Can a submarine survive a hurricane underwater?

Answer 1

Absolutely - I've been through 2 during my submarine days, and you'd be surprised at how deep the wave action can affect you. Of course modern submarines can simply go to deep depths to avoid it, but even at 400 feet you can take some pretty heavy rolls. It's also standard policy for all ships and submarines to emergency sortie (get underway) when a hurricane is imminent, as Navy vessels can ride out the storm effectively at sea, whereas in port the damage potential is extremely high.

I remember one particular instance where we were on our way home from a Spec Ops mission and hit a hurricane that had passed from the Gulf of Mexico and across the Florida panhandle and into the Atlantic. Since it was too rough to surface and head in, we stayed at around 400' - we were still taking 12-15 degree rolls at that depth.

In another case where we had to emergency sortie due to a hurricane heading up the coast (I was stationed in Charleston back then) one boat had to submerge next to the pier as the rest of us headed to sea. She wasn't able to get underway due to her propulsion system being repaired, but was lucky as the hurricane just grazed on its way out to the open Atlantic.