Entrepeneur: A High Tech-Tech Services Business: Think Tank...... By C.J. Rubis

Confirming that the 'crash back' result was ... all blades broke off!!

Screenshot (6460).png
Screenshot (6461).png
Screenshot (6462).png
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2) - USS Henry W. Tucker (1960-1964)

When the failed 'crash back' results in ship hitting the pier:-
Screenshot (6498).png


Source; History of theUSS Henry W. Tucker -DDR 875 Section Four1960 ~1964
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency"

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Full Astern Trials


HMS Enterprise

HMS Enterprise
@HMSEnterprise
This is what happens when you let the #engineer tell the bridge what to do... One of the odder trials we did during our week at #sea was a full astern trial. Pods right astern and set levers to 10! Guess the #speed? #alwaysBeASailor #fridayFeeling #PHOTOS #photooftheday #stem
1 Dno7SNbXgAAGaXd HMS Enterprise twitter.jpg

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HMS Echo

HMS Echo
@HMS_Echo
Replying to
@HMSEnterprise

and
@RoyalNavy
What is it with engineers? Ours pulled this trick recently too...

#ConspiringEngineers
Photo of wake streaming over the bow as Echo does full power astern trials in the sunshine of the Med.
8:55 am · 22 Sep 2018·Twitter for Android

1 DnruZcDXgAAIjgl HMS Echo twitter.jpg

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HMS St Albans

Short excerpt with link below:-

Return of the saint – frigate St Albans back at sea after £25m revamp
19 May 2014

A Lynx Mk8 makes low level turn just ahead of the glistening form of frigate HMS St Albans which returned to sea as a £25m revamp drew to a close.

The Portsmouth-based warship has completed the first week of intensive trials off the South Coast – her first time at sea for a good 12 months.

The bulk of first week at sea was devoted to machinery trials such as basic manoeuvring, running the engines at full speed – backwards (or astern if you prefer naval terminology) – and testing the stabilisers.
1 Full Astern HMS St Albans royalnavy.mod.uk.jpg
Source; royalnavy.mod.uk

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USS SHILOH

USS SHILOH, ANDAMAN SEA
04.12.2015
Courtesy Photo
Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet

150412-N-ZZ999-165 ANDAMAN SEA (April 12, 2015) Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) makes way astern during a full power run. Shiloh is on patrol in the 7th Fleet area of operation supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy Photo by Naval Aircrewman Tactical Helicopter 2nd Class Kevin Lawson/Released

2 USS SHILOH, ANDAMAN SEA 4-12-2015 courtesy photo Commander US 7th Fleet Dvids.jpg
Source; DVIDS
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) Arleigh Burke Class - conducts "crash back" maneuver(s)

According to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) captions it seems that two of these maneuvers were conducted last year (2019) one in May the other in August. No reason for this activity is given in the captions.

1) - 21st May 2019
2 z 1000w_q95 crashback.jpg
Source; DVIDS;

Caption & attribution

UNITED STATES
05.21.2019
Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Pacheco
Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet


190521-N-NU281-1214 PACIFIC OCEAN (May 21, 2019) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) conducts a crashback, in which the ship comes to a full stop and proceeds to sail in reverse. Murphy is conducting routine operations in the eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Justin R.

___________________________________________________________________________

2) - 13th August 2019
2 z 1000w_q95.jpg
Source DVIDS;

Captions & attributions

PACIFIC OCEAN
08.13.2019
Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Pacheco
Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet


190813-N-NU281-1053 PACIFIC OCEAN (Aug. 13, 2019) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) conducts a crashback maneuver, in which the ship comes to a full stop and proceeds to sail in reverse. Michael Murphy is conducting routine operations in the eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Justin R. Pacheco)

___________________________________________________________________________

1st attachment; Note the direction of the wake whilst ship in forward motion (left to right) before executing the "crash back" maneuver - after which the ship steers in a different direction/on a different course, whilst going astern.
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) conducts a "crash back" - resulting in collision with the Ticonderoga Class Leyte Gulf (CG-55)


On 14 October 1996, Leyte Gulf collided with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt while conducting operations off the coast of North Carolina. The incident occurred as the carrier, without prior warning, reversed her engines while Leyte Gulf was behind her and slammed into the cruiser's bow. There were no personnel casualties or injuries reported,[1] and damage to the Leyte was only $2 million.[2]

Source; Wiki

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See also a somewhat more comprehensive article as carried in The Virginian Pilot titled:-
LEYTE GULF-ROOSEVELT MISHAP: A SUDDEN STOP? CARRIER APPARENTLY HALTED WHILE PRACTICING MANEUVER

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See also the following excerpt from War on the Rocks by Bryan McGrath June 19, 2017

On occasion — again, because of the presence of humans in the decision loop — plainly obvious situations are misinterpreted because of confirmation bias: Anomalous information might not match the mental picture that a bridge watch-stander has developed, and is then ignored. A classic case of this happening was the October 1996 collision involving the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 72) and the USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55). Essentially, the Roosevelt “backed down” into the Leyte Gulf while, unbeknownst to the Leyte’s watch-standers, conducting engineering drills. The radar picture told a story of a massive aircraft carrier moving astern at a high rate of speed, but the mental picture of the bridge personnel on the Leyte — who did not know that such a maneuver was going to happen — disregarded what their system was telling them, and they failed to turn in sufficient time to avoid collision.
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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USS Yorktown (CV-5) - a few images of the ship going astern including an example of an flying on evolution being conducted whilst so doing


3 USS_Yorktown_(CV-5)_heading_astern_during_sea_trials_-_19-N-17422.jpg

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) making 17.5 knots, astern, during preliminary standardization trials, run # 41, off Rockland, Maine (USA), 12-21 July 1937. She is pushing up a handsome "moustache" stern wave. Carriers of this class were required to make good speed astern, to allow landing planes over the bow and launching over the stern if necessary.

Source; Wikimedia Commons (for higher res)

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See also same image (smaller) but with captioned comments bottom left corner

3 ship_yorktown41.jpg

Source; here

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See also the following from Navsource

021037 USS Yorktown cv-5 navsource.jpg

USS Yorktown going at 20kts full astern, ready to take aircraft landing over the bow. The midships and after flight deck is full of parked aircraft, the deck-edge radio masts are folded down to the side for flight operations. Note four 40mm quads grouped around the island (USN photo, possibly taken not long before image NS021019, below).
Contributed By And/Or Copyright Robert Hurst

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See also the following from Navsource

4 0337626C1ABF4009B676F130A1D57B6A the TBM is landing over the bow and the ship (USS Yorktown CV-10) is full astern..jpg

The Yorktown steams full astern to land a TBF Avenger over the bow, July 1943. Though provision for over-the-bow landing was a design requirement, it was rarely practiced and the bow arresting gear was soon eliminated.
Contributed By And/Or Copyright Joe Radigan
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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Large, medium, or small - they're all seem to like having a spell going astern

1) - this time it's an RN Hunt-class Mine Counter-Measures Vessel (MCMV)

HMS Brocklesby
@HmsBrocklesby
'Half astern both engines, revolutions 200!' An unusual sight with the ship's wake coming from the bow, not the stern! Thanks to the Maritime Capability and Trials Staff who came onboard BROC today to put our propulsion plant through its paces. #YearOfEngineering

DYKgvyvX4AAfQko Brocklesby twitter.jpg

Open link to view both images associated with the tweet

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2) - and now it's a US Navy Ocean Going Minesweeper source Pinterest Navy Collection by Sarasota MOAA

USS Fortify MSO-446 US Navy Ocean Going Minesweeper. Full Speed Astern! Testing The Engines In Reverse!
3 USS Fortify MSO-446 US Navy Ocean Going Minesweeper. Full Speed Astern! Testing The Engines In Reverse!.jpg
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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Large, medium, or small - they're all seem to like having a spell going astern


This time it's a few US Navy CVN's

1) - USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)
3 (Feb. 27, 2010) USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) goes full reverse high-speed trial (U.S. Navy photo Mass Comms Spect 1st Class Jason Winn Released).jpg

(Feb. 27, 2010) USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) goes full reverse high-speed trial
(U.S. Navy photo Mass Comms Spect 1st Class Jason Winn Released)

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2) - USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
3 027436 Navsource Stennis CVN-74.jpg

Full speed astern Source; NavSource Online: Aircraft Carrier Photo Archive

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3) - (unverified) :oops:
3 21367010_1009388779202806_360663491512034453_o.jpg
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4) - USS Eisenhower (CVN-69)
3 USS Eisenhower (CVN-69) running full speed reverse 1986 wiki.JPEG

USS Eisenhower (CVN-69) running full speed reverse 1986 Source; wiki
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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Short excerpt from an article titled Serious Props! Check Out The Massive Screws On The Burke Class Destroyer
by Tyler Rogoway 1/27/15 6:05PM • Filed to:Ships

This shot of the USS Curtis Wilbur in drydock shows just how much surface area is on each of its variable pitch screws. If they're feathered, each screw acts as a speed brake, a maneuver known as a "crash-back." That allows the 9,000-ton destroyer to go from around 36mph to a dead stop in about 20 seconds. In some circumstances it can result in a pretty decent amount of water coming up over the ship's stern.

Source; foxtrotalphajalopnik where several images and a "crash back" video (2.42mins - USS Stetham) can be viewed
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Re: "crash back" - "all back emergency" & full astern trials

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"crash back" or "all back emergency" - Submarine

USS Houston (SSN-713) - Los Angeles-class attack submarine - (excerpts relating to several incidents)

Source of the excerpts (below) is Wiki - (where a number of 'other incidents' can be read)


1st excerpt
Houston is an experienced actor, initially starring in a Navy recruiting film and then getting her "big break" in June 1989 with a part in The Hunt for Red October (where she played her sister ship Dallas). However, that summer and autumn were plagued with mishaps.

In May 1989, before getting involved with the film, a broken valve caused a depth excursion. However, the "depth excursion" was actually a full blown flooding incident that was not caused by a "broken valve".

----------------------------------------------

2nd excerpt
- In fact, while conducting a weapons certification inspection prior to a scheduled westpac, the Officer of the Deck (OOD), directed the Chief of the Watch (COW) to silence the induction sump tank alarm due to constant cycling. The OOD then directed the COW to pin open the diesel head valve in order to stop the constant cycling of the pneumatic actuator (due to state 3 seas). Upon securing the antennas (the boat was ventilating while near the surface to pick up routing radio traffic), the OOD directed the boat to return to its regular patrol depth. However, because no Fan Room watch was set when the alarm was cut-out, nobody immediately noticed that water was dumping into the Fan Room when the boat started to dive. It wasn't until there was an announcement of flooding in the Torpedo Room over the 4MC that the crew went to General Quarters. At this time, the Throttleman answered ahead-full and the OOD ordered a five-second emergency blow of the forward ballast tanks. Of course, when the boat went to a positive bubble, all the water in the ventilation system dumped into the engine room. After broaching the surface, the boat went nose down again (still at ahead full), and began a second downward descent. The CO finally ordered a full emergency blow to get Houston back to the surface.

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3rd excerpt
- On 1 July 1989, Houston left port for a training run. A few days into the training schedule, a standard low-pressure ventilation procedure was conducted at periscope depth. Suddenly and unexpectedly, seawater began flooding from the main air vents. The boat took a sharp up-angle and began driving toward the surface, but lost headway to the weight of the water she had taken on and began to slide backward. Seawater reached the battery compartment and chlorine began to rise from the battery well.

The full power of the Houston’s engines restored headway and drove her to the surface. As soon as she broached, however, she lost her up-angle, and the thousands of pounds of water in her bilges rushed forward. The boat pitched forward, taking on a steep down-angle. Pulled by the weight of the water and pushed by the full power of her engines, Houston dove precipitously.

The engines were reversed in a crash-back maneuver and an emergency ballast tank blow was performed. Houston’s plunge slowed, reversed, and she shot up again, this time remaining on the surface.

Houston returned to port after a long and slow surface transit. The main snorkel valve had failed to close properly. An audible signal that would indicate the valve's opening and closing had been disabled. While eight crewmen were transferred from the Houston, not all left the submarine service.

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4th excerpt
- On 21 June 2001 Houston was conducting normal training operations in the Pacific off the coast of Washington state, which included a "crash back" drill, in which the ship goes from ahead flank (maximum forward speed) to back full emergency (maximum engine power in reverse). The maneuver proceeded well, despite the tremendous shaking, noise, and stress the maneuver creates, until the boat began to gain sternway (actually moving backwards through the water).

When a vessel is moving backwards, her rudder and in the case of a submarine, her planes, function in the opposite manner than when she is moving forwards. The stern planesman failed to compensate for this phenomenon and continued to try to trim the boat as if they still were making headway. When the stern began to rise, he raised the stern planes, which would have depressed the stern if they had been moving forward. While making sternway, it had the opposite effect, increasing the down-angle. The stern continued to rise, more rapidly as the boat accelerated backwards. Before the problem could be corrected, Houston had attained a 70 degree down-angle and her screw broached the surface while still turning at a high rpm. The control team performed a partial emergency ballast tank blow and safely surfaced the boat, and the engineering team safely scrammed (emergency shutdown) the reactor plant to prevent damage.

Source of the above excerpts; Wiki -

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________


The following selection of excerpts are drawn from Wikipedia Talk:USS Houston (SSN-713)
this isthe talk page for discussing improvements to the USS Houston (SSN-713) article.

1st excerpt from Wiki Talk
- Very accurate potrayal of the events of July 2001. I know since I was a crew memeber on board. This was one of the tow times I had ever feared for my life in my 15 years on board submarines. I only wish more poeple really knew what went on and how it was attemped to get covered up. TM'S Rule !!!

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2nd excerpt from Wiki Talk
- Events between June of 2000 and November of 2004. Specifically the "Crash Back" drill.
I served on board USS Houston (SSN-713) as a member of the ship's Auxiliary Systems Division between June of 2000 and November of 2004. During the "Crash Back" drill described in the article I was in the ship's control room, having just been relieved of the planesman watch station prior to commencing the drill and taking over the messenger station. It should be noted that both watch standers on the sticks (Stern Planesman and Helmsman/Fairwater Planesman) at the time, the Diving Officer of the Watch, the Chief of the Watch, and the Officer of the Deck failed to see what was happening for what it really was on account of the instrumentation failure mentioned in the article (if you'd like citation other than eye witness, see if you can dig up the official critique of the event which should have been included in the official report to squadron, it mentioned the instrumentation failure as the root cause). The event, as currently written, is accurate enough for a publicly edited online encyclopedia, but I will point out that if you are going to insist on throwing the sailors under the bus for this event, you really should go with complete accuracy and include the entire ship's control team as the point of failure seeing as how every one of them failed to see the problem and any one of them could have called it if they'd seen it. Aganger (talk) 21:25, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

3rd excerpt from Wiki Talk
- Corrections to article "crash back" entry
My corrections to this entry are based on first-hand accounts as the on-watch Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) at the time of this incident and as the billeted Ship's Diving Officer at the time. My corrections are noted in italics

On 21 June 2001 Houston was conducting normal training operations in the Pacific off the coast of Washington state, which included a "crash back" drill, in which the ship goes from ahead flank (maximum forward speed) to back full emergency correct annotation is back emergency (maximum engine power in reverse). The maneuver proceeded well, despite the tremendous shaking, noise, and stress the maneuver creates, until the boat began to gain sternway (actually moving backwards through the water).

When a vessel is moving backwards, her rudder and in the case of a submarine, her planes, function in the opposite manner than when she is moving forwards. The stern planesman failed to compensate for this phenomenon due to instrumentation failure (the ships EM log still indicated that the ship was making headway at ~3 knots) Actually this was not a failure of the ship's EM log but a function of how they are designed. The ship's EM log is incapable of distinguishing between speed in the ahead or astern direction [citation needed], and continued to try to trim the boat as if they still were making headway. When the stern began to rise, he raised the stern planes, which would have depressed the stern if they had been moving forward. While making sternway, it had the opposite effect, increasing the down-angle. The stern continued to rise, more rapidly as the boat accelerated backwards. Before the problem could be corrected, Houston had attained a 70 degree down-angle (the actual down-angle is not verifiable as the onboard instruments do not measure to 70 degrees, however it is certain that the ship exceeded a 45 degree down-angle based on over-ranging the instrumentation at the ship's control panel) and her screw broached the surface while still turning at a high rpm (this did trip the ship's main engines (M/E's)). The control team performed a partial emergency ballast tank blow and safely surfaced the boat, and the engineering team safely scrammed (emergency shutdown) the reactor plant to prevent damage (This last statement concerning the reactor scram is false. The reactor remained at power during this entire process. The only time the reactor was close to being scrammed was when someone called away "flooding in Engine Room Upper Level". At that time I had to close the main seawater (MSW) and Auxiliary Seawater (ASW) valves to isolate the flooding (there is a remote switch for this in the Maneuvering area above the EOOW desk). However, the Engine Room Supervisor (ERS) reported that there was no flooding but simply displaced water from the ship's evaporator unit. MSW and ASW were restored and propulsion was shifted to the emergency propulsion motor (EPM). The Ship's Service Turbine Generators remained online throughout the event. The critique after the event later revealed that the back emergency bell was maintained for too long of a period and was outside the guidance specified in the Steam and Electric Plant Manual for 688 Class Submarines [1]. An additional mitigating factor that might have prevented the event was to shift speed indications to the ship's Electrostatic Gyro-Navigation (ESGN) system instead of using the EM log for an accurate reading of speed and direction over ground.) --Mikecoursey (talk) 18:03, 6 February 2013 (UTC)
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My comment
I felt that the inclusion of the 'talk page' entries would add better validity to the earlier excerpts taken from the original Wiki entry/entries,

The corrections to a) the terminology and b) the state of the reactor; is of course very worthy of inclusion IMO
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