Rig For Black — Submarine term meaning “turn off the lights in the control room.”
Rig For Dive — A detailed valve and switch lineup done in preparation to dive. Initially done by a dolphin-wearing enlisted man and checked by a dolphin-wearing officer.
Rig For Patrol Quiet — Ship systems 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.
Rig For Ultraquiet — Ship systems lineup done in a tactical situation such as a close trailing OP or in wartime. Only the quietest equipment is running. Offwatch personnel are required to be in bed. The galley, showers, laundry, movies, and maintenance of equipment are all prohibited to minimize noise. Hard-soled shoes are prohibited. Lights are shifted to red to remind the crew of the need for silence. The ship is eerily quiet, as if run by ghosts.
Rig For White — Submarine term meaning “turn on the lights in the control room.”
RO (Reactor Operator) — Nuclear-trained enlisted man who mans the Reactor Plant Control Panel and reports to the EOOW.
RPG — Rocket-propelled grenade.
Run-To-Enable — Initial torpedo run taking it away from own ship. During the run-to-enable, the warhead is not armed and the sonar is not operational. When the run-to-enable is complete, the weapon activates the active or passive sonar and swims the search pattern. The warhead is not armed until it has a detect on the target.
Sail — Conning tower. Named because, unlike the conning towers of World War II diesel boats, which were misshapen and asymmetrical, modern nuclear submarine conning towers are smooth fins with square profiles when viewed from the side. Someone in the distant past called it a sail and the term became official.
SCRAM — An emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor, done by driving control rods to the bottom of the core using springs. A term left over from the 1940s when primitive lab reactors had a single control rod suspended by a rope. An emergency shutdown would be done by cutting the rope and letting the rod drop by gravity. The safety man was called the Safety Control Rod Ax Man — hence SCRAM.
SCRAM Breaker — A circuit breaker that interrupts power to the latching electromagnets of the control rod drive mechanisms. When the breaker opens, electrical power to the electromagnets is shut off, the magnets lose their magnetism, and the latches of the rods open, lowing springs to drop the rods to the bottom of the core.
Scrambled Eggs — The gold branches of leaves sewn onto the brim of a senior officer’s cap.
Scrubber — CO2 scrubber. Atmospheric control equipment that rids the ship of carbon dioxide (from breathing, the diesel, and the CO burner) by blowing it over an amine bed.
SEAL — Sea/Air/Land commando.
Sea Trials — Post-construction shakedown cruise of a ship. Done to ensure the equipment lives up to specifications and is ready to perform its mission.
SECDEF — Secretary of Defense.
Section Tracking Team — A firecontrol team stationed to man the plots and firecontrol system when tracking a hostile contact for extended periods of time. Modified battle stations So named because each watch section (similar to a shift) has its own tracking team.
Ship Control Panel (SCP) — The console from which the ship’s depth, course, and speed are controlled. This console resembles a 747 cockpit, with the Sternplanesman on one side, the Helmsman on the other, and the Diving Officer behind and between them.
Ship Control Team — The watch standers manning the Ship Control Panel, including the Sternplanesman, the Helmsman, and the Diving Officer. Sometimes includes the Chief of the Watch, off to the port side at the Ballast Control Panel.
Shoot On Generated Bearing — Captain’s order to shoot a torpedo based on the firecontrol solution’s estimate of where a target should be, not on the last actual bearing from sonar. When ordered, the firecontrol team locks in the firecontrol solution to the target, and when the torpedo reports back, the captain is given one last chance to say either “Shoot” or “Check fire.”
SITREP — Situation report, a high priority radio message to a high-level commander reporting the status of a contact or enemy.
Signal Ejector — A small torpedo tube used to eject flares (for signalling surface ships), communication buoys (which can transmit hours after the ship has cleared datum; also used for SUB SUNK buoys), and countermeasures (torpedo decoys).
SLAAM — Submarine-launched anti-air missile.
Snapshot — A quick reaction torpedo shot, usually done only when fired upon first.
Snorkel — A mast designed to bring air into the submarine so that the air breathing diesel generator can use it for combustion when the reactor is scrammed.
Solution — A contact’s range, course, and speed. A great mystery when using passive sonar. Determining the solution requires maneuvering own ship and doing calculations on the target’s bearing rate. Can be obtained manually or with the firecontrol computer.
Sonobuoys — Small objects dropped from ASW aircraft that float on the surface and listen to the ocean below, then transmit that information up to the aircraft. A method of giving an aircraft sonar capability.
SPEC-OP — Special operation, usually top secret, and usually very hairy.
SPEC WAR — Special warfare. Commando operations.
Spherical Array — A sphere in the nose cone of a submarine fitted with transducers over most of its surface to be able to hear in all directions (except the baffles). Useful since it not only tells the bearing to an incoming noise, but also its DE (deflection elevation). The DE can give clues that the sound is relayed via bottom bounce or surface bounce, or even that a close contact is deeper or shallower than own ship.
Spin Up — Start the gyro and computer system of a weapon in preparation for launch.
Spook — A spy, either from Naval Intelligence, CIA, National Security Agency, or a nameless U.S. Navy organization that sends riders onboard to gather electronic intelligence when the ship is on a special OP.
SSN — A fast attack submarine. Literally stands for Submersible Ship Nuclear, although most crews agree it means Saturdays, Sundays, and Nights.
Steam Leak, Major — When one of the large steam pipes ruptures in the engine room. Result is rapid cooking of engineering crew unless the leak is isolated using MS-1 or 2 valves. Steam leaks are also dangerous because they will overpower the reactor.
Steam Plant Control Panel (SPCP) — Console in the maneuvering room that monitors the steam plant. Has the large throttle wheel in front that controls the speed of the main engines. Manned by the throttle man
Stemplanes — Horizontal control surfaces at the tail of a submarine. Similar to the elevator tail surfaces of an aircraft, the stern planes cause the ship to rise or dive.
Sternplanesman — Enlisted watch stander in the Ship Control Party who controls the stern planes at the Ship Control Panel,