Chapter 2 —SUBMARINES AND ANTISUBMARINE UNITS 



AIRCRAFT 



The use of aircraft in conjunction with ships 

 and submarines adds greater capability and 

 versatility to ASW. Areas of surveillance can 

 be enlarged, ranges extended for detection and 

 attack, and a diversified use of weapons utilized. 

 Two types of aircraft are used in ASW: the 

 helicopter for close ranges, and the fixed-wing 

 aircraft for long ranges. The helicopter uses a 

 dipping sonar; that is, one that may be lowered 

 from the aircraft for searching, as shown in 

 figure 2-10, and retracted for flight. Fixed-wing 

 aircraft use magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) 

 equipment whereby they detect the submarine 



by variations in the earth's magnetic lines of 

 force. 



Aircraft also use other devices for detecting 

 the presence of submarines. One of these devices 

 is the sonobuoy, wliich is dropped into the water 

 by the aircraft and then monitored by radio. 

 Sonobuoy s are described in chapter 6. 



The aircraft also can be used as a tactical 

 device to carry a weapon to the submarine. Among 

 the weapons that can be launched from an aircraft 

 axe the homing torpedo and the nuclear depth 

 charge. Figure 2-11 shows an aircraft of the 

 type carried aboard a CVS. Another type of air- 

 craft used in ASW is the P3 Orion, which is land- 

 based. The Orion is a long-range patrol plane, 

 and carries highly sophisticated electronic de- 

 tection equipment. 



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