European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes sunday april 20, 1986 the the Navy s newest Trident submarine by Jim Stewart Cox news service w Ith virtually no sense of motion and Only the faint faraway sound of whoosh the submarine Alaska Slid into secrecy beneath the surface of the Atlantic. In the control room a brightly lit Cavern crowded with Young sailors and officers Only the sounds of the helmsman calling out the depth and the Hiss of the ventilation system blowing in Cool almost Sweet smelling air could be heard. The sensation of going Down is Felt Only after the ship drops 100 feet below the surface. Such is the size of the Alaska that to increase the Angle of descent any sooner would have thrust its single 2 /2-Story-tall screw above the surface. Above All it is the size and lethal Grace of this Leviathan that impresses most. It stretches 580 feet longer than the Washington Monument is tall and weighs 18,750 tons submerged More than All but the heaviest of surface ships. Its nuclear reactor Plant generates enough electricity for a City of 50,000. Its is four floors deep 42 feet wide and for exercise some Crew members jog around a missile Bay that is nearly As Large As a basketball court. Sixteen laps equals a mile. The Alaska is the newest of America s Trident submarines the seventh in what eventually will be a Fleet of around 20. The Navy provided a rare glimpse inside the highly classified vessel recently while the Alaska was in training. The ship was commissioned Jan. 25 and will deploy to its permanent station in Bangor wash., at the end of the year. They Cost $1.5 billion each and the Trident Are arguably the most powerful warships Ever built. Each carries 24 Trident a missiles that sit upright in huge silos a midship. Each missile weighs 32.5 tons. In each bulbous nose Are up to eight multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles each with a warhead yielding Between 100 and 150 Kilotons according to one unclassified estimate. The Trident s role in the greater scheme of America s defense strategy is to make the soviet Union think twice before launching a nuclear attack. Should that occur the Trident would Rise from the Depths like angry sea gods and fire their missiles. To see one up close is to understand Why one Navy official Calls them the ultimate  on a recent blustery March morning the Alaska slipped into port canaveral fla., As quietly As the Dawn. The deck of the ship and its pressure Hull Are made of coarse feeling Carbon steel up to several inches thick. Surprisingly there is no escape even aboard a Trident from the Navy ritual of Chipping away old paint and adding new during port time. The top third of the submarine is Stark Black while the Bottom two thirds All below the water line is painted a Dull red. Entry to the ship is Down a narrow set of ladders past a pressure Hatch the size of a Small Bank vault door and into a brightly lit Interior. Young sailors All Clad in Blue Cotton and polyester jump suits with Matching Canvas deck shoes offer a helping hand. This is the Gold Crew of the Alaska commanded by capt. Charles j. Chotvacs Hometown Denver. Half of them Are less than 24 and one in 10 of the enlisted men went to College. They alternate with the Blue Crew after every 75-Day patrol so that the ship is constantly at sea when not being resupplied or repaired. The Only limitation on How Long she can remain submerged is the amount of food she can carry according to it. . Holstein a new yorker serving As the Alaska s Supply officer. Inside the vessel there is no sense of the confinement that could trigger Claustrophobia. Instead the Alaska during commissioning ceremonies in january 1986. Up photo of Low ceilings the overhead is a Maze of pipes wiring and valves each bundle individually suspended and soundproofed. Narrow but easily manageable stairways connect the floors. On the third deck the officers wardroom is comfortably decorated and served from a pantry larger than the Galley on a Boeing 747. Stereo systems and video players Are located throughout the ship. A smell almost like that of a new car pervades the Alaska thanks mainly to its pressurized Interior and a 40-ton air conditioner. Despite the environment however an amazing 60 percent of the Young Crew smokes. I did a Survey and found basically that they smoke because they like it said it. William p. Robinson the ship s doctor and also a smoker. The Trident Are assembled by general dynamics electric boat co. At a Well guarded eight acre facility in Groton Conn. Typically three or More years of construction and testing pass Between the laying of the keel and the ship s commissioning. Trident which Dwarf the older Polaris Type ballistic missile ships were built with a Large margin for growth. When the More powerful and longer Range Trident ii missiles Are deployed in 1989, the Trident s silos will fit them comfortably. Most Welcome to the ship s engineers Are three six foot diameter hatches built into the Trident. Now instead of having to Blowtorch their Way through the pressure Hull to remove larger pieces of machinery when in dry Dock workmen can remove and replace items through the oversize hatches. Safety silence and compactness Are hallmark features aboard the Trident. Air masks Are stored in virtually every overhead compartment. Fire extinguishers and hoses Are in abundance. Superb workmanship is evident in handcrafted rubber and Cork buffers that eliminate even the hint of a rattle. The outside of the Hull carries a Large array of sensors and probes to test water salinity temperature and currents elements the huge sub frequently uses to mask its movements. Should the ship s reactor fail a diesel engine can provide emergency Power and Speed. A third so called bring it Home emergency propulsion system is also available a reminder of the loss of the Thresher which Sank in 1963, apparently after losing Power and slipping beneath its crush depth off the Atlantic Trench. A second . Nuclear submarine the scorpion Sank off the Canary islands in 1968. Although not confirmed by the Navy one published report concluded that the boat Sank after one of its own Mark 37 torpedoes accidentally armed itself and exploded surfacing in a fog and coming to Periscope depth approximately 80 feet Are the most worrisome moments aboard a submarine according to the executive officer. The tendency is not to believe what you can t see. The fear is that there is something out there that sonar did t pick up the executive officer said. Until they can do a Complete sweep with the Periscope new officers of the deck tend to stay puckered  despite the Security surrounding the ship itself there Are areas within the boat that Are further off limits. Since the Days of retired adm. Hyman g. Rickover father of the nuclear Navy the reactor and propulsion rooms have been closed to visitors. Additionally heavy steel doors with combination locks separate the sonar communications and data processing rooms the eyes ears and brain of the Trident from the rare visitor. These functions Are what make the Trident the Power it is the ability to see and evade its pursuers and to receive without fail the message to launch its missiles