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Posted by on Aug 10, 2016 in TellMeWhy |

Do Submarines Have Anchors?

Do Submarines Have Anchors?

Do Submarines Have Anchors? They sure do. Submarines need anchors for the same reason that other ships do. Any time a submarine needs to maintain its position on the surface but doesn’t happen to be near a pier or another vessel, the anchor is used.

Anchors aren’t needed while submarines are submerged, but subs have to resurface sometime, so anchors come in handy. They are housed in one of the aft Main Ballast Tanks. They retract fully and fair into to the rest of the hull to maintain the smooth hull shape and keep the hydrodynamic properties.

Some ports Submarines pull into, they are not allowed or cannot moor to a pier and “Anchor Out” in the harbor. The anchor on the submarine is special in and of itself.  It isn’t an anchor like on a Chief’s collar device.  This thing is made of a curved plate that fairs smoothly with the underside of the hull when the anchor is drawn up under the torpedo room and stowed.

The shank of the anchor attaches to the center of this plate.  The anchor chain attaches to the other end of the shank with a large shackle.  The anchor has four flukes, the large blade-like projections that dig into the sea floor.  The flukes are welded to the four corners of the anchor plate.

Because the anchor plate is curved and the flukes stick out from the corners like airplane propellers, the anchor has a tendency to pin-wheel when it moves through the water

Content for this question contributed by Vincent Majerowicz, resident of Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California, USA