Submersible profession: training systems (2 ° part)

(To Lia Pasqualina Stani)
08/06/16

Being able to train and train a submariner "future" is not easy, it requires meticulous and careful work. The instructors of the School Sommergibilisti del Comflotsom, have the precise skills to perform their roles as "mentors" for those who decide to pursue this career. They manage to make use of the human abilities of their "students" and implement all the methods necessary to be able to prepare them professionally at high levels.

To train the submariners who will board the class boats Sauro 3 ^ and 4 ^ series and class Todaro, the School has different simulators. But all the submariners know them both.

There are educational activities reserved for submariners who work on Common Training Systems. Between these:

- CBT (Computer Based Training);

- Falla and Fumo Simulator;

- Linguistic Laboratory and Multimedia Room;

The CBT (Computer Based Training) is the training that is done by computer. It is carried out in the first phase of submariner preparation, and involves training and basic training.

It is nothing more than a "network" of computer workstations, consisting of PCs with specific peripherals, which reproduce the operating manual of the on-board systems and equipment.

The CBT allows all staff to approach and face realistic simulations. For this reason, it is widely used in individual and group lessons, in the basic submarine training, in specialized qualification courses, both initial and higher up to preparation courses for the use of coaches.

Il Linguistic Laboratory is another very efficient teaching facility available to the Submersible School. Made up of sixteen stations for students and a location reserved for the instructor. It is dedicated to teaching and improving foreign languages ​​and especially the English language.

It is available both to the submariner's personnel of the Comflotsom or to the entire diving component, and to the personnel of other entities of the Italian Navy.

It is of utmost importance to use the language lab, because it is extremely necessary after the start of the U212A program, which provides for contacts with foreign staff, allowing all personnel to consult the technical documentation of the on-board equipment of class boats Todaro.

Le Multimedia Classrooms they are equipped with large screens, where you can show the same images that the students will be able to relive on board during their career. Here the view is projected through the periscope, the Sonar cascade displays or the TMA (Target Motion Analysis) console.

Important teaching aid for the training of all submariner staff is the Falla and Fumo Simulator (photo).

Inside a special room two of the most feared emergencies that could occur on board are realistically reconstructed, putting in serious danger not only the safety of the boat, but above all the life of the entire crew: a fire o a flaw.

With this simulator it is reconstructed in natural size on auxiliary premises, of both the Sauro and Todaro classes, set up with gods simulacra, equipment and piping that, normally present on board, in this case become defective or non-functioning.

Il Fault and smoke simulator trains the crews to face the real dangerous situations that could occur on board of a submarine, in particular it prepares them to intervene on a fire or a leak, by correctly wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE) and emergency equipment, available on board. In fire simulation i is used Portable Smoke Generators - produce non-toxic smoke - which allows the emergency team on duty to train in absolute realism and in total safety to face the most lethal of dangers generated by the fire.

La Falla simulation is reproduced assuming the breaking / yielding / cracking of one of the pressure pipes on board, usually from general refrigeration. In this onboard circuit, sea water passes with a pressure slightly higher than the water pressure that is outside the boat. In particular, by simulating the presence of holes in the pipelines, the personnel must be able, promptly, to plug the leak by reducing the entry of water into the boat and once the damaged section is intercepted, restore the integrity of the piping and of the circuit .

In all the "simulations" the submariner lives that experience as if it were real, imagining himself to be on board at a deep altitude, with a single goal, to be able to safeguard his own life and that of his colleagues.