The Fleet Type Submarine Online Submarine Sonar Operator's Manual

Since 07-01-05

http://www.maritime.org/fleetsub/sonar/index.htm

Declassified WWII Submarine Manuals

Submarine Sonar Operator's Manual, Navpers 16167, is one of a series of submarine training manuals that was completed just after WW II. The series describes the peak of WW II US submarine technology. In this online version of the manual we have attempted to keep the flavor of the original layout while taking advantage of the Web's universal accessibility.

Different browsers and fonts will cause the text to move, but the text will remain roughly where it is in the original manual. In addition to errors we have attempted to preserve from the original (for example, it was CS Hunley, not CS Huntley), this text was captured by optical character recognition. This process creates errors that are compounded in the while encoding for the Web. Please report any typos, or particularly annoying layout issues to the Pampanito crew for correction.

As a sonar operator, you will have a most important job. On a patrol in enemy waters the lives of your shipmates may be in your hands. You must know your gear and what it can do. You must be able to recognize and interpret the sounds that you hear. You must be able to operate the controls the way you drive a car - automatically without thinking. Most of these things you cannot learn from books. Only long hours of practice on the gear itself will make you proficient.

There is, however, a certain amount of background knowledge which will prepare you to make the most of your practice time. This manual supplies that background knowledge. It is all solid meat. You can well afford to know every bit of it by heart. Study it thoroughly from cover to cover.