Natural Circulation — Water flow through a reactor caused only by the heat of the core — hot water rises and cold sinks. Eliminates use of noisy main coolant pumps, allowing quieter operation.
NESTOR Secure Voice — A UHF radio-telephone communication system that encrypts a voice signal prior to transmission and de crypts it after reception. Can be transmitted to the satellite and beamed worldwide. Fast, secure means of communication.
New Kuomintang (NKMT) — A Chinese revolutionary group modeled after the unsuccessful faction of the 1940s. The NKMT, with Japanese support, is dedicated to the overthrow of the Chinese Communists.
NMCC (National Military Command Center) — A nerve center in the Pentagon where, in theory, orders would originate for fighting a nuclear war. Seasoned officers scoff at the idea that NMCC would survive the first ten minutes of a surprise decapitation assault.
Nukes — (1) Nuclear weapons. (2) Nuclear-trained officers and enlisted men.
OOD (Officer of the Deck) — Officer in tactical command of the ship, a sort of acting captain. Directs the motion of the ship, giving rudder, speed, and depth orders. Responsible for ship’s navigation, operation of the ship’s equipment, and employment of the ship’s weapons. Usually has the Deck and the Conn. Needs captain’s permission to do certain operations, such as go to periscope depth, start up the reactor, transmit active sonar or transmit radio, or launch a weapon. Done best while smoking a cigar and telling sea stories.
OP — Operation or mission.
OP AREA — A specific ocean area devoted to a particular exercise or operation. Some OP AREA are permanent, some are established only for one exercise.
OP REP 3 PINNACLE — Name of a message that is sent with FLASH priority to the White House and NMCC telling of a dire emergency requiring immediate action, such as an incoming nuclear assault.
Overhead — Nautical term for ceiling.
Ow-Sow — Pronunciation of ASWSOW, antisubmarine warfare standoff weapon.
PA. Circuit One — Shipwide Public Address announcing system.
PA. Circuit Two — Similar to PA. Circuit One, except that it only announces in the engineering spaces.
PA. Circuit Seven — Speaker announcing system used between the Conn, Maneuvering, the bridge, and the torpedo room.
Passive Sonar — Most common mode of employment of most submarine sonar systems. Sonar system is used only to listen, not to ping out active sonar beams, since pinging gives away a covert submarine’s presence. Use of passive sonar makes it difficult to determine a contact’s range, course, and speed (solution). TMA is the means of obtaining a solution when using passive sonar.
Patrol Quiet — Ship system’s lineup to ensure maximum quiet while allowing normal creature comforts such as cooking and movie watching. Maintenance on equipment is allowed, if it does not involve banging on the hull. Noisy operations are permitted only with the captain’s permission, such as reactor coolant discharge, steam generator blow downs etc.
PD (Periscope Depth) — An operation in which a ship comes shallow enough to see with the periscope. Certain operations can be done only at periscope depth by decree of the Submarine Standard Operating Procedures manual. Such items include steam generator blow down shooting trash from the TDU, and blowing sanitary. Some things can only be done at PD, including radio reception of satellite broadcasts, reception of a NAV SAT pass, and ESM activities. Slows the ship down since high speeds can rip off the periscope. Dangerous operation since quiet surface ships can get close without being detected by sonar.
Pilot — A person who has detailed knowledge and experience of a port and approach waterways. Taken on prior to entering or exiting port to serve as an advisor to the captain. A mixed blessing for ship captains, since a pilot’s mistake still gets the captain fired (the ship is the captain’s ultimate responsibility, not the pilot’s), while ignoring a pilot can also get a captain fired, especially if the ship runs aground.
Ping — An active sonar pulse.
P.L.A — People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese military, composing both the army and navy.
Polymer Injection — The injection of a polymer into the boundary layer of a submarine at the nose cone The slippery liquid reduces the skin friction of the ship, reducing the drag. The result is the ability to dramatically increase ship’s top speed for short periods of time. Ideal for torpedo evasion.
Poopy Suit — Underway uniform worn by American submariners. Usually cotton coveralls. Origin unknown, but probably refers to frequent occurrence of showers and laundry service being curtailed when rigged for ultra quiet or when the evaporator is broken, causing the coveralls to stink.
Position One (Pos One) — Furthest forward console of the firecontrol system. Usually set up with the captain’s and XO’s guess solution to the contact, or shows the geographic display for a God’s eye view of the sea.
Position Two (Pos Two) — Firecontrol console between Pos One and the Firing Panel. Usually set up to the Line-of-Sight mode so that the Pos Two officer can come up with his own independent firecontrol solution under the XO’s supervision.
Position Three (Pos Three) — Furthest aft console of the firecontrol system. Usually set up to program torpedo tubes and weapons.
Power Range — Nuclear power level above the intermediate range. In the power range, steam can be produced by the reactor for propulsion.
PRC — People’s Republic of China, the Communists.
Propulsor — Sophisticated screw that uses ducting and multistage water turbine blades for propulsion instead of a conventional screw. Similar to a water jet. Extremely quiet and nearly impossible to cavitate. Disadvantage includes slow response and acceleration due to relatively low thrust compared to conventional screws.
Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) — Weapons officer aboard a U.S. Navy fighter aircraft.
Range — Distance to a contact.
Reactor Compartment — Compartment housing the reactor, pressurizer, steam generators, and reactor main coolant pumps. Access fore and aft is through a shielded tunnel, since anyone inside the compartment when the reactor is critical would be dead within a minute from the intense radiation.
Reactor Main Coolant Pumps — Massive pumps, each consuming between 100 and 400 horsepower, that force main coolant water through the reactor and then to the steam generators. Three are in each main coolant loop. Special design allows zero leakage.
Reactor Plant Control Panel (RPCP) — Control panel in the maneuvering room where the Reactor Operator controls the reactor.
Reduction Gear — The mechanism that converts the high RPMs of the two main engines (propulsion turbines) to the slow RPM of the screw. Solves the problem of how to get two turbines to drive a single screw. Also solves the problem of how to let the main engines rotate at high RPM where they are efficient while letting the screw rotate at the low RPM where it is efficient. Unfortunately, the reduction gear is one of the noisiest pieces of equipment aboard.
REM — Roentgen Equivalent Man. A unit of radiation dosage that takes into account tissue damage due to neutron radiation. Convenient since it allows gamma, alpha, and neutron radiation to be measured with the same units. 1000 rem will kill. 500 rem may kill. Yearly dose for submarine personnel is restricted to less than 25 to 100 milli rem