Crazy Ivan

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Submarine baffles.
Submarine baffles.

Crazy Ivan is a Naval term for a submarine maneuver, characterized by any number of sudden and sharp turns, used by submarine crews to "look behind" them. Because of the acoustic distortions and noise caused by propeller blades, it is nearly impossible for conventional sonar to detect objects directly behind a submarine. So, with sudden turns, the area where the sonar is not effective shifts relative to the current heading of the submarine, causing previous gaps in sonar coverage to be revealed while masking known areas. This gap in sonar coverage caused by the submarine's own propeller is commonly known amongst submariners as "the baffles."

The "Crazy" part of the name comes from the fact that these maneuvers were very sudden and "Ivan" was a common nickname used to refer to the Russians. A standard tactic of pursuing submarines would be to closely follow the Soviet submarine hidden right in the sonar gap, causing the U.S. submarine to go undetected. Because of this, there were two dangers for the submarine's crew. The first would be, of course, detection by the Soviet submarine if the sonar gap shifted and the U.S. Navy submarine would be revealed. A common countermeasure was to stop the engine and pumps in the pursuing sub and rapidly go for maximum silence, which would lead to the second danger, collision. With its inertial momentum, the U.S. sub's forward movement would continue with the possibility of collision with the unknowing Soviet submarine dead ahead in the process of turning sharply. An example of Crazy Ivan gone wrong happened on June 20, 1970, when USS Tautog collided with the Soviet Echo class submarine known as "Black Lila". Fortunately, both boats survived the collision.

Most modern nuclear submarines deploy a towed array sonar which specifically covers the baffles, rendering the Crazy Ivan mostly obsolete.

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The Crazy Ivan phenomenon is used as a plot device to add tension to The Hunt for Red October, a book by Tom Clancy, and the subsequent movie of the same name. The name is also borrowed for an evasive maneuver executed by the spacecraft Serenity in the science fiction television series Firefly in the episode "Serenity", though it more closely resembled an aerial Bootlegger's turn.

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