Comment by OneDeuxTriSeiGo
3 months ago
Nuclear powered. i.e. No need to resurface for air (as all oxygen can be recycled or separated from water) and no need to refuel for the entire lifespan of the submarine.
3 months ago
Nuclear powered. i.e. No need to resurface for air (as all oxygen can be recycled or separated from water) and no need to refuel for the entire lifespan of the submarine.
How long can they actually stay below the surface in practice though? I'm guessing water is filtered on the vessel, but food must be re-supplied constantly I'm again guessing? Maybe they do it like airplanes refuel in the air, rendevouz with another submarine and somehow transfer the resources for food making between then? Probably read too much Tom Clancy...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warspite_(S103)
Seems like the record is 111 days submerged.
Nuclear Subs are typically pretty big so they can probably bring enough food to last for the entire time without resupply.
Yeah that's the official record and it's pretty close to that on average. The main limit is morale.
People want their swim calls and sunlight.
water is provided via desal or filtration.
air is scrubbed and additional O2 is available via water splitting.
the main limit is food. food is stored under the floor boards and it can last a while but generally they are gonna try and restock every few months rather than running to empty (which on full stock can be close to a year)
3 months. There's an episode by smarter everyday about it