The Snorkel

The snorkel has become a standard fixture of all diesel-electric submarines. Developed in its modern form by Germany in World War II, it was widely adopted and improved after the war. Basically, the snorkel connects a submerged submarine's diesels to the atmosphere through a pair of tubes, one for air intake, one for exhaust. A key feature is the head-valve on top of the air-intake mast that prevents water from entering. Before the snorkel, submarines had to surface to run their air-breathing diesel engines, but snorkel-equipped submarines can remain submerged, with only the tip of a mast exposed above the water for the required air.

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