crash dive meaning: definition, quotations

crash dive

noun

Government, Military, Politics, War Idiomatic An emergency maneuver by a submarine in which it suddenly descends, especially to considerable depth, usually in order to escape an attack or avoid a collision.

As the crash dive began at 1:50 p.m., the overboard ventilation valve had not been closed, which resulted in tons of water flooding the submarine.2000 March 19, Charles M. Cooke, “Letters: Loose Lips, Sinking Ships”, in Washington Post, retrieved 25 Oct 2015:

A rapid descent by a person or thing, ending in a violent collision.

In "Icarus's Mother," a skywriter salutes two girls on a beach with the message, "E=MC²," and then swirls into a deadly crash dive.1985 October 4, Mel Gussow, “Theater: Three by Sam Shepard”, in New York Times, retrieved 25 Oct 2015:

Three quarters of a front somersault, beginning on the feet and landing on the back.

The next routine can be the same as Routine 7 but with the crash dive being replaced with a one-and-three-quarter front somersault tucked (with a tariff of 0.7), making the total tariff 4.81990, Trampolining: The Skills of the Game:

crash dive

verb

Idiomatic To perform a crash dive.

Often hyphenated; submarine operation; often hyphenated; submarine operation

Cuthburt turned the Grandmere in time to see the U-69 within yards of his ship. Graf wasted no time in taking evasive action, crash diving and turning, barely escaping the Grandmere’s efforts to ram him.2012 October 14, Lorna Inness, “Death on the Caribou”, in ChronicleHerald, Halifax, Canada, retrieved 25 Oct 2015:

Idiomatic To cause (a submarine) to perform a crash dive.

Often hyphenated; submarine operation; often hyphenated; submarine operation

Siegmann was still obliged to crash-dive the sub three more times to escape twelve more bombs.2014, Philip Kaplan, Grey Wolves: The U-Boat War, "Sit There and Take It" (Google online preview)

To rapidly descend, intentionally or accidentally, in a manner that ends in a violent collision.

Often hyphenated

At 0640 hours, a Japanese suicide plane crash-dove into the USS Gilligan.2008, James Richard Snellen, South Pacific at Seventeen, →ISBN, page 48:

To rapidly descend, in a manner that ends in a violent collision with (something).

Often hyphenated

Twenty-two Jap suicide planes sighted destroyer off Okinawa April 16 and for more than two hours bombed and crash-dived the ship in a wild and apparently unorganized attack.1945 July 30, John Hersey, “Kamikaze”, in Life, volume 19, number 5, retrieved 28 Oct 2015, page 70:

To cause (something) to descend rapidly, in a manner that ends in a violent collision.

Often hyphenated

[T]he Japanese have organized a suicide corps of flyers whose mission is to crash-dive their explosives-laden aircraft into ships.1945 April 23, “World Battlefronts: Divine Tempests”, in Time, retrieved 25 Oct 2015:

Related terms: nosedive, power dive