History Main / SilentRunningMode

* Mildly invoked in the episode "Justice" from ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. While infiltrating a [=LexCorp=] complex, Green Arrow turns off his communication feed with Watchtower by saying, "Switching to silent running." Presumably, this is so he can [[spoiler: plant explosives throughout the complex without having to listen to potential objections from Chloe.]]
* A rare version from the Age of Sail. In the ''Series/HoratioHornblower'' TV series, Hornblower manages to sail his tiny cutter into the middle of the Spanish fleet in some fog. He tries to do some damage control by DressingAsTheEnemy and and being very quiet. They sail under the French colours and wear remnants of French uniforms and clothes as French and Spanish are allies. It ''almost'' works. Unfortunately, on one of the Spanish ships, there is an officer who knew that ''La Reve'' was captured by the British.

* In TheSixties, the CIA realized they needed a stealth helicopter for infiltrating countries like North Korea or North Vietnam. Although building a completely silent helicopter was impractical, they took a standard helicopter and worked on reducing the noise signature of each component -- modifications included replacing analogue components with early electronics and adding an extra rotorblade. Eventually, they came up with an aircraft, that when flown at a particular speed along with nape-of-the-earth flying, was unlikely to be detected unless you were specifically listening for it. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vinh_wiretap Possibly this one]].

* In the Sixties the CIA realized they needed a stealth helicopter for infiltrating countries like North Korea or North Vietnam. Although building a completely silent helicopter was impractical, they took a standard helicopter and worked on reducing the noise signature of each component -- modifications included replacing analogue components with early electronics and adding an extra rotorblade. Eventually they came up with an aircraft that when flown at a particular speed, along with nape-of-the-earth flying, was unlikely to be detected unless you were specifically listening for it. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vinh_wiretap Possibly this one]].

'''Capt. Mancuso:''' Singing?\\

* In the Sixties the CIA realized they needed a stealth helicopter for infiltrating countries like North Korea. Although building a completely silent helicopter was impractical, they took a standard helicopter and worked on reducing the noise signature of each component -- modifications included replacing analogue components with early electronics and adding an extra rotorblade. Eventually they came up with an aircraft that when flown at a particular speed, along with nape-of-the-earth flying, was unlikely to be detected unless you were specifically listening for it. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_OH-6_Cayuse#.22The_Quiet_One.22 Possibly this one]].

[[folder: Film ]]

-->'''Jonesy''' (on the USS Dallas): The Russian disappeared. One minute he was steady 4000 yards off the bow and... then he was gone. And for a second, I thought I heard...\\
'''Capt. Mancuso''': Heard... what?\\
'''Jonesy''': I thought I heard singing, sir.\\
'''Capt. Mancuso''': Singing?\\
'''Jonesy''': ...Yes, sir.
** Not to mention "All stop, quick quiet!" (See below.)

* Han's whole cling-to-the-Star-Destroyer-and-drift-away thing in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' counts, and if not, several times in the ExpandedUniverse (Thrawn trilogy?).

* ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]'' used the nebula as a variant. Its radiation scrambled the sensors of both ships.
** Also ''[[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry The Undiscovered Country]]'' which has a Klingon Bird of Prey that can fire while cloaked - Uhura even says, "If she's here, she's rigged for silent running."
* "Hide and seek" in ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''.
* ''Film/WingCommander'': Numerous examples, ranging from individual fighters to an entire fleet of ships, using the "energy and heat signatures" version of the trope. For best effect, they typically attempted to conceal themselves in the clutter of an asteroid or debris field, or in the case of the fleet, by putting themselves in low orbit over a planet. At one point, the heroes' BattleStar is attempting to lay low inside of an asteroid's crater, while the Kilrathi methodically drop warheads into each crater trying to find the one the Terrans are sheltering in.
** One particularly [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment infamous]] moment as the crew sitting silently on the bridge, warned that them speaking or making any noise could be picked up...''through space''...by the Kilrathi ships.

* During a face-off with a Russian submarine in Film/CrimsonTide, the USS Alabama--running silent--attempts to float its communications buoy and retrieve the rest of a disrupted message. The buoy rises slowly and silently as both crews wait for the other to make a move, and then the spool binds up, [[OhCrap sending a very audible screech through the water.]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Yep, Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy. Kaarde starts out ''Dark Force Rising'' hiding on an asteroid, watching the Empire take over Myrkr. He only gets caught because Thrawn knows Kaarde is exactly the sort of person to do that, and he only escapes because his Force-sensitive copilot turned everything back on before Thrawn's Interdictor Cruisers finished generating a gravity well trap.

---> '''Michelle Henke:''' All things considered, Her Grace's plan may not have been the single rashest, most foolhardy, do-or-die, all-or-nothing throw of the dice in the history of the Royal Manticoran �- or Grayson -� Navy. If it wasn't, however, I have so far failed to find the plan that ''was''.

* Used interestingly in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novel ''The Great Starship Race''. Kirk orders the ''Enterprise'' rigged for silent running as they play cat-and-mouse with a Romulan ship. But he then has Spock emit a subspace radio signal of just one watt. The Romulans focus all their scanners on that one little watt trying to find the ship, only for Spock to then open up the transmitters and hit them with a high-intensity wide-spectrum radio broadcast that overloads and fries the Romulans' sensors.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* The ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Balance of Terror." A virtual [[RecycledInSpace remake]] of the 1957 film ''Film/TheEnemyBelow''.
** ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' has its own "Balance/Enemy Below" episode that reference both the original and the remake. It was also a bit silly.
** The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Face of the Enemy" specifies that a Romulan ship's systems have to be perfectly balanced and calibrated in order for its cloaking device to work; this was exploited when a Federation sympathiser created an engine imbalance to 'poke a hole' in the cloak and allow Enterprise to detect it.
*** In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', the show's main CoolShip, the ''Defiant'', had a cloaking device. Since in the earlier seasons the BigBad Dominion had weaponry that could easily destroy Federation starships, the Defiant's only real defense upon being approached by a Jem'Hadar ship was to cloak, go to SilentRunningMode and pray they weren't noticed.
*** The Jem'Hadar started scanning with a form of radiation that no Alpha Quadrant spacefaring power used; accordingly, the Romulan officer who was acting as trainer/consultant didn't know if the cloaking device would block it; it didn't. Presumably, the next generation of cloaking devices did.
*** Add in that the cloak added in with the overpowered weapons, shields, and sensors made even "cloaked silent running" a difficulty because of the sheer power the Defiant requires for its size.

* Ditto ''Series/BlueThunder'', the other show about a super-advanced helicopter.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': "Nobody make a smell!"
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' episode "Flipmode", Space Ghost is putting on a murder mystery dinner set in a submarine. At one point ([[IntoxicationEnsues high on natural gas]]) he yells, "We're in ''silent running'' here. Moltar, we are in silent running! (''louder'') Do you understand the concept of silent running?!"

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* The film ''The Hunt for Red October'' got some of it right: submarines are designed to be as silent as possible.In a situation where ''immediate'' silence is called for, the order given is "All stop, quick quiet", which means just what it says: the screws are immediately stopped, all communication is done by whisper or hand signs, and where you are standing is where you ''remain'' standing until the order is lifted.

* In the Sixties the CIA realised they needed a stealth helicopter for infiltrating countries like North Korea. Although realising a completely silent helicopter was impractical, they took a standard helicopter and worked on reducing the noise signature of each component -- modifications included replacing analogue components with early electronics and adding an extra rotorblade. Eventually they came up with an aircraft that when flown at a particular speed, along with nape-of-the-earth flying, was unlikely to be detected unless you were specifically listening for it.
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_OH-6_Cayuse#.22The_Quiet_One.22 Possibly this one]].

* Possible, but rarely used in the ''Videogame/MechWarrior'' series. Mechs could shut down completely to remove themselves from electronic detection. This wouldn't make you invisible, but a good observation point could let you set up an ambush. ''Mechwarrior 4'' and ''Living Legends'' also allows players to flip their EnemyDetectingRadar from "Active" to "Passive"; passive mechs are very difficult to detect, but lose almost all of their radar range and cannot establish missile locks. The effects of passive radar can be stacked with a friendly Angel ECM bubble in ''Living Legends'', rendering a mech completely invisible to all forms of radar.

* A rare version from the Age of Sail. In the Series/HoratioHornblower TV series, Hornblower manages to sail his tiny cutter into the middle of the Spanish fleet in some fog. They try DressingAsTheEnemy and being very quiet. [[spoiler: It doesn't work.]]

* The only time anyone was able to destroy a Mimbari battleship in ''Series/BabylonFive'', Captain Sherridan was hiding his light cruiser in an asteroid field. He then had the nuclear warheads on board modified into mines, while the battleship kept searching for them. The human ship then send out a distress call, which immediately gave away their position and had the Mimbari chase right after them.

* The ''Normandy'' of ''Franchise/MassEffect'' can briefly use one of these. Stealth in ''Mass Effect'' consists of trapping EM radiation in heatsinks. The duration of silent running is limited to how much energy the sinks can store; if they exceed capacity, they will discharge into the ship itself, cooking the crew.

** Also ''[[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry The Undiscovered Country]]'' which has a Klingon Bird of Prey that can fire while cloaked - Uhura even says something to the effect of "if they're here, they're rigged for silent running."

** Later, the [[spoiler:Mesan Alignment]] develops ships that use a new type of propulsion that is completely invisible to gravitic sensors, the so-called Spider drive (it uses incredibly powerful {{Tractor Beam}}s to pull itself towards the [[SubspaceOrHyperspace hyperspace]] wall (which is everywhere). These new types of ships are, essentially, this 'verse's equivalent of submarines. Slow and fragile (no impeller wedges or [[DeflectorShield sidewalls]]), but hidden and capable of dealing great destruction without advance warning. Being GenreSavvy, the [[spoiler:Mesans]] also make sure the ship is as invisible to non-gravitic sensors as possible.

* In ''Videogame/Subnautica'', the Cyclops can be rigged for silent running to avoid detection from predators. Doing so also turns off the exterior floodlights and causes the interior lighting to turn red. The submarine is effectively invisible while Silent Running is active-predators won't notice the sub even if they swim straight into it!

* In [[Videogame/Subnautica]], the Cyclops can be rigged for silent running to avoid detection from predators. They won't notice the Cyclops even if it straight-up rams them.

* ''Film/DasBoot'', TruthInTelevision with the portrayal of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_running_(submarine) true silent running]] in undersea warfare.

* ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'' liked to do this all the time. Well, not literally ''all'' the time, because then they wouldn't get to draw attention to it, but that switch was flipped fairly often. One episode involved a group of criminals infiltrating a base in a helicopter (a normal one). They did this by shutting off the engine just before getting close, letting the inertia of the spinning rotor land them safely without making much noise. This actually tips Hawke about the identity of the criminals, as this trick was pioneered by him and his brother during the VietnamWar.

[[AC:Film]]

[[AC:Literature]]

---> '''Michelle Henke:''' All things considered, Her Grace's plan may not have been the single rashest, most foolhardy, do-or-die, all-or-nothing throw of the dice in the history of the Royal Manticoran —- or Grayson -— Navy. If it wasn't, however, I have so far failed to find the plan that ''was''.

[[AC:Live Action TV]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

[[AC:Video Games]]

[[AC:RealLife]]

->''"But only whiffs of paraffin
Or creamy rings that fizz and fade
Show where the one-eyed Death has been
That is the custom of "The Trade."''

--> But only whiffs of paraffin
--> Or creamy rings that fizz and fade
--> Show where the one-eyed Death has been
--> That is the custom of "The Trade."
-->-- ''The Trade'' by Creator/RudyardKipling

* ''Videogame/EliteDangerous'' allows starships to enter silent running by closing all their heat radiators. The ship will quickly [[OverHeating begin to overheat]], requiring that most systems including the ''life support'' be shut down to keep heat output low. Low heat levels will ''significantly'' reduce your radar signature, though enemies within 300 meters can still pick you up.

* Possible, but rarely used in the ''Videogame/MechWarrior'' series. Mechs could shut down completely to remove themselves from electronic detection. This wouldn't make you invisible, but a good observation point could let you set up an ambush. ''Mechwarrior 4'' and ''Living Legends'' also allows players to flip their EnemyDetectingRadar from "Active" to "Passive"; passive results in a massive reduction in detection radius and prevents MissileLockOn, but also makes it harder for enemies to detect you. In ''Living Legends'', passive radar can be augmented by standing in an active Angel ECM bubble, which makes the user ''completely'' invisible to radar.

* Yep, TheThrawnTrilogy. Kaarde starts out ''Dark Force Rising'' hiding on an asteroid, watching the Empire take over Myrkr. He only gets caught because Thrawn knows Kaarde is exactly the sort of person to do that, and he only escapes because his Force-sensitive copilot turned everything back on before Thrawn's Interdictor Cruisers finished generating a gravity well trap.

* Referenced in ''Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise'' in a table of short words and abbreviations used by submariners to conserve oxygen. It contains the term "SR" for Silent Running mode. It claims that the term comes from the movie ''SilentRunning'', because it is the sub-mariners' favorite movie.