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2005-01-14 Home Front: Tech

January 14, 2005: The USS ~~Peanut Farmer~~ Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) is a modified Seawolf-class submarine. She displaces 12,151 tons submerged, is 100 feet longer than a baseline Seawolf (453 feet compared to 353 feet). She is also slightly slower than a baseline Seawolf (61.1 kilometers per hour compared to 64.8 for the baseline Seawolf), and carries the same armament (eight 30-inch torpedo tubes with fifty weapons). The Jimmy Carter, though, was not designed for combat patrols. She is officially a testbed, much like the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Memphis. However, her real role is to eventually replace the Sturgeon-class submarine USS Parche, which was taken out of service in October, 2004. The USS Parche also has a 100-foot long extension — although that was installed during a refit that lasted from 1987-1991. The Navy is very reluctant to give out details about the Jimmy Carter, and she is often placed in a covered drydock (to keep her away from prying eyes in space as well as on the ground). This is not surprising. The methods and sources of intelligence are protected very closely by the intelligence community, and the Jimmy Carter is going to be one of the prime sources of intelligence.

The Jimmy Carter is capable of carrying 50 special operations personnel, but her primary mission will be intelligence gathering. The Navy doesn't talk much about the intelligence-gathering missions it has carried out in the past, or currently. One of the missions Parche carried out was the maintenance of taps on undersea phone lines between the Russian naval bases of Petropavalosk and Vladivostok (the famous "Ivy Bells" mission). Other missions involved electronic intelligence. Submarines are ideal for this mission — they can often supplement coverage by aircraft and satellites. This supplementary coverage it vital. Aircraft can be detected and have limited range and satellites have predictable orbits. Dummy transmissions can be used to throw them off. Submarines, on the other hand, are unpredictable things — particularly nuclear-powered submarines. There is no way to know a submarine is thereâŠ unless it either chooses to reveal its presence (usually through the creation of a flaming datum) or something goes wrong (a collision — like which happened with the USS Tautog). Submarines often get data on new naval units — often shadowing them and collecting "hull shots" (pictures of the hull of a ship or submarine) and a very good idea of the ship's acoustic signature (for future identification).

In time of war, the Jimmy Carter will provide support for various missions, like raids by SEALs and other special operations units. Often, these groups will split up for missions, which could run the gamut of raids or advising partisans, or a single large mission could be carried out. Often, their delivery will be by the Advanced SEAL Delivery System, supported in a Dry Dock Shelter. She will also have additional command and control facilities, and storage for additional munitions and fuel. You will not hear much about what the Jimmy Carter does if the United States Navy has its way. The submarines are called the Silent Service. This is doubly true for those submarines like Jimmy Carter and Parche — which engage in intelligence gathering. Their successes remain secret — failures will probably make the press.

Posted by Steve 2005-01-14 11:32:04 AM|| || Front Page|| [11134 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Wonder if they assigned this sub to this duty to break Jimmah's balls?

Posted by tu3031 2005-01-14 11:57:35 AM|| 2005-01-14 11:57:35 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 I kind of feel sorry for that sub's crew; imagine having that albatross of a name hung around your neck as you perform such vital - and anti-Carter - work.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut 2005-01-14 12:07:00 PM|| 2005-01-14 12:07:00 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 With a name like Jimmuh Kotta, I've a feeling that this is going to be a "hard luck" sub.

Jack.

Posted by Jack Deth 2005-01-14 12:17:50 PM|| 2005-01-14 12:17:50 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 We don't do no surveilling. We does "hydrographic surveys" and if ya ask what that means, I'll hafta burn outcha eyeballs.

Ex-Nuke

Posted by Almost Anonymous2520 2005-01-14 12:33:58 PM|| 2005-01-14 12:33:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 I know! I know! It means finding how much salt is in the water! Am I right?

Posted by Shipman 2005-01-14 1:25:36 PM|| 2005-01-14 1:25:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 I wish they'd kept the name classified too.

Posted by HV 2005-01-14 5:04:14 PM|| 2005-01-14 5:04:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 One of the missions Parche carried out was the maintenance of taps on undersea phone lines between the Russian naval bases of Petropavalosk and Vladivostok (the famous âIvy Bellsâ mission).

Wasn't this work part of Operation Holystone?

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-01-14 5:27:57 PM|| 2005-01-14 5:27:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 I always thouht the Jimmie Carter was for hunting rabbits.....

Posted by CrazyFool 2005-01-14 6:18:10 PM|| 2005-01-14 6:18:10 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 I strongly hope they eventually take a swapped out Los Angeles class and turn it into a "Sea View". With significant modifications to insure that everybody knows it is an peaceful oceanographic research vessel, it would be invaluable. The Los Angeles class is horribly oversized, which would be perfect for recovering dangerous nuclear weapons materials and waste lost or dumped at sea and mapping resources potentially worth trillions of dollars. Filled with oceanographers and geologists, the amount of research would be worth quintuple the cost of operations. It could even serve as a launch and recovery platform for hundreds of torpedo-like ocean survey systems, that operate independently for a month or more. And this is not a pipe dream, because the Glomar Explorer and Challenger have proven themselves unbelievably valuable as research surface vessels. Just one such ship could re-start oceanic exploitation as extensive as the industrial revolution.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-01-14 7:49:33 PM|| 2005-01-14 7:49:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 With a vessel named Jimmy Carter, the thirst for real knowledge must be insatiable....

Posted by Frank G 2005-01-14 8:02:33 PM|| 2005-01-14 8:02:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 Carter as POTUS was too naive, letting the Soviets lie and deceive him at every turn! On the other hand, I'm pray to God the USDOD never names anything after Commie Bill Clinton or his wife, espec iff its mission involves de facto warfighting or "showing the flag" anywhere in the world.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2005-01-14 8:21:50 PM|| [http://n/a] 2005-01-14 8:21:50 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 Ima thinker a Dry Dock would be appropriate to name after Hillary

Posted by Frank G 2005-01-14 8:23:23 PM|| 2005-01-14 8:23:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 ooooooh, you are soooo bad!

Posted by Tom 2005-01-14 8:26:10 PM|| 2005-01-14 8:26:10 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 #12 Frank---mean spirited, heh, but as to accuracy, well, who's the source?

Posted by Alaska Paul 2005-01-14 8:30:23 PM|| 2005-01-14 8:30:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 #14
The source is none other than Jimmy Carter.

Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2005-01-14 9:23:04 PM|| 2005-01-14 9:23:04 PM|| Front Page Top

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