Submarine C3

A submarine is a vessel capable of navigating both conventional manner, such as submerged under water, governed by men.

All  submarines use to sink the “principle of Archimedes.” This principle states that any object immersed in a fluid experiences an upward thrust equal to the weight of the displaced volume. This principle explains that the buoyancy of the objects and if you increase the weight of an object is floating (positive buoyancy), you can make your weight is greater than the weight of water displaced and thus cause it to submerge. Submarine ballast tanks used to be filled or emptied of water to change its properties buoyancy at will and can handle the transition from a positive buoyancy (the vessel fleet) to negative (dives) or vice versa.

It is clear that the submarines have not been the first ships that sailed riding our oceans, as they require a technology far more advanced than conventional ships. It is not our purpose to explain in detail the operation of a submarine: the reader who is interested in this can find detailed information click below and have access to two websites, one in Spanish and in English. To frame the technology used in the submarine C3, we will spell out the different technologies used in the construction of submarines along the story:

Muscular or Propulsion: The first submarine, based necessary force for traction and other needs in the muscles of the crew.

We can compare this situation to that of the boats moved by oars or vehicles driven by pedals or animal traction.
Propulsion or Steam: Though it may seem quaint, submarines existed steam traction.

Do not forget that the power of steam was the most commonly used for traction of ships until World War II, the industry felt comfortable using this source of energy to move underwater. According to data available to these submarines, some construction continued until the late 1930 (dates after construction of the submarine C3) but this time there were already more advanced technology.

It’s easy to imagine a surface vessel driven by a steam engine and we have all seen pictures of them with fireplaces emanate large amounts of smoke, but when you bring this concept to a submarine must be able to navigate underwater, we must solve two problems: What about fireplaces? What type of energy used for traction when the ship is submerged?. These two problems were solved through the use of chimneys to be folded-up when the ship sank. Later, when submerged, the ship used to pull the energy of water vapor pressure in the boilers.

We can imagine the limited effectiveness of this technology compared with either of those explained below, but it is also true that at the time there were no other alternatives.
or Joint Propulsion: Gasoline-Electric: This technology is used for gasoline engines in the navigation area and electric motors for navigation in immersive. The electrical power required to operate the electric motors is stored in batteries that are recharged through the engine to explode when the ship was at the surface.

This technology was clearly superior to the use of steam but had two big drawbacks: The enormous rate of fire and explosions on board due to the use of gasoline and the intense smell of fuel.

To partly remedy these drawbacks, it was used at some point a variant of this technology on the basis of replacing the gasoline engine with that of kerosene.

Mixed Propulsion Diesel-Electric: Same as above, but replacing the combustion engine for a diesel engine, which eliminated the risk of fire engines and provided significant power.

This is the technology used by the Submarine C3 and most of the submarine from World War II to (almost) present day, excluding nuclear submarine propulsion. Later we will see more details of the same applied to submarine C3.
Nuclear Propulsion: These submarines use a nuclear reactor as an energy source. The first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus was operational, in service by the Navy of the United States of America in the year 1966.

These submarines have a virtually unlimited autonomy but have the drawback of its high cost so that not all countries can maintain a fleet of these ships continued to use yet advanced diesel technology properly.

The submarine C3 was part of the C series of submarines of the Spanish Armada, which planned to acquire 18 units of which only six were eventually built. These submarines were identified by numbers corresponding to the C1 to C6, although not named any of them except the C1 with the name “Isaac Peral. They were virtually identical in design, equipment and technical features, and its main differences: the communication system between submarines dive deck and armament.

The C series is an improved design of the model number 150F Holland. ” The model was developed by one of the world’s largest manufacturer of military technology and in the years that saw the signing of the order to supply submarines armed major countries of world like Japan and England. The submarines were built in Cartagena by the Spanish Society of Shipbuilding (SECN). We can say that the series C had a design of the most advanced and most reliable of the era. Then we will tour the most important elements in terms of its technology that can help us after reviewing the circumstances of the sinking:

Diesel Engines: The submarine was equipped with two diesel engines Vickers brand power of a single 1000 HP, which gave a total power of 2000 HP, which were used to drive the ship during navigation on the surface and to recharge batteries the vessel.

Both engines were mounted at the stern of the submarine and aft, one to the other port and starboard. Behind the diesel engines and electric motors were then lanzatorpedos stern tubes.

Electric Motors: The submarine also had two 375 HP electric motors power each. These engines were installed in the aft, aligned with the respective diesel and behind them. Electric motors provide traction when the ship sailed in Cincinnati.

It is worth the difference in power between the diesel and electric engines, which translates into differences in the speed of navigation and self-immersion and surface. El Submarino C3 developed a maximum speed of 16.5 knots on the surface with a range of 6800 miles (a cruising speed of 10 knots and 3200 miles at 16.5 knots) in developing an immersion speed of 8.5 knots with a range of 150 miles. This is very normal at the time, where the submarines were basically surface ships that were sailing on an occasional immersion in but in time were fearsome weapons of war by the difficulty of detecting them limited to visual and acoustic techniques. Later, with the development of other technologies, submarines became faster ships sailing in that area and immersion usually remain submerged.
Propellers: The submarine was equipped with two propellers in the stern besieged and aligned with the respective pairs of Diesel-Electric engines mounted on both sides of the vessel. There was a mechanism for coupling the engine to the right of the propeller shaft at every moment in this way to change to electric traction diesel or vice versa.

The size of the propeller is “normal” and therefore had to develop their power to turn quickly. This result phenomena of “cavitation” important at the time of the construction of the C3 had not been adequately studied this phenomenon and therefore was not a consideration in the design.

Cavitation is a phenomenon caused by the pressure difference in each of the faces of the blades of the propeller of the vessel to rotate. This pressure difference causes the formation of bubbles from the air dissolved in the water, beating against the propeller blades produce noise. One of the points that facilitate the detection of a submarine is noise, so in modern designs, it increases the size of the propellers to develop their power at lower revolutions eliminating the phenomenon of cavitation.

Governance: As we used to see which aircraft are equipped with redundant elements in order to provide better traction conditions on flight safety, we are not striking double drive in the case of the submarine C3 but there’s another important reason on a ship to have two propellers.

Normally, the control element of the direction of a ship is the rudder, which enables to modify the balance of forces of friction of the hull and the water produced by the start of the vessel and thus change the course of it. A vessel equipped with only as a steering wheel is fully governable, but governance can be improved substantially by the use of two propellers mounted on the stern, symmetrical with respect to the axis of the bay and more separate as possible. In vessels with a double helix, combine the revolutions of each of them and the fly “forward-backward” in this way for a more flexible rule: If I can get it on the starboard tack very efficiently by the forward Port-engine propeller and benefiting (back) to starboard.

Snorkeling: The snorkeling is one that allows the submarine tuso the exchange of gases of combustion to the outside, where the vessel is submerged. Basically you have two channels: a fresh air intake for combustion of the diesel engine and the other for the expulsion to the outside of the exhaust.

The submarine was not equipped with C3 snorkel.

The snorkel has joined the fleet of German submarines during World War II. Until that time there was no need to use this device, but the use and improvement of radar by the Allies turned a submarine surfaced in a vulnerable and easily detectable, so it was very important to remain submerged for long space of time.

That is exactly the functionality provided by the snorkel, as the submarine was submerged to navigate depth with the energy of diesel engines and gas exchange through the combustion snorkel.