Closing the hull of a new Spanish submarine - photo

**Jon** · Dec 19, 2019, 06:04 PM

Closing the hull of a new Spanish submarine, to be launched in October 2020. 1:40 video:

More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-80_Plus-class_submarine

Previously:

Submarine cutaway - photo
The H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink a warship
Narco-submarine captured by U.S. Coast Guard - video and infographic
U.S. Navy submarine missile launch tubes - photo
1920s submarine pulled by locomotive - photos

**hemmjo** · Dec 21, 2019, 04:24 AM

I have never been any good at upside down welding. I certainly hope those guys are REALLY good at their craft!!!!

**Dragonhand** · Dec 21, 2019, 02:11 PM

Weld and weld and weld and weld and grind and weld and weld and weld.....geesh!

**tonyfoale** · Dec 21, 2019, 05:39 PM

In Cartagena where this video was made, there is on public display a submarine by Isaac Peral. So what?
Well it was launched in 1888 and was totally battery powered.

**Dragonhand** · Dec 21, 2019, 08:58 PM

I'd imagine they would xray the welds to make sure.

**Frank S** · Dec 21, 2019, 09:35 PM

Largest pipe I ever welded was 96" in diameter and that seemed to take forever. bead brush the end of each electrode change every pass had to be back ground to a contour and depth gage. Any porosity found during each pass meant grind out re weld to depth then move on to the next pass.
Pipelining on the 96incher was nearly as tedious as welding hull plates on a work barge. I can just imagine what was involved in welding up a submarine that had to withstand the extreme pressures they encounter.

**hemmjo** · Dec 22, 2019, 06:13 AM

I talked with an old welder that had worked on a nuclear power plant. As I understand, the welders had to sign out their electrodes as they needed them. They only got enough to last a short length of time, as they were stored in climate controlled chamber. When they needed more they had to return the stubs, the same quantity as they had signed out, with the numbers still on the stub. The stubs were then checked and the numbers verified. If they matched, he could get more to continue working. If they did not match, or if one was missing, that difference had to be explained. If the missing stub could not be found, all of the weld from that batch had to be ground out and redone.

He went on to explain that there was A LOT of resistance to building the plant and lots of sabotage. Someone would slip a stub of the wrong type electrode into a welders pouch then all of that weld would have to be ground out and redone.

I was skeptical of his story, but a later news story changed my mine. It was reported the thousands of X-Rays verifying the welds were all exactly the same. Simply made of the same section of weld. The plant was in Southern Ohio along the river. It never opened as a nuclear plant. It is burning coal now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willia..._Power_Station