How big is the wake off of a submarine when it pops out of the water?
When it pops out of the water? Hmmm…as a retired submariner, I’ve never thought of that myself. Here’s some information for you though, which you can think about when you look at the video below. A Los Angeles class fast attack submarine is 362 feet long and 33 feet wide. The most dramatic surfacing event any submarine can make results from what is called an “Emergency Blow”. US submarines routinely test this Emergency Blow capability from test depth on every submarine, because it’s one of the most important safety features on the boat. At test depth, a submarine will initiate an Emergency Blow and simultaneously drive the ship to the surface. This will cause a significant portion of the submarine to be literally launched out of the water, perhaps as much as 2/3 of her length, give or take. Now that you know this, take a gander at the following video of a Los Angeles class submarine breaking through the surface during an Emergency Blow: . .
