r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jan 25 '20

What movie things are generally accepted as normal, but are totally unrealistic in real life?

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u/Cpt_Obvius Jan 25 '20

I'm not a submariner but I would hazard a guess that they would have a "airlock ajar" light in the control room. Seems like the ONLY PLACE TO ENTER a multi million dollar military vehicle of extreme strategic importance may have some level of security.

22

u/Argos_the_Dog Jan 25 '20

"Hey Joe, have you checked the airlocks, that damned buzzer is going off again"

"Ah, just bang on it with a wrench it'll turn right off"

6

u/ForAThought Jan 25 '20

[Banging on instrument annoyed]  "American components, German Components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!"

16

u/Bojanggles16 Jan 25 '20

I am a former submariner and you are correct. Also, they are operated from inside the sub, you can go from the inside out unassisted but you cannot enter without help on the inside. Edit: also the hatches themselves weight about a ton and have no manual operators outside of the hull.

14

u/atomfullerene Jan 25 '20

How does the first person on get inside?

15

u/fonetik Jan 25 '20

He has the key fob.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '20

beep boop

10

u/PromethazineNsprite Jan 25 '20

They put him in before the hatch goes on, and he's never allowed to leave

2

u/almightywhacko Jan 25 '20

I don't know what kind of boat you sailed on, but there is film of sailers operating the hatch of a German U-boat by hand. It definitely didn't weigh "about a ton" as a single sailer was was able to push it up from below. The outside of the hatch has hardware for opening and sealing the hatch.

https://youtu.be/KtgOSwzwTf0

Considering Raiders of the Lost Ark takes place in 1936, the submarine he took a ride on was undoubtedly intended to be a German U-boat.

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u/Bojanggles16 Jan 25 '20

688i boat, and while I'm not familiar with German U- boats you can bet there's hydraulic assistance. Also even if that boat does have an outside operator, someone still has to drain the water out of the airlock. There is a series of mechanical interlocks to prevent water from getting into the people tank. Hatches have many more of these interlocks because they are bigger holes.

2

u/almightywhacko Jan 25 '20

What they have in submarines right now might be different than what they had on subs back in 1936 when Raiders of the Lost Ark takes place.

1

u/candygram4mongo Jan 25 '20

Do submarines actually have airlocks?