Reply #37: Your information about submarines is incorrect

[Lurks Often]

The USSR switched to nuclear power for submarines for the same reason we did:
1. You have essentially unlimited fuel
2. You no longer have to come to the surface or near the surface to run the diesels to re-charge the batteries
3. A nuclear power plant provides more then enough power to run the sub, generate fresh water, run the air exchangers and all the other things a ship requires without cutting into the sub's range.
4. The only real limitation for a nuclear submarine is crew endurance and crew rations
5. The Russians have continued to make and use diesel submarines and they have also exported them to Iran among other countries (google Kilo class submarine)
6. A modern diesel electric submarine running on batteries is quieter then a nuclear submarine, but has all the liabilities a nuclear submarine does not: limits on food, air, range and the requirement to come to the surface or near the surface to run the diesels to re-charge the batteries.