The terrain of the Persian Gulf is the result of two geologic movements, first the movement of the tectonic plates, Arabia is slowly pushing northward into the Iran, the Gulf has thus been slowly becoming smaller over the last few million years.
Te second geological characteristics is that during the last Ice Age, sea levels were more the 80 meters lower then it is now, and the Persian Gulf was land with the Shatt al-Arab river flowing through it. The Glaciers did NOT even come near the Gulf, but so much water was tied up inside the Glaciers that world wide sea levels dropped 120-140 meters, which is below the depth of the present Gulf.
Topic of Current sea level raise, but show what Sea levels was during the ice Age:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise#Glaciers_and_ice_capsMap showing the Gulf as dry land (Through the Gulf is NOT enlargeable on this map unlike Europe on this map):
http://www.pol.ac.uk/psmsl/palaeoshoreline_webpage/HTML/HOME.htmDo to these two geological forces the Persian Gulf is a Shadow bathtub. Can subs operate in it, yes, so can an Amphibious truck race in the Indy 500. Nuclear Attack Subs can operate in the Gulf, I never said they could not, but like the Amphibious truck in the Indy 500, it will quickly be shown it is out of place. Nuclear Attack Subs were design for control of the Oceans, where depth and speed limits are set by the Capability of the Sub NOT the sea itself. The opposite rule applies to the Persian Gulf, how deep a sub can go is the bottom of the Gulf, no further, speed is governed by trying NOT to hit any surface vessels (The Gulf has extensive surface traffic) and not hit the bottom, or the sides (100-200 miles is NOT much space for a 7000 ton sub to maneuver at speed).
Another writer mentioned the Hartford was sent to the Gulf to watch Iranian Subs. The largest Iranian Subs are Kilo Class Russian Built Diesels, These are less then half the size of the Hartford (And Volume wise less then a 1/3). While the Kilo Class Subs could be quieter then the Hartford that is only when its engines are OFF (Which you can do with a Diesel), once running the Hartford is quieter, Given the Nature of the Gulf, the Kilo has excessive depth capability (Seems to have been purchased with eyes to the Arabian Sea, but not to far from the Iranian Coast). The rest of the Submarines the Iranians have (If any) tend to be propaganda devices i.e. "Look We have a New Sub" then promptly scrapped as useless. Now the Iranians do have some mini-subs, which are of great concern, but at 150 and 500 tons nothing more then a patrol boat (And people question if more then one of each type was ever built and question if they are still in service i.e. more to show WHAT could be built then actually building any).
More on the Ghadir Mini-Subs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghadir_(submarine)
More on the Nahang Mini-subs (at about 500 tons):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahang_1None of these subs are design to carry more then two missiles/torpedo's and the bigger one weigh less then a 1/3 of the German Built Dolphin Class Subs used by Israel.
More on the Dolphin Class:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_class_submarineTo use the Hartford to chase these subs is like sending a tank to watch someone on a bicycle on a bike path. Can it be done, yes, if the bicyclist goes off the path can the tank follow? Maybe yes, if the tank can through the trees or up the hillsides, no if the cyclist is careful at which point he or she leaves the bike path. The same with the much smaller mini-subs, through only to a degree with the Kilo Class (Which is why I Suspect their mission area is the Arabian Sea NOT the Persian Gulf, through I must point out that is speculative).
My problem with the Hartford in the Gulf is most, if not all of its advantages over Aircraft, Surface craft and other means to do its mission, disappear in the geological makeup of the Gulf itself. This is NOT the deep ocean. Lake Superior is over three times the average depth as the Persian Gulf, and has spots over four times as deep (Through Lake Superior is only 1/3 the Surface area of Persian Gulf, together the Big Three Great Lakes are just short of the total surface area of the Persian Gulf). Thus the Great Lakes have three times the Depth, similar surface area, through twice as much coast line, and I would NOT use a Nuclear Sub in the Great Lakes either for the same reason, it is to small a surface area, through the greater depths make the lakes more logical then the Gulf. Can the Hartford operate in the Great Lakes? Yes? Should it? (Assuming hostile relations with Canada which do NOT exist at the present time) NO, anything a Nuclear Attack Sub could do, can be done better by small boats, aircraft or even people just looking across the lake (Yes I know you can NOT see across the lake or the gulf, by you can see 20 miles on the ocean surface before the curvature of the earth make it impossible to see further, In the Oceans 15 miles is almost nothing, in the Gulf, like the Great Lakes, you are seeing over 1/4 of the Gulf by just staying on land, small boats can cover the rest of the Gulf (and you can see further by making the observation point higher, and given that Iran has extensive hills easier for them then then anyone else in the Gulf).
Remember that, when it comes to the Persian Gulf we are talking about an area smaller then the Great Lakes (Above I just used the big three, Superior, Michigan and Huron, if you include Erie and Ontario you are over the surface volume of the Persian Gulf). All, but one, of the Great Lakes have three times the depth of the Persian Gulf (The exception is Lake Erie which is shadower then the Persian Gulf). The Persian Gulf does not have the choke points of Niagara Fall and the St Clair Rivers (Both Bypassed by Locks) but is similar is having been dry land at one time subject to erosion which tended to give it a smooth slowing sloping bottom, unlike any other ocean bottom in the World (The Persian Gulf also is less salty then the deep ocean, do to its limited flows from the Ocean and its huge inflows from Rivers, thus during Desert Storm the US Navy had to pull out its Dolphin teams, for the Dolphins were having a difficult time adjusting to the low salt content, compared to the deep ocean, of the waters of the Persian Gulf).
Lake Superior:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_SuperiorLake Michigan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_MichiganLake Huron:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_HuronMy problem is the Geological nature of the Gulf, it is NOT a good area for Carriers (Being surrounded on all sides by land where missiles, small boats and Aircraft can attack from) nor Large Submarines, given the lack of depth in addition to the tight operating area caused by the nature of the coast surrounding the Gulf.
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