Preparation for the SCAMP Phase II installation on the Hawkbill started in Pearl Harbor on April 8, 1998 with the arrival of our containers of dive gear, instrument pods and handling gear. Diving operations started on Monday, April 13 with the opening of the flood grates and inspection of pre-installed cables.

 

During the preparations the handling gear, pods and foundations were assembled and fitted, transducers were installed and preparations were made to begin diving operations.

Figure 1 Test-fit of the Sidescan Swath Bathymetric Sonar (SSBS) frame on the handling gear.

 

On Tuesday the foundation for the High Resolution Subbottom Profiler (HRSP) was mounted on the handling gear, lowered into the water between the pier and boat and hoisted into place below the submarine and bolted to the mounting pucks that were installed during the June drydocking.

 

 

Figure 2 The HRSP foundation (with skirts attached) mounted on the handling frame and ready to be lifted into the water. (April 14, 1998.)

Figure 3 Lifting the handling gear with the HRSP foundation in place.

Figure 4 The HRSP pod on the handling frame being lowered between the pier and the Hawkbill.

After the frame is below the keel, the divers used chain falls hung from handling eyes to rotate the frame to a horizontal orientation and drift it outboard to the centerline. The same chain falls are then used to hoist the frame (and foundation) vertically to engage alignment pins in the mounting points. The last step is to bolt the foundation plate to the mounting pucks that were welded to the hull during the Phase one installation in June.

 
On Thursday April 16 we installed the foundation for the Sidescan Swath Bathymetric Sonar (SSBS).

Figure 5 The SSBS foundation being lowered into the water on the handling gear.

The SSBS pod with transducers mounted was installed and the bolts were torqued on Friday, April 17th. One end fairing frame was installed.

Figure 6: The installing the SSBS pod on the handling gear.

Figure 7: The handling gear with the SSBS pod attached hanging from the crane ready to lower into the water.

Figure 8: The handling gear and SSBS pod in the water with a diver ready to lower under the boat.
 

On Tuesday, April 21, 1998 when the underhull installation was nearly complete we took a series of still photographs and video tape. A few of the stills are reproduced here.
 

Figure 9: The HRSP pod on the hull. This view is taken from the starboard side.

Figure 9 and 10 are of the foreward and after ends of the HRSP pod. In Figure 9, two regions are visible in the orange colored area. The relatively thin band is the edge of the foundation. The fairing fills the area between the foundation and the hull. Below the foundation is the foreward fairing (black) and the bolts that hold it in place.
 


Figure 10: The aft end of the HRSP pod.

In Figure 10, the shiny section is the tail end of the streamlined pod. The orange region is the edge of the foundation and the skirt that fills the gap between the foundation and the hull.
 


Figure 11: Looking aft at the foreward end of the SSBS pod.

Figures 11 an 12 provide views of the SSBS pod before the end fairings are installed. In Figure 11 the transducer subarray cables are clearly visible with their color coded markings. The orange foundation and skirt are visible at the top of the photo. A tool line is also visible to the left of the pod.


Figure 12: The after end of the SSBS pod taken from the side. One transducer sub-arry is visible in the lower right and the longitudinal box beam that stiffens the pod is visible within the frame that will support the outter fairing.