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

This is likely the most plausible explanation.

Sorry Mr. Clear.

Didnt mean to step on your [bleep].

I retired from a career in the Fast Attack Submarine Navy and just got home from a reunion of shipmates that I served with on an attack submarine with over 40 years ago. USS Dace SSN-607, a Thresher Class submarine and my first ship. Honorable men and their spouses at that reunion. The public has no idea what attack submarines are called on to do and there’s a reason for that. After becoming a Chief when I had young sailors report into my division I’d tell them that “You aren’t here to earn college credit through the G.I. Bill. You’re here to crew an undersea warship built to kill men and blow [bleep] up. If you don’t learn to do your job better than your enemy, they will kill you or blow your [bleep] up. Keep that in mind” Attack submarines go where they want, when they want, as they want in all the worlds oceans, including under the ice at the top of the world. They are the original stealth weapon. Attack submarines collect intelligence on America’s adversaries and enemies among many other things. To do that you have to be where America’s adversaries are, when they are there, sometimes close aboard. It can’t be done sitting on the couch wringing your hands or from a comfortable distance. Attack submarines go “in harms way” in service of their Country. Proudly. To say that Connecticut’s collision was a “blunder” displays absolute ignorance about the mission that attack submarines are called on to do. There are attack submarines on patrol in all of the world’s oceans right now and every minute of every day. 24/7/365. They do it while you’re sleeping, sitting in the woods with your favorite rifle, and are celebrating Christmas with your loved ones. You’re welcome. As the old submariner’s saying goes, “I’ve got more time sitting on the shytter at test depth than…” Oldhat has even spent thinking about Attack Submarine operations. GMAFB about the analysis of what happened to USS Connecticut. She was on a mission “Of strategic importance to the National Security Interests of the United States of America,” and she wasn’t crewed by idiots. That’s all you need to know, or probably will ever know. And that’s as it should be. Got any scratches on your favorite hunting gun? If you take it out of the cabinet and use it hard I’m betting that you do. Attack Submarines are one of the American military’s favorite hunting guns. They get taken out of the cabinet, sent to sea in harms way and get used hard. We should be proud of that, not talk [bleep] about something we know nothing about. And for the record, I’ve heard “One single ping” used in a strategic situation exactly zero times. It’s a great line for a movie, that is all.

fshaw, IIRC, your boat had also 'been there and done that'

hats off to you, I have many friends from and at Kings Bay.........

Spare me the campfire drivel.

The discussion in this thread has been dominated by people who seem to think our sub purposely rammed a Chinese sub. I pointed out how if that is the case that is stupid.

I also pointed out that it is not really possible to paint this as anything other than a very large and expensive mistake. So what do you think?

Do you believe the peace time military is a meritocracy?

It's not, sorry.

Hypothetically, do you think ramming an enemy sub is a pro move during peace time?

Maybe "ping" is not the term of art for submariners, but lets use it as a descriptive for warning your enemy that you have the more sophisticated tech and have the "draw" on them. I wonder if pings are used in tactical situations during peace time.

I don't see the scratched gun analogy, sorry.

The sub cost billions and came back to port to be fixed for perhaps hundreds of millions and while it is fixed the sub is unavailable for doing very important sub stuff at a time when important sub stuff is very important.

If you are saying mistakes happen and this was a mistake, I agree.

For the record, I have never even set foot on a submarine. I do have a brain though.

Old Hat, the current thought is that they probably hit an uncharted undersea mountain, not another sub. That can only be characterized as an accident, not a mistake. Assuming, of course, that the mountain theory is correct.

We've now heard from at least two genuine sub experts in this thread, both of whom contradict your totally uninformed ideas. A wise man would now withdraw in silence.

Old Hat.
We don't know.
Probably won't ever know.


I've done a bunch of jobs in my life, nothing as unique as Submariner.
Not even in the military.
But some of those jobs are nothing like one would expect from the outside.
Truck driving is one example.

I hear people talking about trucks and the job,
takes about 20 seconds to tell if they have calluses on their ass
Or are talking through it.

Take the hint.
Take a break.

Thanks for your service!



Thanks for your service, too!

Since Thresher was accompanied by a surface tracking/rescue ship, I think that it is more likely that it sank due to a design or construction failure than from enemy action. The surface ship would have heard another submarine in the area when it was tracking the Thresher from close range.

One of my high school classmates was a submariner, serving on the Snook, Haddo, and Bergall during his 8 years in the USN. He said that it was unusual for a salor to be assigned to 3 different classes of boats in consecutive assingments, but I don't know if that is true or just his experience. He did tell me that the Bergall was the best boat that he was on, but the crew he served with on the Haddo was the best. He said that he liked serving in the Mediterranean better than the Pacific because the shore leave was better and there was so much traffic in the Med that the crew was always busy tracking multiple contacts.

Oldhat,

Do you believe that the world is at peace?

Do you believe that the US Military is not in engagement with anyone, anywhere currently?

And a mouth, if only obviously

Connect them if you can

Submarines never bump or "ram" each other intentionally. Ever. Sea pressure is 44lbs/square inch/100 feet of depth. Much better to keep the green monster on the outside of the people tank. Surprised that anyone would even consider it a possibility.

Sorry you don't get the "used gun" vs safe queen analogy. I type too slow to explain it in detail.

Submarines also don't "warn" other submarines, or anyone else, of their position. remaining undetected is the foundation of every mission. Ping is the correct term, to ping is to be detected.

An honest question Oldhat, You ever serve on active duty in theater?

Thanks Muffin. I went to a submarine reunion held at Kings Bay, quite a place. Got a tour on a Trident Class ballistic missile boat. Amazing piece of engineering manned by a dedicated group of young men that will make you proud to be an American. Proudly wear a tee shirt from their Chief's Club where we were welcomed. Pride runs deep.

To be fair, OldHat is not stupid. There are other threads where he is cogent and rational. Here, however, he is (to pun) out of his depth.

He may be excused for imagining that "movie" tactics are either factual or acceptable in real life. Many people believe the stunts in Top Gun represent actual air combat, for example. Heck, there are people who believe we can do Star Trek stuff. Neither are true.