Snorkel
(pronounced snawr-kuhl)
(1) A
device permitting a submarine to remain submerged for prolonged periods,
consisting of tubes extended above the surface of the water to (1) take in air
for the diesel engine, (2) for general ventilation and (3) to discharge exhaust
gases and foul air.
(2) In military
jargon, a similar device on a tanks (and other vehicles), enabling it to cross
shallow water obstacles (later adopted for civilian use in 4WD
(four-wheel-drive) off-road vehicles and sometime fitted (for visual effect) even
to to those used only in urban environments.
(3) In swimming, a device (usually of plastic
or rubber), allowing a swimmer to breathe while face down on the surface of the
water, consisting of a bent tube fitting into the mouth and projecting above
the surface.
(4) To
engage in snorkeling.
(5) In
clothing design, a specialized style of hoodie, a type of parka or anorak with
a hood projecting beyond the face (a la Kenny in South Park).
(6) In fire
fighting, a bendable arm for hydraulic platforms or buckets.
(7) A
proprietary fountain pen piston filling system used by the Sheaffer pen
company.
1945: A Modern English borrowing from the German Schnorchel ((submarine) snorkel), an
airshaft for submarines, related to schnarchen
(to snore) and thus named because of (1) the submarine snorkel's functional
similarity to a nose and (2) its noise when in use. The anglicized spelling was first recorded in
1945 in US documents, apparently not appearing in the UK until 1949 although
there had been earlier references to the technology using the noun
“snort”. The meaning "curved tube
used by a swimmer to breathe under water" was first recorded in 1951. Snorkel & snorkelling are nouns & verbs, snorkeler is a noun and snorkeled & are verbs; the noun plural is snorkels.
Breath deeply
Adding a snorkel to a conventional (ie one with diesel/electric rather than nuclear propulsion) submarine allows the vessel to operate while submerged for extended periods. From their origins in the nineteenth century until late in the World War II (1939-1945), submarines were more properly regarded as “submersibles”; small boats which could be used underwater for short periods. Until snorkels were adopted, submarines were compelled to operate mostly on the surface, submerging only to attack during daylight or to avoid being attacked. This was less of a disadvantage than it might seem because the limitations of the early sonar systems meant submarines on the surface were close to invisible until visual contact was made. That changed with the increasing deployment of radar and other detection systems which compelled submarines to spend more time underwater, using electric motors that offered little speed and range.
German Type XII Elektroboot (1945).
In World War II (1939-1945), the course of the war could have been very different had OKM (Oberkommando der Marine; the high command of the Kriegsmarine (the German Navy 1935-1945)) followed the advice of the commander of the submarines and made available a fleet of 300 rather than building a surface fleet which wasn’t large enough to be a strategic threat but of sufficient size to absorb resources which, if devoted to submarines, could have been militarily effective. With a fleet of 300, it would have been possible permanently to maintain around 100 at sea but at the outbreak of hostilities, only 57 active boats were on the navy’s list, not all of which were suitable for operations on the high seas so in the early days of the conflict, it was rare for the Germans to have more than 12 committed to battle in the Atlantic. Production never reached the levels necessary for the numbers to achieve critical mass but even so, in the first two-three years of the war the losses sustained by the British were considerable and the “U-Boat menace” was such a threat that much attention was devoted to counter-measures and by 1943 the Allies could consider the battle of the Atlantic won.
The Germans’ other mistake was not building a true submarine capable of operating underwater (and therefore undetected) for days at a time. It was only in 1945 when Karl Dönitz (1891–1980; as Grand Admiral head of the German Navy 1943-1945, German head of state 1945) and Albert Speer (1905–1981; Nazi court architect 1934-1942; Nazi minister of armaments and war production 1942-1945) were assessing their “revolutionary” new design that it was concluded there was no reason why such craft couldn’t have been built in the 1930s because the capacity and technology existed even then. It was a classic case of what Donald Rumsfeld (1932–2021: US defense secretary 1975-1977 & 2001-2006) would later call an “unknown known”. The Germans in 1939 knew how to build a modern submarine but didn’t know they knew. Despite the improvements however, military analysts have concluded that even if deployed in numbers, such was the strength of forces arrayed against Nazi Germany that by 1945, not even such a force could have been enough to turn the tide of war. Dönitz and Speer had plenty of time to reflect on such missed opportunities of 1939-1940, both war criminals sentenced by the IMT (International Military Tribunal) at the first Nuremberg Trial (1945-1946) to imprisonment respectively for 10 & 20 years in prison. The admiral was debatably unlucky to be found guilty but had all the evidence of Speer's wartime conduct been brought before the court, he'd have been hanged.
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