Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Seawolf Class Sub hits something in the South China Sea...

Probably the same feeling Clarice Starling had in The Silence of the Lambs when she faced off with Buffalo Bill in the basement scene where it was pitch black and he had the night vision goggles……his outreached hand, her waving her 38 around……

At this point all we know is that the NEWS said the sub hit something which gives the impression that our boat did the hitting but the only ones that know are the crew members. Whale? Unknown seamount? Another.sub?

In the end, we (meaning those of us here on the “Fire) will never know what it was unless 1.it was an unknown object and the Navy wants the public to know. or 2. the Chicoms report a problem with one of their boats. If there was another boat involved we’ll never know who was the “hitter” and who was the “hittee”. Political points and intelligence could be gained from either scenario. Even if the CO remains or he is relieved, that wouldn’t be proof of an “accident “ or an “accidentally on purpose” bump either. Only the board of inquiry and those with a need to know will be privy to the info.

Maybe Rdensck will check in.
I think he knows a little about subs.

Then let the Chief enlighten you. Noted hazards to navigation are charted and a sub is only going to operate in an area submerged if they have up to date charts. Given the location of this the best bet is China was doing something crazy. Perhaps China is building something or moved something into the area without notifying the International Maritime organizations as required. Or they may have been trailing one of our subs very closely. We used to do that with Russia. The sonar on a sub isn't very effective out the ass end because the cavitation of the screw churns the water so if they were right on out tail they are hard to detect. My money is on the tailing scenario.

Fools like you have watched too many movies and don't have a clue about operating on the ocean. Yet you're here flapping your gums which makes you a moron. Collisions at sea are not new and they aren't that rare. But in today's world things get news coverage when they didn't 20 years ago. Get it?

Now go play in traffic.

Maybe a lost shipping container?

Bruce

Been a looooong time, but I still remember filling out those SUBSAFE work packages, and staring at that hydro pump chugging away testing repairs.

Addition of the emergency ballast tank blow system was another outcome of the loss of Thresher, and there were some design and operations changes on the reactor to improve overall survivability.

Not sure there's been anything close to a serious event pointing at flaws in the the basic overall sub design since then. I'm not saying I felt bad about collecting hazardous duty pay, but the record since the 60s has been pretty good.

None of that really mitigates running into stuff though, that's a whole 'nother story.

I don't watch any navy war movies.

You seem to be proposing that the Chinese were tailing and did the hitting with out us knowing. Okay. The common theme here is that we hit them, and that was what I was addressing. If they hit us because we could not detect them then that is bad news for us.

If there is a war I suspect the Chinese may place uncharted objects in the ocean for us to run into. That seems like a problem.

Great.

Please address the navigational "misshaps" the last fews years off our own coast.

Guys with big balls, playing with big toys, in a politically and militarily hostile region, and an even more hostile environment.

What could go wrong?

There are elements of the military that operate on the edge.

Neverbeen second guessers abound...

Thanks Chief

I'm not buying the "ignorant act" ....they have a real good idea. Probably some secret Chinese mission to Taiwan.

Arrgh, you are right- Scorpion.

The real question is, is it an accident, Chinese grabassery or an engineered event designed test out a response.

Take it to grinder.

Were you on subs?

Crazy Ivan was a midstride full reverse as described by Tom Clancy in Red October.

Eight years ago, the San Francisco drove head first into the side of an undersea mountain. How the fugg that happened I have no idea. Even an antique inertial positioning system should have been more accurate than that.

In the case of the Connecticut, a couple theories have been advanced. One being a shipping container suspended midlevel in the ocean. That is entirely plausible, as even the largest container would be totally undetectable by anything other than active sonar. Which has been explained earlier is almost never used by a submerged vessel.

Enemy subs usually make some noise, even if if suspended in a static position. There will be air circulation and some slight machinery noise. But the newest generations of diesel-electric are damned quiet when running on battery.

With the highest tech sonar we have available, our boat would have to be very close to hear them.

We may never know. Maybe they drove her into the side of a mountain. Maybe they hit a mine. Maybe the Chi-coms dropped a depth charge or a torpedo on her.

And then, just possibly, they had heard faint whispers from another boat, and they were trying to isolate or flush the target.

Ever step on a pheasant before it flushed?

I would say the survival after an undersea collision of the San Francisco is a testament to the efficacy of the sub-safe program. As will be the safe arrival of the Connecticut into harbor.

Well, I was NOT a submariner, but I spent 20+ years assessing, pulling, overhauling, collimating and reinstalling periscopes and their fairings, and other masts and antennas in the sail.
I remember 100% procedural compliance to what was written in those SUBSAFE or Controlled Work Packages, or (best case) stripes tend to fall off of your shirt, and (worst case), a catastrophic failure and sailors die.
I remember making round covers for two removed periscopes (that's a pair of 7.5" holes right into the people tank!), in prep for a rare hurricane that came through New London back in the 90's. 3/8" steel plate, cut to fit just inside the bolt pattern of the hull gland, lined with common rubber gasket material, glued in place, and held snug with some double nutted all-thread. That boat broke her storm lines about 2100 or so and was drifting in the Thames River. Her CO put her on the river bottom, with only those steel plates and rubber gaskets in place, and she stayed dry. (phew...)

No one is questioning anyone's ball size.