Navy: Sub hit object in Pacific; no life-threatening injuries

[mystery-ak]

By Associated Press - Thursday, October 7, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. fast-attack submarine struck an object while submerged in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region, the Navy said Thursday. It said there were no life-threatening injuries and the sub was fully operational.

In a brief statement providing few details of an incident that happened five days ago, U.S. Pacific Fleet said the USS Connecticut remained in a “safe and stable condition.” The Seawolf-class submarine’s nuclear propulsion plant was not affected, it added.

“The extent of damage to the remainder of the submarine is being assessed,” the statement said, adding that the incident will be investigated. It did not cite a specific location for the collision or the current position of the sub.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/oct/7/navy-attack-submarine-uss-connecticut-hit-object-p/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

[sneakypete]

Gee,and here I was thinking they had stuff like radar,sonar,and listening devices to warn them of any possible collissions.

[PeteS in CA]

Active sonar reveals the position of the source. Radar doesn't work under water. Submerged rock/coral obstacles don't make sound, and large critters don't always make sounds.

[240B]

Active sonar is like broadcasting a locator beacon. Any vessel within miles will know you are there and where you are. Most undersea navigation is done using topographic maps combined with gyroscopic p-fix or position fixes. Considering that the seafloor is changing over time, the maps have to be updated and confirmed regularly.

Don't know why this one made the international news. Bumps, accidents, and close calls, are not all that unusual on a submarine. It is just so incredibly easy to forget something or to make a mistake. This is why everything is checked, and double checked, and triple checked.

Knew a submarine Chief Petty Officer. His motto was that everyone on the sub had only one single personal goal, which was to get him killed. Paranoia is a good thing on a sub. It's a dangerous situation.

[Kamaji]

Could it have simply run into a whale?

[Fishrrman]

"Sub hit object in Pacific; no life-threatening injuries"

I hope they sunk the other sub...  :-)

[corbe]

Could it have simply run into a whale?

   Upon further investigation it was determined It collided with bidet's poll numbers.

[Wingnut]

A sub does not simply run into an "under water object".   

[Smokin Joe]

"Sub hit object in Pacific; no life-threatening injuries"

I hope they sunk the other sub...  :-)

Yeah, I hope it had "Made in China" on it.

[sneakypete]

Yeah, I hope it had "Made in China" on it.

@Smokin Joe

Or more accurately,"Made in Russia and sold to China".

The Chinese can't build crap without outsiders to supervise the job and do all the actual engineering.

Hell,they STILL haven't got the aircraft carrier they bought from the Russians over a decade ago to the point they can take it out to sea yet.

[Kamaji]

   Upon further investigation it was determined It collided with bidet's poll numbers.

[Wingnut]

Based on the stink the ChiComs are making about it I'm guessing something made in China is at the bottom of the South China Sea 

[Smokin Joe]

@Smokin Joe

Or more accurately,"Made in Russia and sold to China".

The Chinese can't build crap without outsiders to supervise the job and do all the actual engineering.

Hell,they STILL haven't got the aircraft carrier they bought from the Russians over a decade ago to the point they can take it out to sea yet.

Maybe they stole the designs for our LCS propulsion units.

[sneakypete]

Based on the stink the ChiComs are making about it I'm guessing something made in China is at the bottom of the South China Sea

@Wingnut

And here I was whining about never hearing any good news!

[rangerrebew]

   Upon further investigation it was determined It collided with bidet's poll numbers.

No, it wasn't his poll number since they are lower than whale sh*t and a sub can't go that low.

[Elderberry]

Now here's a sub that Really hit an underwater object.

[sneakypete]

Now here's a sub that Really hit an underwater object.

@Elderberry

As big as the ocean is,and as closely as the US Navy,as well as other Navies,track subs and surface ships,it seems really unlikely that subs would be running into anything substantial enough to damage them like that.

[rangerrebew]

@sneakypete


In my time on a Navy ship in the Pacific, it was a real rarity to see another ship, even in the much smaller South China Seas.

[Elderberry]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_San_Francisco_(SSN-711)

On 8 January 2005 at 02:43 GMT, San Francisco collided with an undersea mountain about 364 nautical miles (675 km) southeast of Guam while operating at flank (maximum) speed at a depth of 525 feet (160 m)

The collision was so serious that the vessel was almost lost; accounts detail a desperate struggle for positive buoyancy to surface after the forward ballast tanks were ruptured. Ninety-eight crewmen were injured, and Machinist's Mate Second Class Joseph Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died from head injuries on 9 January.[6] Other injuries to the crew included broken bones, spinal injury, and lacerations.

San Francisco's forward ballast tanks and her sonar dome were severely damaged, but her pressure hull was not breached and there was no damage to her nuclear reactor. She surfaced and arrived in Guam on 10 January, accompanied by USCGC Galveston Island, USNS GYSGT Fred W. Stockham, and USNS Kiska, as well as MH-60S Knighthawks and P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

The Navy stated that there was "absolutely no reason to believe that it struck another submarine or vessel." Later, an examination in drydock showed unmistakably that she had struck an undersea mountain.[7]

San Francisco's captain Commander Kevin Mooney was reassigned to a shore unit in Guam during the investigation of the collision. The Navy concluded that "several critical navigational and voyage planning procedures" were not being implemented aboard San Francisco, despite Mooney's otherwise remarkably good record. Consequently, the Navy relieved Mooney of his command and issued him a letter of reprimand.

Six crewmen received non-judicial punishment hearings for hazarding a vessel and dereliction of duty, and they were reduced in rank and given letters of reprimand.

Twenty other officers and men received awards for their actions in the crisis, including letters of commendation, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

The seamount that San Francisco struck did not appear on the chart in use at the time of the accident, but other charts available for use indicated an area of "discolored water", an indication of the probable presence of a seamount. The Navy determined that information regarding the seamount should have been transferred to the charts in use—particularly given the relatively uncharted nature of the ocean area that was being transited—and that the failure to do so represented a breach of proper procedures.

@sneakypete

My son was stationed on the USS Buffalo that replaced the USS San Francisco, after the collision, home ported in Guam.