Two Nuclear Subs collide in the mid-Atlantic

[+allenjb42]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7892294.stm

 

Sounds like both crew are OK, and there were no problems with the weapons or reactors which is good news.

 

Presumably the heavy seas prevented them from hearing each other?

 

Or maybe they were too busy trying to avoid Carl Stromberg's big submarine catching oil tanker!

[Viper6]

Oops!

[Mladuna]

Well since they are made to be so silent this doesn't surprise me. But still, both submarines involved in the accident were missile carrying boomers so this is a bit strange.

 

Or maybe somebody felt tracked and played the Crazy Ivan move...

Edited February 16, 2009 by Mladuna

[GreyCap]

Maybe they both had their Caterpillar Drive turned on. Don't ask me about this... I have said too much already.

[Jarhead1]

WTF, ok, lets analyse this, the Alantic Ocean isnt exactly a SMALL ocean. And u r telling me that these two ships just happened to meet at the same exact spot at the same exact second? Honestly, not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but this sounds a tad bit fishy too me honestly.

[+Gr.Viper]

Those are the British and the French We'll never know who was spying on whom

[GreyCap]

WTF, ok, lets analyse this, the Alantic Ocean isnt exactly a SMALL ocean. And u r telling me that these two ships just happened to meet at the same exact spot at the same exact second? Honestly, not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but this sounds a tad bit fishy too me honestly.

Actually, near sub collisions between the US and Soviets often happened. They basicaly get a contact, track it for training, lose contact and... bang!

 

 

Here's an interesting article http://www.armscontrol.ru/subs/collisions/debates.htm

[Jug]

Actually, near sub collisions between the US and Soviets often happened. They basicaly get a contact, track it for training, lose contact and... bang!

 

 

Here's an interesting article http://www.armscontrol.ru/subs/collisions/debates.htm

Reminds me of groping around in the dark. I thought that was a teenage sport associated with puberty! Ah, yes, men and their toys...............

[Silverbolt]

at least we know these subs are very stealth

[TX3RN0BILL]

The germans have an expression for what happened... it's called "petting"...

[macelena]

at least we know these subs are very stealth

 

 

Or deaf

[+MigBuster]

at least we know these subs are very stealth

 

Haha - they cant even locate themselves at a range 2ft - jeez thats impressive. They need a big window .......or not

[firehawkordy]

This is what happens when you drive on the wrong side of the ocean

[Silverbolt]

This is what happens when you drive on the wrong side of the ocean

 

ah you know....the confuse english hand....neither them really know how it really works....

[+Syrinx]

The French have never gotten over Trafalgar, bless em.

 

Perhaps the French sub commander was a distant relative of Villeneuve.

 

From what I can gather it hit the British Sub...

 

These things happen all the time, and worse.

[Cason]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7892294.stm

 

Sounds like both crew are OK, and there were no problems with the weapons or reactors which is good news.

 

Presumably the heavy seas prevented them from hearing each other?

 

Or maybe they were too busy trying to avoid Carl Stromberg's big submarine catching oil tanker!

 

LOL! How many here got the "Spy Who Loved Me" reference?

 

"Stromberg One, you are cleared to proceed to sea!"

[firehawkordy]

All kidding aside, it's a blessing that the crews were unharmed. When I first saw the headline on a newsfeed I thought of the Thresher,Scorpion and Kursk.

[+SkippyBing]

Just spent ten minutes watching Channel 4 news getting overly hysterical about the event whilst simultaneously getting more things wrong about submarine operations than Gordon Brown managed about the UK's banking system. I was also impressed by how spectacularly uninformed CND seem to be about SSBN operations, considering their paramilitary wing camp outside Vanguard's home port you'd think they could have asked.

Everyone seemed astonished that the two navies hadn't mentioned it before, whereas normally they like to tell you everything about deterrent patrols.

[serverandenforcer]

Perhaps they were playing Marko Pollo?

[the norm]

a sub is one of the the two main places i can think of where you dont want to here the word "oops", that and a hospital oprating room. 

[+Typhoid]

wow!!

 

the submarine version of "Big Sky - Little Airplane" theory of ATC.

 

having been involved in sub waterspace management before - I am both surprised - and not surprised. After all, not too surprising that the French and British don't tell each other where their boomers are.

 

firehawkordy has it best though

 

[Rambler 1-1]

I think it was actually a game of marine military chicken. Both sides were too stubborn to turn away. Crazy europeans, they sail submarines like they drive cars.

[+JediMaster]

As I read in one report, the French and Brits both favor the same deep water areas in the Atlantic for their boomer patrols. Combine that with naturally being as quiet as you can all the time, perhaps a low thermocline layer keeping them both sandwiched between it and the bottom, and just plain old bad luck...

[+Typhoid]

Open Source -- Enjoy, but RWAGOS

-----------

 

 

February 19, 2009: Although French and British navy officials announced on

February 16th that two of their SSBNs, the French Le Triomphant and the

British Vanguard, had collided with each other on February 4th, no more

details were given. While the British have remained tight lipped, French

officials have relented under media pressure, and made several interesting

revelations (some openly, others "off the record.")

First, the February 6th French announcement that the Le Triomphant had

collided with some unknown underwater object, causing some damage to its

sonar dome, was not a deliberate deception. At the time, the crew did not

know what they had hit, and assumed that it was a cargo container, floating

underwater after having fallen off a ship. It's a common enough occurrence

in bad weather. Nothing else seemed to make sense. Ten days later, after the

British announced that their SSBN had also collided with something

underwater, they compared notes with the French, and concluded that the two

boats had run into each other. No one has revealed if any analysis was done

on materials from the hull of each boat left on the other after the

collision. This would be definitive proof of a collision. This analysis may

still be underway.

 

It appears that the bow (front) of the Le Triomphant scrapped along the side

of the HMS Vanguard. The French apparently believe that both boats were so

quiet (which is how SSBNs are designed to operate), that neither boat

detected the other one, even after the collision. The British have not

released any information on what went on inside their boat before, during or

after the collision. The French revelations indicate that onboard the Le

Triomphant, there was bumping and scraping, then silence. There was probably

a damage assessment drill, which came up clean, except for some damage to

the sonar dome (which meant the sub was even less able to hear any noises

coming out of the Vanguard). The Le Triomphant then proceeded on its way,

only able to guess at what it had just hit.

 

The French also revealed that they do exchange location knowledge with NATO

navies with regard to where their attack submarines are operating under

water. But they consider the SSBNs one of their strategic weapons and thus

subject to a higher degree of secrecy. For decades, it's been understood

that sharing information with all your NATO partners increases the chances

of the secrets getting out. So even if France rejoins NATO, they will

continue to keep the locations of their SSBNs to themselves. Since only one

or two of these SSBN boats are at sea at any time, it was believed that

collisions would never be a problem. The odds of an underwater collisions

were considered so high as to be virtually impossible.

 

It will be interesting to hear what the British have to say, eventually.

[+Gepard]

I think it was actually a game of marine military chicken. Both sides were too stubborn to turn away. Crazy europeans, they sail submarines like they drive cars.

 

Not only the europeans are crazy.

I want tell you a story which i have heared from an old fisherman. He sailed, it nearly 25 years ago, with his trawler (Atlantic Supertrawler of the east german fishermens fleet) in the area between Greenland and the canadian coast. Over radio the german crew was able to listen a very impressive talk between americans and canadians.

 

american voice: "Unidentified object change your course!"

canadian voice: "Impossible, change your course yourself."

american voice: "Unidetified object, i order you to change your course immedetly!"

canadian voice: "No way!"

american voice: "You stupid canadian a.....hole. The commander of the biggest warship of the world is ordering you to change your course immedetly or we will running you into the bottom!"

canadian voice: "Maybe that you fool command the biggest warship of the world, but i command the local lighthouse!"

 

This is a true story. Happend mid 80th close to the canadian coast.

Edited February 20, 2009 by Gepard